Chapter 7
"Alright," whispered Orlando to all of the rabbits who were under the mountain with him, "I need two of you to go out and find Auma, and I need three of you to stand watch and possibly guard the mountain from-"
"Scuse me," interrupted Tarquin, "but why are we hiding from just one thing? I'm tellin' ya now, you're acting blinkin' weird, at least more so than usual."
The usually fearsome badger did not reply.
"Hey...this is about those ancient badger legends, ain't it?!?"
"Tarquin, shut up," whispered Becky. "You'll just get us in trouble!"
"You're right."
Everybeast looked up at Orlando as he said this.
"It's true. I was able to decipher the ancient language on these walls, thanks to generations of it being handed down. I read that the Devil would one day come and cause havoc all over the world, but it did not tell me when. That was when I first came to the mountain, though. I had almost forgotten it until now. But it is important that we escape with as many of us alive as possible."
An uncomfortable silence settled upon the room. Orlando broke the silence with suggestion.
"Now, since Tarquin and Becky seem to be so confident, why don't you two go and find Auma for me?"
"Uh, well, y'see, I never really wuz a good fighter," explained Becky. She was young and inexperienced, and had no apparent talent in fighting. However, Tarquin, overconfident as he was, spoke for both of them when he accepted the mission.
"Ah, don't ya worry yer bloomin' head, ol' Becky! If anybeast comes up to fight, we just give 'em the old one-two-punch, eh wot?" As Tarquin spoke, he jabbed the air a couple of times to show off. Becky was still unsure, but Tarquin's attitude towards the situation made her feel somewhat better.
"Well, I guess so..."
"Well, then let's get our feet movin'! We ain't got all night!" Tarquin grabbed Becky's paw and tugged her out from under the mountain and to the outside of the mountain.
"Gee, Axe," said Reedpaw, "It's like you actually knew what was going to happen."
"Oh, I didn't think that it could possibly happen," replied Orlando in a sarcastic manner.
Then, the sound of a boulder being moved caught everyone's attention.
"Show yourself, everybeast," shouted Blake, "for the Devil has arrived."
"NO!!!" screamed Orlando. His heart was beating fast as he tried to decide what to do.
"All of you stay down here and try to dig your way out," shouted the badger lord.
"But what about you?" asked Hurleye.
"I'm going to face the Devil."
--------------
Blake was waiting just past the boulder for someone to come. He eventually heard heavy pawsteps from a set of stairs below. In a few minutes, a badger about twice Blake's own height emerged from the stairs and into the Main Hall.
"What business do you have here, Devil?" growled the badger.
"I simply want the Key to Liberation. If you give it to me now, I will spare you and everyone else in the mountain."
"I have no Key of Liverating or whatever you call it. Leave NOW!!!"
"Hmm...No, I don't think I will."
With that, Blake pulled out a handgun he had hidden in his shirt.
"What is that thing?"
"I'll just show you how it works."
He pulled the trigger and delivered a single shot to the badger's shoulder.
"Now, maybe you are unaware of the object. I will give you one more chance to live. Let me search the mountain, and when I'm done I will leave.
"Really?"
"You have my word."
The badger, clad in golden war armor and wielding a sword nearly equal to his massive size, snorted angrily.
"What good is the word of the Devil?"
"My word is unbreakable, because the Devil is simply a part of me. He does not make up who I really am, but he still lives within me. He has made my life a living hell, and my emotions are held back by him. That is why I must have the Key to Liberation."
"Give me proof."
"You want proof? You REALLY want the proof?"
"Yes, because I don't believe you."
"Fine then..."
Slowly, Blake unwrapped the bandage that surrounded his head. His hair was black with a major red tint, and his left eye was a greenish-blue.
However, his right eye was not there at all.
Instead, the right eye was replaced by what looked like pulsing, circular muscle with a very small hole in the middle. Occasionally, the hole would twitch around along with the muscle, as if it was an eye.
But it wasn't.
Orlando felt sick to the point of fainting when he looked at Blake's disgusting face. He could hardly keep himself from vomiting all over his carpet. He wobbled a few steps forward and then backwards because of the sickening image.
"You see now, don't you? This is what the Devil has done to me. This is why nobody will look me in the eyes."
--------------
Tarquin and Becky had stumbled and tripped all the way down the mountain because of Tarquin's recklessness. Tarquin landed flat on his back. Becky had a deep cut in her footpaw that was obtained from an awkwardly jagged rock on the way down. She got up, muttering a few curses to herself, and then started to chew out Tarquin.
Verbally, of course.
"You liddle twerp!" screamed Becky. "How dare you?!? How DARE you just run us off some cliff, you blinkin' idiot!"
But Tarquin did not budge.