Chapter 6:

"You!" Io shouted towards Ridley.

"Me?" Ridley replied.

"You know where she went don't you!"

"Yes. Unfortunately."

"Just where the hell did you come from." Io ran up to Ridley and once again grabbed him by the collar of his coat and hoisted him in the air.

"It's a long story kid. But good thing we have cliff notes."

"What?"

"Look. Where Samantha and your other screaming friend went to is a place that is ruled by darkness. It is the central point of horror and imagination and we are all connected to it one way or another."

"What?"

"This is going to be a long day."

"But you came from there! You're going to take me there right now!"

"Listen grouchy I can't."

"Why not!?"

"Cause I don't know how to."

"What!?"

"Come on. Let's put me down and leave this place."

"No!?" Io shouted as she tossed Ridley to the ground. "She disappeared right here! We need to get her out of there."

"All in good time. Listen. We need to find a way to conjure enough magic and perform a similar ritual or find the doorway that will lead us there and unless you can see the doorway, you're not going to find it. So there."

This was the moment where Io got super frustrated that she picked up a small boulder and tossed it across the room, screaming and watching it shatter as it collided with the wall. Ridley stood there in silence.

As they walked out of the cave they were all feeling a bit down. "What the hell happened!? How could it have happened!?" Io shouted. Ridley and Nyssia were silent. Io marched back and forth. "What the hell was that thing? Why couldn't I see it? Where did it even come from!?"

"It came from the Umbral Sphere." Ridley answered.

Io stopped dead in her tracks and turned and looked at him.

"You could see it couldn't you? And you didn't do anything to stop it!?"

"Alright. Let me give you the details kid." Ridley said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a cigarette. "What you are dealing with is something that probably hasn't happened in the last five thousand years. This thing that we fought is known as a Gurgamet." Ridley paused for a brief moment to light the cigarette. "A Gurgamet is a creature that is about thirty feel tall. Has multiple arms that can stretch across fifty feet. And is made up of all of the tormented souls in the Umbral Sphere. That is what I saw come out of the crack. That is what I saw that took your friend and my sister away from us. And that is where we need to go."

"Wait…what?"

"Okay….I can understand this is a lot to comprehend for a lead head like you bu-"

Ridley's sentence was cut short as Io clobbered his jaw. Ridley stood still. Stunned, he slowly turned his head back to Io and said, "But…try to understand that we need to go into another world or rather another dimensional plain of existence." Ridley said as he took a deep breath.

"Damn kid, you sure can punch hard."

Io gave a tiny smile. That last sentence gave her confidence a little boost.

Ridley stood for a moment and looked at Nyssia. She was behind them, staying quiet.

"Not much for conversations aren't ya kid?" Ridley called out to her.

Nyssia looked up at him. There was fear in her eyes. She said nothing and put her head down.

"Tell me." Ridley whispered to Io. "Has that one always been a strange character?"

"Not until recently. She usually just stays in the back humming a tune."

"Any place you know of around here we can stay? A campsite? A base? A-"

"Holy shit! I forgot! Tannin!" Io shouted.

"Tannin?"

"Our friend. She was arrested by some jerks with guns."

"With guns?" Ridley smiled for a bit and took another drag out of his cigarette.

"Well. We shan't keep your friend waiting. Let's go!"

Io led the way, as best as she could. She didn't quite remember which direction they came from. All the trees started to look the same. Ridley trailed behind her along with Nyssia who still silent and held her head down. Suddenly Ridley stopped in his tracks. Beyond the trees just up ahead there was smoke rising. "Hey! Ya think that's a good sign?" Ridley said as he pointed out the smoke. Io and Nyssia stared at the smoke and started to run in that direction.

"Yeah. Sure. You're welcome." Ridley said as he stood for a brief moment before running after them.

Fire raged. Black smoke filled the skies all around them. The smell of rotten flesh had filled their noses. Io gaged for a bit. Nyssia looked on at the site and gave a slight grin.

"Oh what a shame. There was a party and we weren't invited." Ridley said as he kicked a piece of chard wood in the air. Sparks flew and disappeared into the air. The entire encampment was littered with bodies. Blood soiled the ground. Tents were brunt and torn to sherds. The wall that had surrounded the area had a massive hole in the center. The only thing that remained standing was the building in the center.

"Ya think we need to inform their next of kin?" Ridley said as he chuckled.

"You insensitive bastard!" Io yelled at him. "What makes you think you can just make fun of the dead like that?"

"Because I can and I will."

"I don't believe for one second you're related to Samantha. First of all you're an asshole. Second you're a giant lizard and third you're an asshole!"

"Correct on all three accounts. However, I am still related to little Sam Clam."

"Sam Clam?"

"Yeah. She collected clams when we were little. So naturally I called her Sam Clam. She didn't think it was funny but I thought it was hilarious."

"Obviously. So if you are her brother, then why are you a giant lizard when she is a human being and where have you been?"

"Well you see the reason why I am a giant lizard is because I pissed off a few gods and the reason why I disappeared was because I pissed off more gods."

"Heh. You know. I'm not surprised. Ass."

"You're a spunky little shit you know that?"

Io didn't bother to acknowledge that remark. She didn't even look at him. She just turned her head a way. Nyssia was sitting in front of a small fire, just staring at it.

"Hey lizard breath. What's wrong with her?" Io said pointing to Nyssia.

Ridley turned back and look at Nyssia who started to poke at the fire with a stick. "She's going to be fine. She just got a full blown taste of the Umbral Sphere in one sitting. Something that would put anyone in a dazed state. Give her some time." Ridley said as he placed his hands in his pockets and strolled over to the large building. Io looked back at Nyssia with a concern look on her face. Watching Ridley walk off like that made her angry. "How can someone be like that?" She whispered to herself. She walked over to Nyssia who was still poking the fire with a stick.

"Uh. Nyssia."

Nyssia didn't say a word but instead jerked her head up to look at Io. A smile slowly creep across her face. "Good stuff. Nice stuff. Warm stuff." She said and then resumed poking the fire with the stick.

"Come on." Io said as she helped Nyssia to stand up. "We got to go get your sister? Remember her?"

Nyssia's eyes trailed off for a sec and started at the ground. Then back up. She didn't say anything but instead displayed a childlike smile.

"There we go." Io said with a sigh of relief. Finally something positive. Nyssia skipped over to the large building where Ridley was at. He was fiddled with the controls on the side. Nyssia curiously looked over his shoulder. For a moment, Ridley paused and turned, only to acknowledge her presence with a slight nod and then went back to work. Io soon joined them.

"Okay Scaly. Tell me, what's this 'Umbral Sphere' thing is anyway?"

"Alright. If you are so eager to know. Imagine if you can, an entire new world. Yet this new world is similar to our world in a lot of the same aspects. But it's not quite right. It's like our world but not so. Now imagine that it is filled with literally every nightmare you ever had as a child and cram that onto the planet. Now also imagine total blackness because you can't see anything."

"Wait what?"

"Exactly. Only those who have been to the Umbral Sphere can see inside of it and those unfortunate to have the Umbral Eye imbedded in their skull as well." Ridley said as he motioned his head towards Nyssia who at that moment lost the smile that was on her face. Ridley continued his work on the control keypad, which was now fully ripped open with several colored wires hanging out. This wasn't the first time Ridley messed with a keypad lock. In fact this was similar to the ones he worked on while breaking out of prison. So it was ridiculously simple for him.

"What are you doing anyway?" Io asked

"Shhh….she's a sensitive machine." Ridley said with a grin.

Suddenly the doors opened. "Perfect." Ridley said as he motioned with his arms. "Ladies first."

"Gee you're right Ridley." Io said as she grabbed him by the collar of his coat and shoved him forward. "Ladies first."

Ridley gave a slight chuckle as he walked into the compound. Io followed after him and right behind her was Nyssia.

The air inside was musty. It felt heavy and thick. The lights that would have been on were off. But the light from inside had pierced the darkness, revealing other entrances inside. Ridley walked around for a bit before stopping and looking at Io.

"So where's this friend of yours anyway? This looks more like a prison than anything else."

"She was taken away and we were places in separate rooms." Io said.

"Prison. Got it. Any idea why she was incarcerated?"

"It was because she is a vampire I'm guessing."

Ridley stopped for a moment and blinked a few times. "So you made friends with a vampire?" He asked.

"Well….yes." Io said with stern in her voice. "Got a problem with that lizard breath?"

Ridley paused for a moment, failing to express his confusion properly he simple said, "Nah, It's good. Whatever."

Click. Click. A sound came from the far right side. It was Nyssia. She was trying to open the door. But it appeared to be lock. She soon got frustrated and started to kick the door. Ridley walked up to her.

"Stand back kid. You're gonna like this." Ridley then pulled out his revolver and blasted the lock off the door. He then procced to kick the door which swung open. "Doors are easier to open without locks ya know."

Nyssia gave him a sour look. He tipped his hat towards her. "Tell ya what." He said as he pulled out another revolver. "You can open the next one." Nyssia's eyes lit up and immediately a familiar grin ran across her face. She quickly grabbed the revolver and took off inside the compound.

"Umm…What did you just do?" Io said to Ridley as she walked through the doorway.

"Gave her a little confidence and a little fun."

"You gave a monkey a rifle!"

"Now that would be interesting to see." Ridley said as he chuckled.

A few more bangs echoed in the hallway and a sudden thud and crash. Ridley and Io hurried over to see that Nyssia had blasted a door and ran further inside the room. This one was different. It didn't feel so compact. Instead it stretch several stories high and full of prison cells. There were several dead bodies lying about the place. Some of their own faces were torn off. Blood painted the walls and the prison cells. Limbs were torn and scattered. The smell of decay was thick and heavy. Io gaged a bit while everyone else seemed fine with it. Nyssia ran along the side of the cells looking inside each one. They were all empty. Ridley started to check the bodies as well as check what was in their pockets. He found some wallets of cash, some coins and a few ID badges.

"Hey, what are you doing over there?" Io yelled.

"ID badges for you. Money is for me." Ridley said as he handed her a few ID badges.

"Anyone here!" Ridley shouted. His voice echoed all around the area and bounce back to them. Silence followed after.

"Thought you said this place was packed with people." Ridley said as he looked at a dead body and immediately kicked it. "Well you know. People who are still alive."

Io's face suddenly turned. She look preoccupied and worried. "Blu! Where are you?" She said as she walked off.

On the far end of the building laid a large metal door. This one had what looked like a bank vault mechanism on it. There was a large wheel in front and a few key codes and scanners on the side.

"You think she's in here?" Io asked

"Well. Either that or a shit ton of money. Which I'm fine with either way." Ridley said as he walked over to the door and then to the key pad.

"Can you open it?" a voice said behind them. They both turn to see Nyssia standing behind them.

"You opened the first one. Can you open this one too?" she said.

Both Io and Ridley were a bit puzzled. "I'll give it a shot kid." Ridley said as he took off his coat and hat and started to break open the keypad. "It's gonna take some time." He said as he pulled up and wooden crate box and sat on it. His tail flickered back and forth as he fumbled with the wires. Io stomped around in a fiery. Nyssia wondered off in a random direction. After a while a scream came out of nowhere. Then a few gun shots. And then afterwards some laughter.

"Where ya going!? We're just getting started!" Nyssia cried out. Just then from around the corner a nervous looking character bolts out and ran behind another corner. Following the nervous character was Nyssia with the revolver in her hand and a smile on her face. "It's a party! And everyone is invited!" She giggled to herself and chased after the nervous character who at this point was screaming something along the lines of, "Oh god! Please don't hurt me!"

More screaming and hollering came from around the corner as they both emerged from the shadows. Nyssia was dragging the man with the revolver pressed against his head. "Please don't hurt me."

"Oh don't worry. I don't make promises I can't keep." She giggled once more and continued to drag the man across the floor.

"Looky who I found. All cuddled up in the corner. All safe and sound without a soul to around. He must have been so lonely." Nyssia tossed the man in front of Io. Io proceed to grab the man and tossed him on a metal table.

"Alright bud. What happened here!?" She yelled at him. The man was all dirty. His clothes were torn. He was missing one shoe and his hair was short and smelled of oil.

"That's not how you get people to talk." Ridley said as he yanked a long thread of wire from the wall and walked over to the man on the table. "You got to persuade him. Have a little charisma." Ridley then wrapped the wire around the man's throat and started to throttle him. He dragged him off the table on the cold concrete floor.

"Now a few questions. One. What happened here? Two. How do you unlock that vault door? Three. You want to stay alive?" Ridley whispered into the man's ear. The man was struggling right now but certain noises that he made sounded like an agreement. Ridley nod and released his grip. The man struggled to breath for a bit. He coughed and took in a deep breath. "Okay! Okay! I'll tell you. We were attacked by the Umbralites. They emerged behind our defenses and killed everyone."

"Why didn't you die too?" Io questioned as she glared at him. "Seems a bit suspicious that you are the only one alive."

"Hey, the big bad wolf here gots a point." Ridley said as he pulled out his revolver. "Fourth question. You want both of those knee caps or just one?"

"Ah! I survived by hiding in the generator." He was fixated on the gun and stumbling with his words.

"So that's why he smells like….." Nyssia had something there and then paused. She then looked at Io wide eyed and took off running.

"Well she seems to have bounce back quite fast." Ridley commented. "Now do tell us. How do we open that vault door?"

"What? No, you can't?" The man said with worry and fear in his tone.

"Can't…..Can't…I don't like that word. Let's try it again." Ridley held the gun to the man's head and pulled back the hammer. The sound of the click made the man flinch.

"Ah! Alright I'll tell you. Behind the door is the most evil Umbralite of them all. She sneaked into our compound but we captured it. We've been running tests on it since then. You cannot let it out. It's the queen of all Umbralites. It will bring darkness on our land."

"Hate to tell you bud. But it looks like the darkness has won already." Io said as she folded her arms.

"No. It will get much worse. Their queen will be able to open the doors to the Umbral Sphere and let the Umbralites run loose in our world."

"Again. I think that has already happened." Io was getting very impatient. She rolled her eyes at the man.

"No! You don't understand…" A loud bang echoed through the compound as Ridley fired off a single shot in the air. The man flinched and rolled into a ball on the ground.

"Goddamn just shut up already and tell us how to open the vault." He took the barrel of the revolver and pressed it against the man's head. The heat from the barrel burned and sizzled his flesh. He let out a cry of pain. "One, Seven, Four, One Two!" The man started to cry. "That's the code! Please don't kill me!"

Ridley gave a slight chuckle as he stood up. "Don't worry. I won't kill you." And with that Ridley turned around and headed back to the vault door and entered in the password. The wheel of the door suddenly started to spin followed by the sound of air escaping and finally the door nudge itself open a little bit. Ridley grabbed the vault door by the handle and pulled it open. The room inside was small. There were six large containers filled with a strange color liquid. Each of the containers were hooked up to a small computer which were all linked to a large terminal that sat in the back of the room. For the most part it was dark except for a blue glow that came from the container at the end of the room, nearest to the terminal.

Inside the container at the far end was a skeleton. The blue glow came from the markings on the bones. The markings themselves were symbols and letters of a strange language. Ridley gazed at the symbols as well as the skeleton inside. Io soon followed into the vault after Ridley and looked upon the skeleton inside the container with curiosity. She knew that she had seen the same markings before as well as the blue glow. Then it hit her.

"Well shit. No gold here and neither is your friend." Ridley said as he slipped his hands in his pockets and bowed his head with disappointment.

"No…She's here." Io said as she stared at the skeleton.

"If that's her. Then she's certainly lost quite a bit of weight, along with everything else in her body..."

Io instantly turned around and punched Ridley in the face so hard that he stumbled back and came in contact with the terminal.

"Okay. Granted. I deserve that." Ridley said as he regained his balance. "She's dead you know."

"Not quite." Io said as she glanced around the room.

The container was surrounded with tight metal seals on the top and the bottom. Huge tubes ran from the terminal to the container. To the side was a small computer which Io ran up to the instant she saw it.

On the black screen was a single line beeping in bright green. Io tried typing in something.

Error….message command not available

Io would type faster and faster.

Error….System does not recognized input command

"You know that's not how to get her out right?" Ridley said as he watched Io get more and more frustrated with the computer.

Then came a sound that made Ridley turn his head away from the entertainment he was watching. It was the man they torturing just a minute ago. The sound was a click like sound that came from a submachine gun that he had in his hands.

"I….I cannot…I will not allow you to release it." He said while stuttering.

"How cute. The rat has a gun. You're not going to shoot me or her."

"Oh yeah...tough guy huh? And why is that?"

Ridley gave a slight chuckle to himself and started to walk towards the guy.

"Stop! I mean it!" He called out. Io stopped in fright and had already begun to back off from the computer. In a moment of panic the man fired off the submachine gun. Bullet flied everywhere. Io ran to dodge the hail of bullets. Ridley kept moving forward and did not get hit once. The submachine gun clicked. The man was paralyzed with fright as Ridley stood right next to him, giving him a slight grin.

"Because…" He said as he took the submachine gun from his hands. "You're a lousy shot." And with that being said Ridley took the submachine gun and smacked the man in the face with it. The man fell to the ground. Blood seep through his lips and touched the ground. His eyes closed for the time being.

"What the hell was that all about!?" Io screamed at Ridley as he walked back to her.

"Charisma my dear." He said as he smiled. "The tank is also leaking. Just in case you weren't aware."

Right next to Io was a small pool of liquid. It had a strange aroma to it that the floor didn't agree with and therefore decided to melt. Io quickly moved away from the sizzling mess that was now getting larger and larger. It got to a point where both Ridley and Io shifted out of the room but not before dragging the unconscious man away from an unnecessary acid bath.

It was not long before the skeleton inside the container started to bob up and down as the liquid slowly leaked out. As the acid settled Io and Ridley carefully made their way inside. The container was empty of the acid but the skeleton remained cleaned. It wasn't long before a strange fluid started to ooze from the skeleton. The ooze covered the skeleton and turn from a clear color to red. The symbols on the bones of the skeleton started to pulsate and glow brighter. As more and more red goo covered the skeleton more and more features were taking shape. The formation of the heart and then the lungs. The eyes being formed. Tiny specs of black hair sprouting. Muscle being formed around the bones and taking shape. The scene was a bit gory for Io as she turned to the side and puked. Ridley watched with fascination as the process continued. Suddenly the corpus started to move its head and with its eyes it looked around. It then let out a horrific scream. It rolled on the ground. Kicking and screaming as its skin was covering the body. Black lines swirled throughout the skin and finally settled. The blue glow finally ceased and for a brief moment there was silence. Then in a flash the body sat up. It was Ellipsis.

She starred out into the distance. She sat in the container. Confused and dazed, she started to pound on the glass. She appeared to be in a state of panic. She swung her head back and forth and started crying out in a strange language.

Ridley stared for a moment and started to laugh. "Oh, you poor thing."

"Stop laughing you ass! She's stuck in there." Io glanced over at the container, searching for a way to get her out.

"That's not why I am laughing." Ridley said as he pulled out his revolver. "Better duck!" He shouted to Ellipsis. Ellipsis's eyes opened wide with fear and ducked down as several bullet ripped through the container. She screamed out as shards of glass fell onto her. The moment she got up she was met with Ridley staring at her. She stared at him with fear. It was his smile as well as the fact that she was naked that made her uncomfortable. But that was tossed aside for a brief moment as he took his coat and threw it at her.

"Clean yourself up eh?" And with that he walked off. He stopped before leaving the vault room, turned to Io and said, "Well guess it was your friend all along."

"You asshole, you could have hurt her!"

"Ah. But I didn't" And with that he turned around and headed back outside. The only thing that Ridley heard after that made him chuckle. "Who the fuck was that?"

After some time Io emerged from the vault carrying Ellipsis who was wrapped in Ridley's coat. Ridley on the other hand had been setting up a small campsite in the compound. With random sheets and furniture he managed to make an adult pillow fort.

"Busy I see." Io said as she carried Ellipsis to a pillow cushion that was resting on the ground.

"Not much here to make anything really." Ridley said as he leaned back on a table cloth that he found in one of the break rooms. Io then spotted a bunch of sheets all rolled up in a bundle.

"Where did you find that?" Io said as she walked over and pressed her foot against it.

"That…is our mystery guest. He's been passed out ever since."

"Awesome." Io said. Io then looked at the bundle and with all of her might she kicked the bundle so hard it rolled a few feet.

"Rope is also something that's hard to find here. Apparently it was chewed on by whatever else was here."

Ellipsis sat on the pillow cushion, silent. She stared at her feet. She kept herself wrapped up in the coat.

Ridley then eyed the coat, rolled over and stood up. Ellipsis eyed Ridley as he got up and moved towards her. Frighten, she didn't move or make a sound but instead just stared.

"Pardon me miss. I have a few smokes in there I would love to get my claws on." Ridley said as he reached over inside his coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Hey…" Ellipsis said as Ridley walked off. Ridley stop in his tracks, turned around and replied, "Yeah?"

"Can I have a cigarette?"

And with that Ridley showed a small grin as he walked back over to Ellipsis and handed her a cigarette. As soon as Ellipsis's was lit Ridley turned around and was faced with Io. She was looking a bit tense. Ridley didn't say anything. He only assumed. Io took a cigarette too and sat back on the rolled up bundle of sheets, which at this point, started to make grunting sounds. A few punches on it and it suddenly stopped. Ridley took his lone cigarette, laid down on the ground, lit it up and blew a puff of smoke.

"So where do we go from here?" He said as he stared up at the ceiling and watched the smoke danced away from his face.