Author note: Been a while in getting this last chapter up due to exams. Now that they're over with... let the fiction continue! This chapter has been a fun one to write since Hellboy is, in my opinion, in his element. Please leave feedback:)

In absence of light

Hellboy continued to fall deep into the cold darkness.

Suddenly, he felt the air forced from his chest by his own weight hitting the cold ground. The screams continued, high above his head. Catching his breath, Hellboy stood up, dusted himself off and reached for the Samaritan. It was too dark to see, yet he knew there was something else here.

He continued to walk through the cold, still air in search of whatever lurked in the darkness. He felt the flashlight in his pocket and drew it out.

The beam of light revealed numerous dirt caverns and tunnels. Bones, both human and animal, held the walls from collapsing. Hellboy turned the beam above his head to see the lost souls swirling around the top of the pit. There was reason for them not to follow.

"Hmmm…" Hellboy mumbled to himself. Walking past each tunnel, he entered where the slightest of wind currents could be felt. He soon noticed the floor becoming smoother and reminiscent of a Roman mosaic. Following the pattern led him to a large hall filled with hundreds of skeletons. Large reptilian hounds chewed on their bones. As Hellboy entered the hall, the hounds approached, growling and snapping.

The Samaritan leveled, Hellboy fired at one of the hounds as it leapt toward him. The hound disappeared as the bullet passed through.

The rider circled the horse around Abe, causing the horse to resist. The horse pawed the air with its shod hooves, striking above Abe's head and snorting loudly. Abe dodged each one of the horses' blows, sending the thick mist into swirls.

"Away from here. Away, foul creature." The rider shouted. Abe drew his knife.

The rider continued to push the horse forward, it's screams echoing in Abe's ears. The beast, frightened, refused to move forward and reared repeatedly. The rider drew a sword and wielded it in the air before striking at Abe. The blade grazed Abes' left arm, leaving a gash. In one motion Abe ducked below the level of the sword, rolled under the horse, cut the girth and rolled back out. Abe stood with his blade ready as the rider fell from the steed. Abe leapt onto the horse, which galloped away.

Within moments another rider was behind him, galloping at full speed.

Four shots had taken care of the hounds, for now at least. The bones of men lay on the cold floor. A bloodied nose and a claw to his right shoulder had been the only injuries he'd suffered. He straightened his coat, which had received considerably more damage and continued forward.

Hellboy continued to walk toward a dimly lit passage. As He entered he remembered what he had been taught long ago. When walking amongst spirits, walk briskly, never stop and do not touch them; you will not be seen by the dead if you do not let on you see them.

The smell of this place was horrid, the air dry. Figures moved about, mere skeletons dressed in the remains of their rotting skin. It was when Hellboy stopped to take a look that they noticed his presence. Immediately, they began to pursue him. He lay out with the right hand of doom and destroyed each as it attacked, smashing it to pieces. He turned to see the room empty, only dust on the floor.

Hellboy's yellow eyes grew wide when the dust began to swirl upward. The dust swirled from a shapeless mass into that of a tall man. The entity lifted his face, revealing hollow eyes and an evil grin.

"Un jaha maharah anun anum rama."

Hellboy raised the Samaritan and smirked. "Hey there, John. Just thought I'd drop in and say 'Hi'."

Abe held onto the horse as it galloped, with the others, though the fields and into a woodlot. The horses stopped suddenly, flinging Abe to the ground. He coughed as he bit into the dry earth. He stood up, ready to fight his attackers. Were Roger here, rather than in Peru with Liz, this would be much easier. The riders dismounted one by one and surrounded Abe, holding him at knife-point. The riders backed of slightly at the sight, be it by moonlight, of him.

Abe dodged blows from the riders, who struck at him with knives. Tired of this charade, Abe cut through the blades of his attackers with his knife. Using the hilt, he knocked most of themunconscious. These were no ghosts; they were men. He tied them all with their horses' reins. He thenunsaddled the horses, turning all but one loose; he needed answers.

The men's eyes grew large as Abe stood over them, walking past each. Their eyes followed Abe's stare, his weapon and every fall of his feet on the soft ground. They resisted their bonds yet writhed helplessly as fish in nets.

"Why do you ride the Roman Line?"

"We will tell you nothing," spat a clean-shaven thin man "our business is with the demon."

Abe stared into the eyes of the man, whose courage was fading with every second. These men may be up to no good, but may also be having harmless fun terrorizing the locals. "A demon, you say. He and I have worked together for some time." Abe stared into the eyes of a younger boy. "He would never associate with the likes of you."

"You lie! John has led us…" A fat man scowled with anger and shouted at the boy. Were he not bound he would have attempted to pummel him.

Abe mounted the remaining horse and rode off to the cemetery, leaving the riders alone in the bush. There wasn't much time left.

That's all for now. One chapter left!