Chapter 17: Tears of Pain
By X-treme X-taggano (crazyxtagen@hotmail.com)

My pulse raced.

My eyes were tingling. My mouth was dry. And every muscle in my body fought to support my weight. These are the symptoms of fear, and once they kick in, they have a hard time slowing down. No amount of breathing could calm my heart. No amount of screaming could take me away from this nightmare.

Only one fight to end it all.

I continued to walk down the stairs, realizing they went on a long ways. Where they would end was beyond me. Dahlia didn't want me here. She new I was going to try and stop her from hurting Cheryl. She knew I was going to try and stop Samael.

But she didn't know I had no plans on trying to do anything. I was going to finish this. I didn't care how many demons she would throw at me. I had looked hell in the face already, although I wish I could say I laughed in it. But I wasn't going turn and run from my fears. I had to face them. I had to face Dahlia. Maybe even face myself. My conflicts . . . my anger . . .

I suddenly froze in place as I heard the sound of a gun click.

"Freeze," I heard Cybil's voice yell.

I slowly ducked down on the stairs and slowly descended them, trying not be seen so I could see what was going on. Dahlia was standing next to Alessa down at the bottom of the stairs . . . and there was also some bandaged thing sitting in a red wheel chair. It seemed like whoever was in bandages was rotting away. Across from them was Cybil, pointing a gun straight at Dahlia's head.

Dahlia smiled. "I was shocked when I realized the talisman of Metratron was being used. Just a little longer and all would have been for not," she explained. "It's all because of that man. We must be thankful to him."

Cybil shook her head. "Where's his daughter?!" she yelled.

Dahlia looked away from her. "That's none of your concern! Don't even think about trying to hurt me!"

Cybil growled and fired a bullet. But the bullet stopped in midair and fell to the floor. She gasped. "What the hell?!"

And suddenly she flew backwards, the gun falling out of her hand.

I gasped. "Cybil!"

Dahlia suddenly looked in my direction. I growled as I ran up to her. She smiled, as if somehow realized that it was just me.

"Well, well . . . to think you'd make it this far," she sneered.

"I've come all this way. Now I want to know!" I yelled. "What the hell have done with my daughter?!"

Dahlia raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" she asked me. "You've seen here many times after being restored to her former self."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

She then pointed to Alessa. "Don't you see?" she asked. "She's right there."

I gasped as Alessa looked up at me. She did look like an older Cheryl, but that couldn't possibly be her. "That's impossible!" I yelled.

Dahlia laughed. "You are the only one who thinks so," she explained. "You don't understand anything. When Alessa was born, she only contained half the dark soul."

"What does that have to do with Cheryl?!" I asked.

"It means we had to created a second child with the rest of it," she said calmly.

I gasped. Cheryl was . . . part of the whole ceremony? So Alessa and Cheryl were sisters . . . both created to bring back the dark God Samael. But Cheryl was taken away by Lisa, and then I found her. This was all starting to make an eerie amount of sense.

"But then why is Cheryl in Alessa's form?" I asked.

Dahlia laughed. "My daughter is a clever one. She tried to help you're daughter escape from me by creating this hell you've been wandering through," she explained. "You daughter was drawn to Alessa from the start because they were two halves of the same soul. So when you're daughter re-united with Alessa, she took her form and continued to run from you. They're the same person! Don't you understand that?"

I shook my head. "Why are you doing this?"

Dahlia looked into the sky. "It's been a long seven years," she said. "Seven years sense that terrible day. Alessa has been kept alive suffering a fate worse then death." She pointed to the bandaged figure in the wheelchair. "You see her? You can almost feel the agony she has gone through just by looking at her. And He has been nurtured by the nightmare. Waiting for the day to come when the two halves would be re-united. That day is finally here!"

That day was here . . . but was I too late?

Dahlia raised her hands in the air. "Everyone will be released of pain and suffering! Our salvation is at hand . . . when we all return to the true paradise!

"My daughter well be the mother of God!"

And then a bright light emitted from both "Cheryl" and Alessa. I stepped back and shielded my eyes. The light was painful to look at . . . but it dimmed slightly after a while. I still couldn't look because it was too bright, but something had happened to the two girls. I slowly put my hand down, hoping my eyes could adjust to the light properly. I found my eyes could handle looking at them, and stopped covering my vision. I then gasped.

They had turned into an angel.

Not two, but one . . . the mother of God, Dahlia had said. They had been re-united to form this illuminated figure wearing a robe that shined with the brightest of light. But the angel looked confused, as if still not knowing her purpose yet. Dahlia laughed, though, as if she had won the war already.

I suddenly ducked as I heard a gun shot.

But it wasn't I who got stuck by the bullet. It was Dahlia. She fell tot he floor with a bullet in her shoulder. Blood flowed out of the wound and spilled through the chain link floor beneath us. The angel looked at her, still standing on the mark of Samael . . . which was engraved in the floor in metal.

"Quit screwing around!" I heard a voice yell.

Kaufmann.

I turned around. "Kaufmann . . . how did you get here?!" I asked.

"I found myself here after I got knocked out in the streets," I heard his voice say, although I still couldn't see him. "Looks like someone messed up big time."

Kaufmann walked out of the darkness. He was holding a gun and his briefcase as he slowly approached Dahlia. He still kept his distance, though, expecting the worst.

"Did I ask for this, you stupid bitch?" he yelled. "No one uses me!"

Dahlia looked up weakly. She was still smiling, though, and I didn't know how. "You're role is over . . . we don't need anyone to hide my girl anymore!" she sneered. "What did you think you could do by coming here?

But Kaufmann wasn't the least bit intimidated. "Getting cocky, are we?" he said, smiling. "Say, do you recall a certain drug we created? What was it called . . .?"

He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of a drug. The same drug he hid in the motorcycle . . .

"Aglophitus?!" Dahlia screamed in horror. "I thought I got rid of that!"

Kaufmann smiled. "The drug that extracts demons? Yes, that's it," he laughed. "All I had to do was plant it somewhere where'd you find it and get rid of it. It certainly kept you busy."

But I knew Kaufmann couldn't use the drug. It extracted the demon, yes, but it didn't kill the demon! I remembered when I used it on Cybil. The parasite didn't die . . . I had to kill it. So if he used it, then . . .

"No!" Dahlia screamed as Kaufmann tossed the bottle at the angel.

I gasped as the bottle flew through the air towards the angel. It all seemed like it was in slow motion as it hurled through the air, slowly approaching her. And then it hit her on the head. The liquid spilled out on her and soaked her robe. I heard her scream and the light surrounding her started to fade. Kaufmann smiled, thinking that he had won for sure now.

But suddenly, something started to sprout from the angel's back.

She started screaming as he back began to tear open. Blood splattered everywhere as she was torn apart. Kaufmann gasped.

"What the . . . this isn't supposed to . . .!"

And I watched in horror as I witnessed the demon God come forth from her back. As he came out, he wings sprouted and before I knew it, he exited her body, leaving it a heap on the floor. I looked up at the creature and it's brown, coarse flesh stretched out to create the human figure. It's goat like head had it's eyes gouged out and the horns on his head stood tall. His ribs almost ripped out of it's flesh, but it still was strong in power . . . no doubt about it.

Samael.

The demon was hovering over everyone as he looked around. And then he spoke.

"Who has disturbed me?"

He looked at me first, and I froze. I tried not to move a muscle as he stared at me. I kept repeating to myself a simple phrase.

Please don't kill me.

And the demon looked passed me and to Kaufmann. He also froze. But he wasn't attacked either. He saw Cybil, but she was unconscious, and therefore innocent, I guessed. We had passed his judgment.

The he looked to Dahlia.

"Why hast thou abused thy power?"

Dahlia quivered on the floor. She didn't want to die . . . that was for sure. She knew where she was going if she did. But it was to late. Fire of damnation fell upon her and she rolled on the floor, burning in the heat of the flames. Soon she was nothing. Her flesh rotted away and she died with an agonizing look on her face.

And then Samael looked ot the rest of us.

Will you follow me?

I heard that voice in my head. I knew it was in my head.

Will you follow me?

"No!" I yelled. I felt myself tremble as I answered. I would be punished, no doubt, for my answer.

Then you, too, must perish.

And I dove out of the way and fire flew from the heavens. It crashed to the ground, but missed me. The demon growled in a terrible roar as he tried again. But he once again missed me as I continued to run. The demon was hell bent on my destruction now. No doubt about it. He had destroyed Dahlia for a rightful reason, but I . . . I would never worship a demon.

A . . . a mortal demon!

I stopped running for a moment and looked up at it. This was a long shot . . . but if it worked, I would be free. "You're nothing!" I yelled at it.

And the demon suddenly stopped attacking. It stared at me for a moment. "What?"

I nodded. "You're just a demon!" I continued. "A demon who was brought into human form. Humans are merely mortal!"

"I am no mortal."

"Go ahead and try to convince yourself of that!" I yelled. "But when you were brought into human form, you were also brought into the human rules of life."

The demon quivered. I pulled out my handgun and pointed it right at it's forehead. "And for a human, it only takes this to end a life."

And I pulled the trigger.

I watched the bullet hit it's forehead. The demon screamed as he held the wound. "I . . . I can't die!" it yelled. It wings slowly stopped flapping as it started to fall downward. It was dying. I had hopefully stopped it from it's reign of terror. No more hell . . . no more

It then fell to the ground and lay there. It was dying fast. I slowly walked up to it, wondering how much longer it had.

Harry, come here . . .

The voice in my head . . . it was his, no doubt. I walked up the the wounded demon. I knelt down next to it.

"Harry Mason, I've misjudged you. You're no ordinary man. You truly came here to save your daughter." it explained, breathing heavily. "I am commanded to use my powers to punish people for their actions, and I have abused my own power. I cannot die, but my demon spirit will remain here forever. From now on, only the wicked shall be punished with this hell!"

I shook my head. "The power to judge someone should be left to God!" I said.

The demon looked down. "I have not had anything to do with God sense the beginning of time. There is no atonement for my sins." It slumped it's head against the floor. "You wanted to see Alessa, right? There is nothing else I have to say." It looked back at me one last time. "Good bye . . . and thank you."

And it's body disintegrated into beads of sand which fell through the floor and into the void. Back to his cage man calls hell . . . for he had lost his power to rule. And even after all he had told me, I still didn't feel sorry for the beast.

The ground rumbled and fire started to rain from the sky. I looked around, realizing this place was going through damnation. The hellish nightmare of a world was being burned along with anything wicked. This was all over . . . perhaps even for me.

I looked to my left. The angel was now very clearly Alessa. I ran up to her as she lay wounded and bleeding on the floor. I lifted up her head in my arms a bit, her robe still soaked with blood.

"Harry, there's no time left," she said. She coughed, a trickle of blood spilling down the side of her mouth. "You have to escape this place."

"But Alessa . . . you've fought so hard! And I was the one who imprisoned you here!" I said, trying to choke back tears.

"It wasn't your fault . . ." she said. "Because of me, you were trapped here. There's no hope for me. But . . ."

She reached behind her, producing a . . . a child! A baby wrapped in a clothe sheet . . .

Cheryl.

Alessa smiled. "I hope my sister has a chance. Take her, Harry . . . and please take care of her."

I looked at the baby. Cheryl . . . as a child again. Born again, free of any demons or sin. Perfect once more. And as I held her, I realized it was a second chance for me, too. A new start for my family . . . my life.

Alessa then pointed to a bright light in the distance. "Leave me Harry . . . and thank you. Thank you forever."

I nodded. "No, thank you."

I then ran up to Cybil, who was unconscious on the floor. I knelt down quickly and shook her, trying to wake her up.

"Cybil! Get up!" I yelled.

I saw her blink a few times. She had been unconscious for some time, but she was okay. She shook her head and she slowly got to her feet. She then looked around in horror, though she didn't move.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"The world is falling apart," I explained. "The conjured world is being destroyed."

I then grabbed her hand as I started to run. We both started to sprint towards the light at the end, knowing that was our final escape from hell. I wasn't sure if Cybil knew what was happening, but there was no time to waste. This place was being destroyed and there was no time to explain.

"Wait for me, Harry!"

I suddenly stopped and turned around. Kaufmann was yelling to me. He slowly stumbled to us, trying to escape from the world with us. He didn't want to stay in this hell. No one did.

But then arms wrapped around him and starting pulling him back. He screamed in horror, not realizing who was doing this, but that he was staying here . . . in hell with the rest of the world. I gasped as I realized who it was pulling him under the grating and into the hellfire.

Lisa.

And it was what Kaufmann deserved. Punishment for the sins of his life. Samael had kept his promise . . . he was punishing the wicked for what they had done.

I suddenly gasped as a hail of fire started to descend from the sky, falling straight towards us. I screamed as I put one hand over my head, hoping I wouldn't get swept away by the hellfire. Cybil, too, got on her knees and ducked.

But the fire never struck us.

I slowly moved my hand and looked into the sky. The fire was suspended in the air. It wasn't falling anymore. What could do this? What could stop all of hells fury from raining upon us?

I looked back and saw Alessa with her hand raised in the air.

She had saved us again. She was sacrificing herself, but she was saving us. And that seemed to be what was important to us. I smiled at her and she returned the same smile she had given me earlier. I then turned around and started to run. This place couldn't be kept up forever.

Thank you Alessa.

We then ran through the light, tears streaming down my face. They weren't tears of joy or tears of sorrow . . .

They were tears of pain.

I felt Alessa's pain. She had felt it her whole life and had never had a day without it. And now it was over for her. A kid who only knew pain and suffering her whole life . . . it didn't seem right for her to have to suffer this fate.

And then Alessa was consumed in the fire.

Cybil and I continued to run through the light, and it took us back into the foggy town. We ran passed the street signs and straight towards the edge where my car was tilted over the edge. I had to escape . . . escape from this nightmare.

But I started to feel light headed. I slowed down right in front of my car and put Cheryl on the hood of the car. But I couldn't hold on any longer. I passed out and collapsed onto the car.

And to this day, I still don't know if what I had experienced in that town was real. I had the baby with me and my memories of pain were so vivid . . . but when I woke up in the front seat of the car on the road early the next morning, I wondered how my car could have gotten back on the road or how we had gotten out of the town. Or how, even more, that all that could have happened in a matter of hours. It was impossible!

But then I saw the baby in the seat next to me. It was Cheryl as a infant again. How it had happened . . . I didn't know, but there she was. An innocent baby . . . all over again.

I got out of the car, holding her in my arms as I looked around. Where was Cybil? I couldn't have just dreamed this all up, could I? My memory was kind of fuzzy about the whole incident, but Cybil should have escaped too! Or was she still stuck there? On the other side . . .

I looked back into the town, realizing there was no fog shrouding the town. The city was a beautiful as ever . . . I didn't see any residentials out yet, but it was still too early for anyone to be up, I guessed. The town had two . . . maybe even three sides to it, and one of them was just destroyed. But this side of town was paradise. No doubt about it.

Life is a true gift.

"Harry?" I heard a voice asked.

And I knew just who it was.

I turned around and saw Cybil on the other end of the road. "Cybil!"

Cybil walked from the side of her bike and walked over to me. She almost seemed surprised to see me . . . like she had just woken up from a dream, only to find that one of the characters from it was standing right in front her. She put her hand on my cheek . . . as if checking to see if I were real. Once she was assured of that, she sighed. "So what we experienced was real?" she asked me.

So she was having her doubts too. For all I knew, all that we experianced could have happened in our heads. But there was a baby here in my arms and it was definately real. No doubt about it.

"I don't know," I said. "I really don't know."

Cybil then looked down at Cheryl. "Where'd you find her?" she asked.

"In the seat next to me when I woke up," I explained.

Cybil smiled as she touched the baby's nose. The baby giggled. And I felt an strange sense of deja vue as she did so. It reminded me of the time when my wife and I had found Cheryl on the side of the road. This was exactly like it . . . only now Cybil was here with me instead, and . . .

I laughed. No way all that could happen. Not a chance.

But years have passed sense that day. That day when I questioned everything . . . even life itself. What had I been living for all this time? What am I living for now? The answer was simple, though.

Someone else.