By X-treme X-taggano (backfire@subdimension.com)
I stared at the stairway leading up in front of me. From what I could tell, the walls around me looked normal, but I still wasn't sure if the rest of my surroundings were. I figured the only possibly way I could figure out was to go up and hope that the entire town hadn't been infected. I made my way up the stairs, crossing my fingers.
But unfortunately, my prayers weren't answered.
I gasped in horror as I took a look at the nightmare of a town . . . chain links made up the street . . . as if I were over a void that went on forever. I could see what looked like wind mills off in the distance and a like rain splashed down from the heavens . . . instead of snow. I turned around and looked at the buildings. They were all burnt . . . burnt by what looked like hellfire . . . and they were all made of metal. And it was raining . . . not snowing.
I looked into the sky, but realized I couldn't even see the stairs. Rather then my light penetrating the dark, the dark was penetrating the light. I also realized by looking through the chain links that there were posts holding up the platform I was standing on . . . leading me to believe that there was indeed some end to the void beneath me.
I looked to my left. The mall was there still there, and also appeared to be closed. A large, steel gate was pulled over it . . . which was standard for malls after closing hours. I started to walk towards it, wondering if I could get it opened. I ran up to the gate, trying to pull in open.
It wouldn't budge.
I groaned as I put my forehead against the metal blocking. I put my fingers through one of the holes, feeling defeated. I felt like nothing in my life could go right.
I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps.
Perfect . . . everything kept getting worse by the minute. I looked around, searching for the source of the footsteps. I heard them in two directions . . . to my right and left. I looked both ways and soon realized that there were two or more . . . things!
And that I was surrounded.
I started to tremble, realizing that staying put would only lead to my death. I looked to my left, searching desperately for a place to run. Hopefully, there would be some unlocked building of some sort.
The only thing my eyes caught sight of was some creature crawling twords me.
My eyes widened with fear . . . some sort of . . . monster was slowly approaching me, and it was different than any other type I had ever seen around here. Its dark brown fur covered its entire body, including its enormously large arms. I couldn't see its face, but I saw its blood red eyes staring towards me.
It looked like a teddy bear from hell.
My eyes suddenly took notice to a large hole in the gate to my left . . . it looked as if it were intentionally broken through. I realized that it lead right into the mall, and I guessed it was the safest place to go to for now.
The footsteps kept approaching me, and I realized that if I didn't move now, I'd be attacked. My heart started racing as I stared at the crushed gate. I closed my eyes for a moment.
1 . . . 2 . . . 3!
I immediately sprinted towards the broken area of the gate. I could hear the footsteps on all sides of me . . . all of them starting to increase in tempo. They were chasing me! I quickly ran to the gate, reaching for the door handle. My hand wrapped around the steel door barely beyond the broken gate. I jumped inside the mall and slammed the door shut behind me.
Another close call. So many times had I barely avoided danger because of a building close by. Strange hell this was . . . a convenient hell at that! I was always able to avoid death, but always just barely. Maybe, through the darkness, there was some sort of light that shined upon that I couldn't see or feel . . . one that I just knew saved my ass on several occasions.
I got up and looked around. The floor was still made chain links, but there were several posts that soared into the sky . . . posts made up of four polls that seemed to create one. I looked around, realizing there were TV monitors to my right in the distance and next to them was a broken escalator set.
I slowly started to walk towards the escalator step, pulling out my gun and releasing the safety. As soon as I stood in front of the broken escalator, I looked down at the steps, realizing that they weren't quite as rusty as the rest of my surrounding. I then grabbed onto the handrail and started to walk up.
It was then that the TV monitors flickered to life.
My head immediately shot in the direction of the TVs, which were located to my immediate right. I noticed mostly static dominating the set of monitors. I then noticed an image flicker onto the screen. I suddenly gasped.
It was Cheryl!
Cheryl was throwing her head back as if she were being tortured. "Daddy!" She screamed over the monitor. "Help me! Daddy, where are you?!"
Her voice . . . she said it the exact same way she did over the phone at the school! I know people often say things in a similar tone, but this time it was too similar . . . as if it were recorded and played back to me. But none of that mattered. All I needed to find out was one simple thing.
Where the hell Cheryl was.
I then noticed a new symbol appear on the screen . . . the mark of Samael.
Several different images looped on the screen and I didn't recognize some of them. A few looked like Cheryl, while others were various symbols . . . probably most of religious aspects. I was never one to care about other religions, though I did study some to improve my writing. But this loop . . . why one earth was Cheryl in it? Whatever it meant, Cheryl needed my help . . . and soon.
I turned left and ran up the dirty, broken escalator and made it to the top. More chain links made up the floor. There were several stores that I saw, but none of them appeared to be open. All of the entrances were blocked off by metal barricades, making it impossible to pass. I looked to my left, realizing that the floor was torn off, making it impossible to go any further in that direction. The only thing of any interest was an old, rusty bench. But I knew I couldn't stop . . . no matter how tired I was. I had to keep going . . . to find Cheryl through this dark hell.
I then looked to my right and noticed something in the distance
. . . I couldn't quite make it out, but whatever it was seemed to have
a human figure. I slowly walked towards it, hoping it wasn't too far off.
My flashlight's power was slowly diminishing and the range in which it
could shine light was gradual decreasing. I walked slowly towards it, hoping
that whatever that thing was happened to be harmless or dead.
But I soon realized it was dead.
I gasped, realizing it was another corpse . . . nailed to a cross! Several unusually large maggots were chewing away at its decaying flesh. I squinted a bit, wondering what the hell a crucified body would be doing in the middle of a mall. I tried to ignore the dark shades of red and yellow that came from the stores on my left . . . I was wondering what this was doing here.
Suddenly, the floor beneath me broke away from the rest of the platform.
I screamed as the I fell down with it. Then I hit the ground beneath me with an impact that inflicted a surprisingly little amount of pain. I soon got up and looked around. No wonder it hadn't hurt . . . there was a mountain of sand that had broken my fall! Sand covered the entire area, in fact! I looked around, realizing this was just another area of the mall. I scanned the room with my eyes. There was some sort of arms dealer on one side and a few restaurants here and there. On the other end, I noticed some sort of glass door . . . which was probably where I needed to go. I needed to get to the hospital . . . the hospital in the hellish delusion of this town where I had always seen Lisa. I referred to the dark hospital as "Darkside Hospital", as where this was the dark side of reality.
Suddenly, I heard a sound.
My head darted to my left, trying to figure out what exactly caused that sound. It sounded like the sand beneath my feet was moving. I looked down, realizing that there was indeed something in the sand that was moving. I then noticed some sort of antenna poke out of the sand. So this thing, I guessed, was probably some sort of insect.
However, when the rest of it came forth from the sand, I realized it was any normal insect.
I gasped as the creature came from the ground, its slimy body leaving a thin trail of ooze behind it. It appeared to be . . . some sort of worm . . . perhaps a caterpillar of some sort. I looked at all its legs move as it approached me at a slow pace. Its two humongous, black eyes stared at me. I was guessing whatever this thing was had no intentions of helping me.
I turned around running away from it. It followed me, not having the clear advantage after all. It slithered slowly along the sand, trying to catch me. I continued to run, hoping that the gun shop wasn't locked.
To my misfortune, it was.
I noticed another metal gate preventing me from entering. I didn't stop running towards it, however. I wasn't about to stop and let myself be devoured by this . . . thing. My eyes scanned every possible area nearby. Please . . . God, this handgun isn't going to kill that monster. I needed more.
It was that second that I noticed something in the corner of my eye . . .
A rifle!
It was a hunting rifle of some sort . . . I knew little about guns, besides the handgun I had gotten to know so well, but I knew that the rifle I saw was probably used for recreational purposes. I saw it lying in the sand next to the gun shop. I needed that rifle to kill that bug . . .
I dove forwards, my hands in front of me reaching for the rifle. I then hit the ground with a tremendous impact, but the rifle found its way into my hands. As soon as I had a steady grip on it, a flipped around, looking back at the monster. It was a ways away from me, fortunately. Still crawling at its average pace, I observed. I tried to pull the trigger of the rifle, but it wouldn't budge.
Damn safety lock!
I looked at the gun for a few seconds, my heart still racing as I heard the creature slithering towards me. I started a random guessing game, trying to figure out which one of these things on the gun would release the safety lock. I finally saw a metallic lever sticking out. I grabbed onto it and pulled it back. The creature was no more a few feet away from me. I heard something click in the gun, and immediately pulled the trigger.
The gun recoiled much harder then I could have imagined and I lost my balance, falling to the ground. I wasn't sure if the creature had been hit by the bullet, but I prayed that it was. If not, I was worm food . . . no doubt about it. My eyes were tightly shut, my body trembling in terror.
But the worm never attacked me.
I opened one eye, realizing I was still "alive" (if I were even that). I then looked over my shoulder. The worm like creature was on its side, still squirming around in spasming pain. I got to my feet and stared at it. It still moved around, completely helpless. I decided maybe I should just put this creature out of its misery, so I aimed my rifle at its head once again. I then pulled the trigger.
It responded with an empty click.
I growled, realizing there was no more ammo in the gun I held in my hands. I threw it to my side, still angry that I had found such a powerful weapon that was out of ammo. I threw the rifle to my side, discarding it as useless. The creature was too badly hurt to attack me in the first place.
I looked around for the glass door that I could exit the small, sand filled chasm with. I soon saw it and started to walk towards it. Finally . . . out of this god awful mall . . . it was a mistake to even go inside.
Suddenly, I heard the dry sound of something burrowing into the sand.
I turned around and realized the worm was gone. It must have dug a hole into the ground. I shrugged deciding it was nothing. I then turned back in the direction of the door. I took a few more steps in its direction.
Suddenly, the worm like creature came out from the sand itself right in front of me.
I leapt back in terror as I stared at the enormous creature. I was sure I had nothing to worry about, but now my confidence was gradually leaving my soul. How could that thing recover so fast?!
Then I noticed how it didn't attack. Instead, it broke through the glass door and left the mall.
What an unexpected surprise! The worm wasn't here to kill me . . . it just wanted to escape from the same dark prison I was trapped in. I realized that it was a blessing . . . now I had a way out! I laughed realizing this was another "hidden blessing" as I walked up the door. I then stepped outside, but noticed the worm was nowhere to be seen.
Once again, being the damned ignorant fool I was, decided it was nothing as I walked along the chain link platform. I then looked to my left and right, making sure it was safe to continue. The platform didn't wasn't the same as the street to the "normal" town. The only thing that remained intact was the location of the buildings. I looked around, realizing that the platform only lead left, so I started to run left down it. No monsters that I could see, fortunately. I hoped it would remain that way.
As I continued down the road, following every turn I found, I got a better view of the metal windmills. The were very old . . . that was made apparent to me. The whole city was showing signs of steady decay. I my mind was still set on how anything like this could be created. Perhaps the theory of alternate universes was perhaps true. Maybe time did, in fact, exist in layers and I was brought to the apocalypse layer of time . . . or perhaps this was all just a crazy hallucination. That seemed logical, although, though not fully able to control my senses, I could feel most of them. It felt a little too real, yet radically different from the other "reality" I was brought into.
I then heard the flapping of wings.
Damn! More of the winged demons! I looked over my shoulder, now running faster than ever. Not just one . . . !! Several of them! There were at least four demons hot in my pursuit. I knew I couldn't slow down now . . . not after being so clearly outnumbered.
And then I caught a glimpse of yet another creature up ahead . . .
A dog . . .
The dog got up and growled. How the hell was I supposed to get past this thing?! It sat directly in the middle of the road . . . blocking my path! I decided I couldn't slow down and ready my gun . . . I had to run past it. I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and then sprinted as fast as I could past it. It barked and it missed me barely . . . thank God. I then looked over my shoulder as I ran, checking to see if it was still in pursuit.
I gasped as I witnessed not just the hell hound, but thousands of winged demons filling the sky.
They were everywhere! I could hear their high-pitched screams as the flew about the sky. They weren't just behind me . . . in front of me, above me . . . everywhere! If this wasn't hell, I didn't know what was . . .
Then I heard more footsteps following me.
I took one last glance over my shoulder and realized more dogs were chasing me! I felt totally trapped . . . at least five dogs in my pursuit and thousands of demons scourging the sky. I started to run with a new will to live, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
Then I saw it!
The hospital! Thank God! I ran to the gates of the hospital, which looked fairly similar, except now burnt . . . I opened the gate as fast as I could, and slammed it behind me. That stopped the hell hounds from chasing me.
I was suddenly knocked over by the claws of the demon.
One of the winged demons had actually attacked me! I fell to the floor almost flat on my face. I then rolled over and stared back into the sky. The demons all flew in circles around the sky, watching me and waiting to attack. I gasped in fear, pushing myself back to the door. My muscles were almost numb, but I somehow got to my feet.
I noticed several of the demons diving towards me.
I screamed as I opened the door and crawled inside, slamming the door. Another close call. Thank God for doors . . . they had saved my sorry ass several times. I knew my advantage lay in the fact that I was physically able to open doors. I laughed, thinking thoughts about being the superior one in this game of survival, regardless of whether it was true or not.
I looked to my left, examining the burnt reception desk to my left. This was hell, all right . . . a terrible, terrible hell. I started to walk down the hallway, looking for the examination room. Hopefully, Lisa hadn't run off. I soon found the door and walked up to it.
Please, God . . . let Lisa be in there.
I then slowly opened the door and walked inside. I was abruptly greeted by a woman's scream, which made me leap in fear. There she was, sitting beside a bed with a candle lit.
"Lisa!"
"Harry!" she gasped. She then ran up and me and threw herself in my arms. I wrapped them around her in a caring embrace. I could only imagine how scared she could be. She quivered in my arms, letting me know how genuinely afraid she was.
But somehow . . . she mattered more to me than that. I felt more than responsible for her . . . it was more . . . I wasn't sure, but almost some sort of love.
She looked back at me. "Thank God you're alive!" she exclaimed.
"I was so scared!"
"Yeah . . . well, I'm here now," I said softly. "I was worried
about you too."
I suddenly realized then that I didn't come here to aimlessly flirt with a nurse stuck in hell . . . I was here to find my daughter!
"Lisa, do you have any idea how to get to the lake?" I asked.
"The lake?" she asked. "You take Bachman road . . ."
I hung my head. "The road's been destroyed. Is there any other way?" I asked, hoping that she might possibly know.
She put one arm across her waste and the other to her chin, looking at the floor and thinking. She suddenly looked at me. "Wait a second! I just remembered something!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I remember this one waterworks system near my old school that goes underground! I heard it even goes all the way to the lake!"
I could feel all of my hopes rise all at once. "Really?!" I asked. "Well, it's worth a try, right?"
Then suddenly, I noticed Lisa's eyes . . . they turned bright blood red for a split second. As soon as they returned to their normal shade of blue, she threw her head back, holding it with one hand. She then bent over slightly, obviously suffering from a headache.
"Lisa!" I screamed. "Are you all right?!" I asked.
"Harry . . ." she started, still staring at the floor. "Please stay by me! I'm so scared . . . I'm cold . . ."
And that was probably the most difficult choice I had to make . . . should I search for Cheryl, who might very well have been killed for all I knew, or stay here with Lisa . . . my body went numb from trying to make up my mind because I knew both of them needed help. How could I help both of them at once?
Suddenly, it occurred to me. "How about coming with me?" I asked. "I can't insure your safety, but I'll do my best to protect you."
She looked up at me, like a meek kitten looks towards its owner. "No!" she said in a tone of voice that almost scared me. "Harry . . . somehow, I don't think I'm supposed to leave this place!"
I sighed. "Lisa . . . just wait here a little longer . . ." I
tried to reason. "I'll be back as soon as I find my daughter."
Lisa turned her head from me, looking betrayed. "Harry . . ."
she said, almost pleading. "Please stay with me! I'm so scared I don't
know what to do!"
I hung my head. There was almost nothing I could possibly do now. All I wanted to do was save my daughter . . . but Lisa needed help, too. There was only one thing I could say . . .
"I'm sorry."
I then turned my back to her and walked out the door. I heard her call my name one last time and I told her I'd be back one last time . . . I then closed the door behind me.
It's amazing how one decision in your life can really fuck up the rest of it. I was convinced at the time that Lisa was in more need of my attention than my own daughter. I hadn't seen Cheryl anywhere . . . all I knew was that she was in a lot of trouble. She needed my help, but so did Lisa . . . I had a love for Lisa as well, and it was an eerie sense of responsibility for her.
A true kind of love.
I sighed as I walked on, leaving the door that lead to the examination room. Please be safe, Lisa . . . that was my only prayer. I wanted to help her, but not until I knew my daughter was safe. I continued to head towards the door that lead outside and stood in front of it. But then I looked back at the dark hallways behind me.
Forgive me, Lisa . . .
Opening the door and stepping outside, I looked into the sky and realized there was no longer a scourge of demons. All of them were gone! The thousands that flew about in the sky seemed to have disappeared . . . but how? I shrugged, deciding it was a good thing that they were all gone . . . but it all seemed to suspicious.
I walked up to the gate and opened it in front of me. I then looked at the path in front of me. Funny . . . it wasn't the same path. Instead, it lead to the building that would have been the post office. I walked down the narrow platform. Sure enough, it lead straight to the metal staircase which was used to get to the roof of the post office. I looked around, realizing there was nowhere else to go except to the top of this horribly burnt building. I started to walk up it, only accompanied by the echoing of my feet through the bottomless void beneath me.
I finally reached the top, but didn't get much of a view. The top of the metal building was made of stone, surprisingly. I also noticed another small area at the top which lead to some sort of satellite. I looked around, wondering where to go from where I was.
Suddenly, I heard the flapping of wings.
I looked around, startled. I soon realized that there were no demons in sight . . . but what was that sound? It sounded like wings flapping . . . no mistaking it at all. I looked left and right, but still saw nothing.
Suddenly, my heart stopped as a gigantic flying insect emerged from the darkness.
Note that when I say gigantic, I mean five to six times my own size. This flying creature was incredibly big. Where the hell would a thing like this come from? I noticed how it was still wrapped in a thread of some sort, but I could make out the basic form and shape of the creature. It was some sort of moth, I was guessing, who had just recently hatched from its cocoon. But where would . . .
I suddenly gasped, realizing this moth was the same bug I had fought at the mall.
How the hell would it have hatched so soon?! I thought the process for a butterfly would take quite some time . . . but something this big might take years to develop!
I thoughts stopped as it spewed some sort of venomous liquid in my direction.
I knew whatever that thing was spitting, it was poisonous. The putrid color of green and the strong stench of the liquid that fell to the floor was solid proof. I panicked as I tried to escape . . . whatever the hell this thing was, it was a very, very large threat to me.
I quickly ran to the other side of the small platform that the satellite was mounted on. Ducking down, I reached for my pistol and looked back. I could still see the creature's unusually large antennae poking around the corner. I panicked as I held onto the bar the aligned the stairs with one hand and my pistol in the other.
This thing's going to die . . .
I then jumped around the corner, firing several shots straight
at its forehead. Three direct head shots! My aim was definitely getting
better. I watched blood spill forth from its forehead and heard the creature's
cries of pain.
It began to fall down to earth at a tremendous velocity.
The whole black shroud around me started to turn into to a bright light and I heard sirens in the distance . . . the reality around me was starting to fall apart once more . . . I screamed as I grabbed my head and looked in every direction. All I could see was a white shroud. My nerves all went numb and my body limp.
My vision slowly returned in a blur of white. Soon, it came all the way back to me. I blinked a few times as I looked around.
I was on top of the post office . . . in the normal town.
