Alright, everybody! I'm back from Taiwan, and boy am I tired! But I brought y'all a gift back: the next chapter to this story! So please enjoy it!
chyp: I try to throw in a surprise for y'all every now and then. Think of it as changing it up for the regular customers…
Matthew kept his eyes closed until he felt completely alone. He slowly opened one eye to confirm his location. While his eyes were closed, he could only describe this place as an excessively hot and humid room that felt more like a torture chamber than a medical facility. Upon opening his eyes, he knew that his feelings had been confirmed. From his vantage point, lying flat on his back on a large table, he could only feel a bright glow somewhere behind his head. He turned to position himself differently, but discovered that he couldn't move. Chains looped tightly around his body, rendering him immobile.
He struggled a little but he quickly shut his eyes and lay still as the doorknob opened once again and a demon entered the room, carrying a small key. Matthew pursed his lips and held his breath as the demon decided to prod his stomach a few more times before scribbling down some notes on a piece of paper.
"Xernevod will never believe that one of the Complete is dead," the demon said to himself, scratching away on the paper. "Let's see…cause of death? I think Cave…In. ID number? OIMC4SW2. Date? Time?"
The demon continued to fill in the form with all the details it required. The estimated time of death, the date, who was at the scene, witnesses. The demon wondered why so much information had to be recorded, but as long as he got to do his favorite part of the process, he didn't care. He loved the 'ex-collaration,' as it was called. It involved removing the collar from the dead body. Although it sounded routine, it played a much more important role. The collars were never supposed to be taken off of a witch unless that witch was dead. If the witch was dead, then the Order had no need for him or her, and could thus dispose of them however they chose.
A whole section of the medical quarters had been built for this purpose. Known as the special wing, the building contained a series of rooms, all designed differently, but each with a common purpose: to dispose of a body. No one knew exactly how many rooms existed for this reason, but every method imaginable seemed to have been thought of, as there was a different room for any means of disposal.
"Finally finished," the demon commented. "It's been fun, witch, but time to say goodbye."
The demon inserted the key into a small slit on Matthew's collar and it unfastened with a hardly noticeable click. He flipped a lever up and Matthew suddenly found himself moving. Sweat began trickling down his face as the heat intensified. He knew that it was now or never. Opening one of his eyes, he saw the demon grinning close by. He gathered his courage and swiftly swept one of his legs around. It effortlessly moved through the chains as if they never existed at all and struck the demon in the side, propelling him into a wall. He jumped through the chains off the table and punched the demon in the face with his left hand before following up with his right. Taken by surprise, the demon instinctively reached for his remote control and forcefully mashed a large red button, but nothing happened. Matthew gestured at the collar that now lay on a small table and smiled, stretching his neck and cracking his knuckles.
"Big mistake," he warned the demon.
"That's what you think," the demon responded.
The demon shot his hand forward and a large green ball of crackling energy zoomed through the air in Matthew's general direction. With a wink, Matthew's body became slightly transparent and the attack passed harmlessly through him. The demon, now panicking, threw energy ball after energy ball at Matthew, but each one was as futile as the first as Matthew slowly crept toward the demon. He kicked the remote out of the demon's hands and delivered a punch to his stomach that caused him to double over. With a final powerful right hook to the face, Matthew knocked out his opponent. He panted heavily, but smiled from the thrill of victory.
He looked around, looking for a way to dispose of the body. He found that he had been placed on a conveyor belt that led into a furnace, but he wanted more of a climactic end for this particular demon. He took the collar on the table and secured it around the dazed demon's neck. Picking up the remote, he pressed the large red button that he had seen the demon press before. Jolts began traveling through the demon's body, forcing him back to consciousness. Matthew took a step back as the prolonged effects of the collar caused the demon to involuntarily jerk more and more violently. After a few minutes of jerking, the demon finally succumbed to the power of the collar and collapsed to the ground, dead. Matthew heaved the body onto the conveyor belt, but not before taking his clothes off and disguising himself as one of the Order. He winced as he wore the dead demon's clothes.
"This is gross," he said to himself as he pulled the green cap over his head and calmly walked out the room.
