Chapter 8: Personal Demons

She sat in an alleyway of some backwater dimension that she had happened to stumble upon, a large bottle of some clear drink in a glass bottle, her back to the wall as her left knee was upwards and her right leg sticking straight out.

Layla took a swig of the bottle, her coughing and choking at the sudden burn that stung her throat. She did it a few more times, forcing herself to drink it, the corners of her vision blurring. Her stomach burned as the liquid sat in the pit of her stomach, the only thing that she had consumed that day, her heading starting to spin as she felt nauseous.

Alcohol.

Layla had never had a drop of alcohol in her life, not after seeing the way her father would be piss drunk and took out his ager on whatever was available, which many times included herself. However, her sleep was haunted by Magum's presence, although he cannot read her mind in any way, the way he talked to her, touched her, abused her haunted her nightmares as she bolted awake in cold sweat.

She wanted to forget.

Layla tried to take another swig of the bottle, her groaning in disappointment that the bottle was empty. She threw the glass bottle to the wall across from her, it shattering like her innocence. It made her vomit thinking that she had let him do that to her, something that was supposed to be sacred, and she gave it away like it was nothing. It sickened her, but alas there was nothing she could do to change it.

So, she had to move forward.

Although… her way of "Moving Forward" was not very healthy.

Layla stood up drunkenly, her body swaying as she tried to grip the wall for support. A step forward and she practically collapsed onto the ground, but she shook her head and held her ground. She needed more, she could still recognize what was happening, she wanted to black out and be oblivious to everything.

The raven-haired woman stumbled out of the alleyway, greeted by others that were in a similar situation to her. They all stumbled about, wandering into the streets and almost getting hit by some kind of vehicle. Layla's problem was that she didn't have any money, but it didn't stop her from getting what she needed, or in this case wanted. Normally she would pickpocket for some money, but most of the time she stole in shops and stuffed them into her long trench coat that she enjoyed having.

So she stumbled into a shop that sold alcohol, drunks at the counter trying to pay with barely any money to cover the tab. With that kind of distraction the patrons that were in the back of the store began stealing and waltzed right out, leaving the poor shopkeeper stressed and robbed. Layla had snagged a few more bottles of alcohol for herself, some being different kinds than others, trying to give herself variety.

During her travels, she had found natural portals that would lead her to different dimensions, something she had discovered before but now applied a lot more. Sometimes her thoughts go back to that portal that was shot from the gun that the figure had that had saved her. Who was it? Was it her father or someone else? It had to have been her father, what other human would be in a different dimension?

Layla walked out of the shop with her new alcohol, ready to find a place to sleep for the night. It had been a few months since escaping Magum, and she had a feeling that he was searching for her, ready to punish her for leaving. But she had grown more street smart, and was able to hide quite flawlessly. She had acquired herself a scarf and a pair of goggles to cover her face, she also wore a trench coat that didn't cling to her body so she wouldn't be recognized as a female.

Finally, she had found the alcove that she had slept in the previous night. She never understood how the alcoves were made, but she knew that her father had done them, she made a few herself but it was easier to find one. What she could tell was that it was a false wall on some but on others it was like a hologram to see outside but not inside. The ones with the false walls were much warmer than the hologram ones, and she could tell the ones that were the hologram ones got occupied by other residents of the dimension, seeing that they were usually a mess.

Layla had found the one with a false wall, her collapsing into the pitiful pile of thing blankets and flat pillows. She was tired and drunk, but she popped open another bottle and began drinking. Her vision blurred more and more, her head spinning, she barely even remembered what she was doing and where she was. Once the bottle was fully drunk at an alarming rate, she passed out, the glass rolling of her hand and hitting the ground with a loud crash as glass shattered.

The amount of alcohol was apparently not enough. Her dreams were still haunted by his hands touching her body, forcing her into the acts that she wished to not do. His dark laugh echoed in her mind, that wolf-like smile…

"Hello there, little one, what is your name?" The scene was the living room of her home, a little girl sitting in the couch with her black hair tied in side ponytails. The girl had given the dark blonde male oddly, the eyes a soulless white.

"Daddy… you know who I am…" the little girl had responded, fright in her voice.

"Ah, you are Dr. Bartek's daughter… Layla, is it?" the man remarked.

"Daddy… you're scaring me…"

Layla bolted awake, her head pounding painfully in her head as her stomach churned, forcing her to vomit to an empty space next to her.

Slowly she was remembering her from when she was younger, just like Magum had said. Layla had been drugged so many times growing up that many things were forcibly blocked out so she wouldn't remember. And who knew that her first meeting with Magum she felt uneasy and frightened. Her father was a vessel for Magum at one point, which sickened Layla ever more.

Layla had to keep moving, her gathering what little items she did have and continue on her way. The more she moved the more she knew that Magum couldn't find her, her only advantage was that he could not read her mind. She wondered if it had something to do with the metal plate placed in her head, if her father used some different material to the one that Magum had implanted in his followers to amplify his powers.

At that point she didn't care, all she wanted to do was forget and keep moving.

Along the way to another portal that she knew would open Layla stole a few more bottles of alcohol, plus a few food items so she could actually eat something to vomit. Layla went into an alleyway and saw the small portal open, her running to it, she had stayed in that dimension for far too long; she had to move forward.

` Layla went through the portal expertly, her used to the odd sensation of being pulled in every direction. Once on the other side of the portal she saw that she was in a beach-like setting, the water a sparkling purple. The only problem was the air… she couldn't breathe.

Her hands went to her throat, her feeling as if she was suffocating. That was the problem of not knowing what dimension you are going to, you don't know if it was a place that a human could actually survive. Layla tried to move forward, but she ended up collapsing, her body already from lack of oxygen.

"Help…" she managed to choke out before she passed out.

Layla woke up something soft, a thick blanket over her, but what caught her by surprise was that there was a mask over her nose and mouth, her breathing normally.

She looked around to see that she was in some kind of cave, small fires around the cavern to illuminate a small form of light. Shadows danced on the walls from the flames, the space feeling alive. The raven-haired woman moved her head side to side to see if she could find her savior.

She sat up, seeing that the mask cord lead to a small machine that hummed slightly. It looked as though it was converting the air into something she could breathe to survive. Finally, she saw that something moved by a fire, casting a large shadow on the stone walls. Her hands tightened into fists, ready to fight if necessary.

What appeared before her was the hooded figure that was from Bill's pyramid.

Layla's heart pounds in her chest, seeing that partially the scarf was removed and it too was wearing an oxygen mask. She stood up, her going into a defensive position. The figure made no move, it standing there with no action to fight or defend.

"Who are you?" she called out, her voice sounding distorted from the mask. "Why are you helping me?"

All the figure did was tap the side of its head.

"You better tell me who the hell you are or-!"

The figure pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment and slowly walked up to her. It extended a hand, trying to give her the parchment. Gingery, she took it and unrolled it, seeing that it was some kind of guide to the natural portals. There was also a name written in the corner with a small message: Contact Kerum.

"Are… are you this 'Kerum' person?" Layla sked gently. The figure shook its head "no". "Then… who are you?" Again the figure shook its head. It then went into the pocket of its trench coat and pulled out a small device, it looking like a small black box. The figure then pointed at her face mask and then at the humming machine. "That's… a portable one?" she asked, trying to get a definite answer. There was a nod. She took it gingerly and observed the item, intrigued that it could potentially save her life at some point. "Thank you…" she told the figure. "So… where do I find this 'Kerum'?"

The figure then handed her another rolled up piece of parchment. Layla unrolled it and saw that it was another map with various bars from different dimensions. She guessed that those would all be places that Kerum would be in, so that was her next stop to find a portal that lead to one of these places.

When she looked up from the map, the figure was simply gone. Layla still had no idea who it was and why it was helping her. She got up from her resting spot and removed the mask from the machine. Immediately she felt that she was suffocating, so she quickly attached the mask to the portal one.

"Time to move."

It was the fifth bar that she had traveled to, and of course she was piss drunk, her nearly falling over from her chair as she ordered drink after drink.

Where ever she went they still served her, not particularly caring that she was already drunk. She took whatever alcohol was available, taking shots and downing pints. It honestly was making her sick to her stomach, but of course she wanted to forget her past with Magum, so she continued to force it.

Finally, there was a tap on her shoulder, her drunkenly turning to see a large being that was covered in a thick black cloak, the hood over its head. It was much larger than the figure, so she knew it wasn't it. The large being removed its hood, reveling that it was a large rat-looking being, with yellow fangs and black fur and beady red eyes. The appearance shocked Layla so much that she jumped, spilling her current drink all over herself.

The creature spoke in an odd language, but she only recognized one word, "Bartek".

"I'm… I'm his d-d-d-daughter… L-L-Layla…" she sputtered, her words slurred and heavy with alcohol. "A-a-are you, K-K-Kerum?" she then asked, her asking for another drink by raising a hand, another glass soon appearing in front of her. The monster then moved the drink away. "HEY!" It then grabbed her and dragged her out of the bar, her shouting, but no one paid her no mind.

Once they were outside and in an alleyway, the monster spewed another list of words, her hearing the word "Kerum". She nodded, understanding that the creature pinning her to the wall was indeed the contact that the figure told her to meet. He then handed her a small gray device, it having a screen and a few buttons. He then also handed her a piece of paper, a list written in English for her gather that oddly looked like familiar handwriting, which included many documents and plans.

"What's this…?"

"Bill… Cipher."

"What about him!?" Layla spat, her suddenly angry, her body feeling hot. If it were for him… then her father wouldn't have made deals with demons… she wouldn't have sold herself to Magum. "Do you speak English or not!?" The alcohol was affecting her anger, it amplifying.

"Very… few…" Kerum stated. "Since… your… last…" he then struggled to find the word he wanted. "…encounter with… Magum, Bill Cipher… had taken over the main dimension… this… one."

Layla's electric blue eyes widened. "What… do you mean?" she asked in a shocked whisper. Kerum then waved a cloaked hand like he was trying to express that he didn't know the words to explain to her. "Oh… okay, sorry…"

"Read… ciphers…?" he then asked.

"Ciphers…?" Layla echoed. She then nodded. "Yes… I know a few from being around… M…" she didn't even want to say his name. Kerum nodded and wrote down a few instructions and passed it along to Layla. She began to decode it slowly, her realizing that it was a list of books for her to read to learn various languages in the multiverse. She growled to herself, annoyed that it had to be required of her so she had better contact with Kerum. He then wrote another cipher for her to decode, it reading that they would to meet in that same bar in one month. "Okay, we will meet in one month…" she agreed, her taking another swig of alcohol.

A month came and went, getting more and more information from Kerum, her learning the languages of the multiverse.

During that time she had gotten drunk constantly. Her feeling as if she was going to bed and then waking up still drunk. It really bothered hear that she would black out but when she woke up she would still remember everything about Magum. Some days when she didn't drink, but she ended up getting tremors from being addicted and would get chug down a few bottles to satisfy herself.

Her eyes had a constant glaze on them, as is though she wasn't fully there. Her black hair looked pretty dull, as if there weren't enough nutrients to it. If she had been extremely pale before now she looked like a translucent grey, as if she were sick. Sometimes she barely had the energy to leave one of the alcoves or a warehouse she happened to be staying in, instead just sleeping and drinking.

One night while she went to meet with Kerum, she stumbled down the streets, her right hand gripped around a liquor bottle and her left gripped around a book filled with different languages and scrap pieces of paper from her practicing.

"Hey, there's one!" she heard someone call out in a now familiar language. Layla rolled her eyes drunkenly and kept walking, her going into an alleyway. "Hey, girly!" another one called out. She ignored it. Suddenly, there was grip on her shoulder and then was spun around, facing a patron that looked as though they were a burned rat. The first one that spoke to her then bared yellow teeth, it took looking like some kind of burned rodent, "Hey, when we call to ya, ya stop? Got it?"

"I don't give a flying shit damn…" Layla muttered drunkenly, her trying to push them away.

"Oi, she's drunk!" the second one laughed happily. "We can probably really daze her and take her to the-!" He was then punched in its snout, the bottle of liquor shattering as the monster screamed in pain as glass cut into its fragile looking skin.

She growled menacingly, "I am not going anywhere!"

The one that had grabbed her before tried to take a swing at her, but despite being drunk she dodged it. She quickly, and clumsily, took out her gun that she had received from Kerum. She aimed it at the monster and without a second thought pulled the trigger. A dark purple substance escaped the monster, it splattering to the floor as the body collapsed. The one she had punched then grabbed a knife and went after Layla. She didn't notice the glint until it was too late as was stabbed through her left shoulder.

Layla screamed in pain, but she managed to kick the monster away from her. She grabbed the knife from her shoulder and threw it to the ground, it clattering. She raised her gun again, seeing the monster put both hands up in surrender, but she didn't care. Layla pulled the trigger and watched as that body collapsed as well.

Her drunken haze lifted slightly, her seeing the murdered bodies before her. She stifles a scream, dropping her gun and book as she raised both hands to her mouth. Tears stung her eyes as they fell down her cheeks and she began sobbing.

I killed them…!

She had never killed anyone before. Layla a few times had beaten people to a pulp so she could escape, but never had she ever had the intention of killing someone.

They were going to take me! She tried reasoning with herself. They were going to take me to God knows where…! Maybe back to him!

But no matter how much she tried to reason with herself, the fact was that she had killed them in cold blood. She didn't give a second thought when her finger was on the trigger, she just did it. And now she sat the alleyway with her back to the wall, her crying as she saw the lifeless bodies before her.

She noticed the shattered glass from her alcohol. Slowly, she crawled over there and looked through the glass, trying to see if there was just any drop left. She froze.

"What… am I doing!?" she shouted as she threw a piece of glass away from her. Was she really that desperate? But then again… maybe if she hadn't been drunk she wouldn't have killed those monsters… well, they weren't monsters. They were just patrons of this dimension. She was the monster. "I… I need to stop… no to cut down…" she whispered to herself. "I can't wander around drunk… that's dangerous… I'm dangerous…"

She got up from the ground, her fingers getting cut from the glass, and picked up her book. With a heavy sigh as the tears began to dry she began to walk out the alleyway.

All she had was herself and the personal demons in her mind.

A/N: In "Beyond the Portal" she had said she wanted to forget and that's why she drinks. Now we all know why!

Thanks for reading as always!

~Skye Hendersen~