Page 7 of Hadagery

  Chapter 7: Tale of the Hereafter.

  Harrowing screams inundated the town. The high pitch screams bounced within the confines of the strange dome, like being trapped inside a church bell, ringing on and on. Hidden just beneath the alarming screams boded an unsettling sound. A heckling click, clicking far and wide. This was a dreadful sound Hadge remembered so chillingly well.

  Straight off Hadge looked towards the dome, convinced the offensive sounds had to come from there. Sure enough just beyond the perimeter of the sphere the land crept restlessly in the darkness, as the light eerily reflected off the millions of eyes hungrily staring into the town. It was hideous spiders, spiders everywhere, all striving to get inside. Thwarted merely by the invisible shield charged over the town. A network of vine-like spires linked the strange dome, each metallic spire towering above the town, strategically located along the borders of Nowhere.

  The deafening screams grew louder, uncannily centering from directly within the walls of Nowhere. Uwee looked confused, “Spiders aren’t even in the town…” Hadge was on the same wavelength as the grubb, wondering, “Why are they already screaming?”

  Suddenly the source of the horrific screams burst into sight, as nine humans terrifyingly fled through the streets. Zaya shouted, “There!” Uwee leaning in closer to the glass, asking, “Where?” The reason they were running wasn’t at first made clear, until dark appendages surged from the exit they had just escaped, and countless spiders began to pour from every crack and crevice of that building. Hadge knew they were no longer safe in the town, as he nervously faltered, “Oh shit…” He had a hunch that building has an underground outlet, which led directly outside.

  Soon both the doors and windows collapsed under the purging weight of the beasts, spiders all fighting to crawl over each other to catch the quarry first. The humans were no match for the eating death machines, four strides to every one. One by one they battled over a victim, and dragged them away.

  Zaya apprehensively turned from the window. Hadge believing the sight was too much to stomach. Oddly she fixedly stared behind them, towards the shadowy corners within the building, and fearfully shouted, “All the cellars are joined!” Hadge instantly knew that comment meant they were all in immediate danger.

  He hadn’t even turned all the way around, as spiders burst through the basement door, and the devilish creatures crept into the drugstore where they stood. The spiders moved with lightning speed, crossing the distance of the room, straight towards the three meal tickets. Uwee howling, “Waaahhhhhhhhhh!”

  The lead spider lunged at Hadge, nonetheless he never flinched or moved. His expression seething with rage, as his humanity seemed to unhinge from his entire being, glowering boldly at the beasts before him, whilst a low rumbling voice exited his body, “Don’t even try.” Hadge hoisted the two oversized water guns in his hands, like the dangerous stance of the Hadginator, sporting for blood.

  He growled as his fingers pulled the trigger, and the unwavering bloody concoction soaked the spiders. Each began to shriek out in crippling pain, twisted and twitching among the shelves. Zaya tensely screeched, “They keep coming!” Uwee begged, pulling on Hadges arm, “Please…we have find a place to hide!” Hadge nodded in correspondence. He looked out among the chaos, however wasn’t too sure there was a place to hide. In fact the whole town could be overran with spider within ten minutes.

  “Nooooooo!” A girl screamed from out in the street. One of the spiders had her entangled amid its sticky webbing, dragging her over the rocky asphalt, and she fought desperately to cling to anything with one free hand.

  Hadge unflinchingly ran outside, darting between the spider and its victim, cutting the web that bound the girl to the beast. Instantly the spider turned on him. Hadge shot the hideous beast in the eyes, and the monster shrieked loud enough the dome vibrated. He backed away watching the spider convulse, and crumpled to the ground. Spiders of all sizes began to cannibalize the fallen beast, some dieing at the mere touch of the bloody water. Then another spider went for the childlike girl, and another. As fast as the hideous spiders appeared he’d carefully dispatched them with the concoction. He could see Zaya free the girl from the corner of his eye, yelling at them, “Run!”

  They ran as fast as they could, catching up to several other frantic humans. Hadge urging them all, “Run!” Hadge and another male took up the rear, feeling the spiders hot on their heels. Each step the spiders made pounded the very ground, as the waves of vibrations seemed to grow harder, and intensely more frequent.

  They were being herded backwards through the streets, nowhere looked too safe, and soon they would have no place left to run. Uwee slapped Hadge on the shoulder, shouting inanely, “Let me shoot the water guns now!” Hadge could hardly believe the grubb had said that at a time like this, a matter of life or death, not a game. As he brutally bellowed, “Shut up!” He hadn’t the time or patience for such stupidity.

  Suddenly a web shot passed Hadges head, hitting a parked car. Then another web shot between him and the tall male, striking a nearby building. He knew eventually the beasts would get lucky and hit its target, yet he was at a loss to know what to do at this time, praying an idea would swiftly come to mind.

  A strand of webbing barely cleared Uwee, yet caught onto Zaya’s extended hand. “Nooooooooooo!” She was screaming. Hadge quickly leapt forth, and cut the web before the spider had a chance to pull her down. In the same passing moments another web had shot forth, connecting to the male’s foot running beside him. Instantly the male flew face first into the asphalt, with blood and skin ripping from his face, even as the spider attempted to drag the victim away. Hadge simultaneously soaked the spider and cut the web, urging the disoriented male to keep running, “Runnnnnnn!”

  North, south, east, and west, spiders blocked every direction they ran. Bit-by-bit they were forced to the middle of town. A graveyard of spiders eerily twitched around them, yet still more spiders kept arriving. Pushing the small group to the center of Bigfoot Park. Someone screamed, “We’re trapped!” Hadge was sure they didn’t realize just how critical the situation really was, his ammunition depleted next to nothing, and once it was gone they didn’t have a snowballs chance in Hell.

  Uwee shouting just out of sight “Don’t touch the shadows!” Hadge hopelessly shook the water guns, convinced they were doomed to failure, as he uttered, “I’m almost out.” His brain conceding, “How could we have really expected to survive against so many spiders?” Zaya screamed wildly, “There’s too many!” Then another voice shouted, “What are we going to do?” Uwee urgently tapped Hadges shoulder, howling, “There’s one!” Another voice shrieked elsewhere, “There’s one!” Hadge crossly barked, “Dammit, they have us surrounded!” His mind miffing the reality, “People, they are everywhere…”

  In all the confusion the minute warrior was spun completely around, seeing that Hadge’s dieing words fell horribly short, “This is all the water…” Then another voice yelled, “There’s one!” Hadge mechanically turning back and forth, shooting the beasts, as the pinkish stream from the water gun pointlessly struck the stone foot in the park. Uwee instantly complaining, “I could have done better than that.” Hadge glowered at the grubb one last time before his attention returned to the continually advancing spiders, gravely knowing the end would be soon.

  A spider leapt hard and heavy upon Hadge, knocking him ruthlessly to the ground. Hadge wriggled away just before its deadly fangs struck the ground, exactly where he had lain.

  From where he now stood he could see that spiders had cornered everyone, each person crying out. He was helpless to help anyone, even himself. His vision erratically moving from face to face, halting on the plaque beneath the stone foot, strangely certain it would be last thing he would ever see. In that brief moment he’d seen his own name etched on the plaque, quite surprised it was there. Nonetheless through this impending death no questions mattered any longer.

  All at once the Mountain underneath the
m began to shake, literally crumbling the support that upheld their foothold in the town of Unknown. The tall vine spires fell one by one, shrouding the town into a blanket of darkness. Then the big foot tipped precariously from its perch, with the terrified spiders rushing up the Mountain towards safety, their bound victims in tow.

  Hadge could see Uwee several feet away, having just enough time to latch onto his arm, as a spider was dragging him away. He screamed his name, “Uweeeeee!” The grubb was wide eyed, and his mouth gratefully bound in webs.

  Unexpectedly the brittle town fall apart below them, the very Mountain grew towards the night sky, as boulders broke off and fell into the crater below.

  Hadge and Uwee merely clung to this moving mass by a spider’s thread that held them. He realized the Mountain was more than rock and stone, it was actually a colossal troll, and sure the blood had awakened it. Hadge exclaimed, “Oh my Yahveh!” It all made sense, the pattern of evidence assembled in his head, “All the breathing in the caves, the odd hand near the fairy’s home, the denture orifice in Novena, the bubbling greenish waste had to be its stomach trying to digest them, and the big foot in the park.”

  “What a fool I am.” He thought, “I should have guessed.” He was certain the watered blood awakened it, but he couldn’t be sure how it was still alive. Hadge reasoned over the matter, “Maybe its size or thickness of skin kept it alive.” Then the last factor fell into place, the book had been in the trolls hand at one time, as if he were its guardian.

  The Mountain troll let out a deep graveled howl, clumsily grabbing handfuls of spiders, and shoving them like peanuts in his mouth. It snatched another handful from the ground, and another from its web-covered chest. The troll’s hand moved dangerously close to Hadge and Uwee, who still swung by a thread behind an alarmed spider.

  The spider darted from one side to the other, avoiding the troll’s awkwardly oversized hand. Hadge quite certain he needed to cut that connecting web soon, or it would be the death of them both. The troll took another swipe at his chest, this time catching the spider that was their only lifeline, as it was thrust into the massive chomping orifice, with the attaching web flossing through a gap between the trolls rock like teeth.

  Hadge and Uwee were gradually being towed towards the troll’s mouth, by that single strand of webbing. Hadge frantically tried to cling to the porous basalt surface of the troll, nonetheless it was futile to squander the energy, as the giant round face of the oaf increasingly dragged them closer. The troll looked around mindlessly from its two deep set black beady eyes, while its wide chomping cheeks ousted fine rocks and dirt as it chewed, with the stench of its breath becoming insufferably overpowering.

  All of a sudden it began to stomp its giant feet, squashing the spiders below. That forceful vibration snapped their lifeline, reeling them uncontrollably into a web on its shoulder. Clumsily the troll dusted that shoulder, and they fell free to a long strand of web hanging from its lower arm. The troll swayed its arms back and forth, as it continued to capture more spiders. Hadge knew they couldn’t possibly survive this ordeal much longer; they would have to escape soon, as his unsteady eyesight scanned the surroundings.

  Quickly he hatched a ridiculously dangerous plan, knowing there could be a chance they might not survive the fall, but either way death was knocking at their door.

  Hadge shouted at Uwee as he fearlessly pulled out his dagger, freeing the grubbs arms and legs, “Be ready!” The troll swung its arm forward to capture more spiders, as its arm cleared what was left of the town of Unknown, swinging towards the tapered incline of dark dead pines.

  The pinnacle of that moment Hadge cut the only thing that secured them to the troll, feeling the uncontrollable sense of falling. However they were falling away from the evils they were facing. The screams of Zaya and the others were frayed away by the intense sound of wind wrapping their malleable bodies, with their life and death in the hands of fate.

  The gnarled branches of the pines assaulted them over and over again, cracking under the weight of their bodies, as they descended down towards the mountain decline. The ground was coming up fast.

  They hit the cold hard ground with a thud, cushioned by a layer of dead branches and pine needles. Each rolled perilously headlong down a steep hillside, bouncing off trees, and every sharp object along the way, until they halted agonizingly at the bottom of a ravine.

  Hadge discovered he could do nothing but cringe in utter pain, as the simple movement of his eyelids had brought tears to his eyes. He was convinced he’d shielded Uwee from the brunt of the landing, because the grubb was already upright, and walking around.

  The crisp cold ground crunched with every step Uwee made, which made Hadge extremely nervous. He had no idea what kinds of creatures could be lurking about, nor did he have the strength to even help. Uwee climbed along the straggled roots of the ravine, at last reaching the top, sounding breathlessly excited, “That’s what Zaya was talking about.” Exclaiming down into the fissure where Hadge still lain, “It’s Hells Gate!”

  Hadge at once twisted to a near stand, and just as quickly doubled over in intense throbbing pain. The sounds of his own distress couldn’t help but escape, “Ahhhhhh...” His entire body was covered in scratches and bruises, and obscured in blood. He had no idea if the blood was even his own, however feared he may be severely injured. Hadge struggled to examine his battered body, ruefully uttering, “I’ll be there in a minute.” Nevertheless his mind thought otherwise, “Maybe more than a minute, perhaps hours, possibly days.”

  Hadge started to worry some of the blood may be from the book, but knew it couldn’t possibly be, the book was safely tucked in his backpack. Then he recalled how the book healed his shoulder and hands, entreating that it would do the same thing this time. He stiffly sat down once more, which wasn’t far from his crooked position. Then removed the strange book from his backpack, wondering what secrets were hidden deep inside, and not sure he will ever find out. Hadge made a small incision in the books scarred tender flesh, and rubbed the healing blood on his wounds, wiping any excess on the ground. He studied as it miraculously started to heal, and the pains subside.

  Oddly he noticed letters involuntarily being scrawled into the cover of the book, as blood pooled around each letter, spelling the only other word he could read. “HELP.” He had remembered that particular word because of an emergency kit his father had left him, and he could only stop and stare, incapable of understanding what or why this was happening.

  “HADGE!” Someone yelled. “HADGE!” Uwee was yelling right in his ear. Hadge crossly snapped, “What the heck are you doing?” Uwee blasted back, giving him a cheesy grin, “You were ignoring me!” The grubb was holding the two bright yellow water guns in his hands, which he’d thought had been lost throughout the chaos, probably still containing some remnants of blood inside. Hadge uneasily rumbled, “Give me those.” Then roughly jerked the water guns from Uwee’s grasp, fearing the blood may come in contact with his skin. Hadge growled, “Don’t you know they could be dangerous!” Uwee fussed, “Hey!” Hadge couldn’t risk anyone’s safety, although killing the annoying grubb had come to mind once or twice, but no matter how infuriating he may be, killing him wasn’t his intentions.

  Uwee took a step forward, as if he was going to reach for the water guns, and Hadge brashly snapped, “You stupid grubb!” Uwee whined, “Those are my guns…” Hadge tried to get up, still feeling worse for wears, snippily responding to the grubbs earlier complaint, “And no I wasn’t ignoring you!” Uwee glared from under his brows, retorting dryly, “Oh, I see Old Man.” Then he turned to flop idly on the ground, and pout. Hadge held his irritated breath, wondering, “Why me Yahveh?” Then he glanced back at the breathing flesh of the book, seeing that the letters had healed over by that time, and they had vanished.

  Without warning water pelted the side of Hadge’s head, glancing up just in time to see the ill-behaved guilty party, Uwee. Uwee’s lips still puckered like a fish,
nonetheless yammered, “My guns…” Hadge angrily bellowed, “Why you little shit!” He pounced upon the mischievous nitwit, threatening to shove the grubb into a puddle. Uwee claiming, “It wasn’t me. I swear.” Hadge hissed back, “Who else could it be!”

  They wrestled amid the pines, a fairly even match, grunting and groaning, until the tussle landed them both into a nearby ice-cold puddle. Both were gasping from the temperature of the water. Uwee shivering aloud, “That’s cold!” Hadge was thinking the same thing.

  Thereupon unexplained noises drifted eerily from high above the ravine, dubiously out of sight. Uwee frantically panting, “Spiders…” Hadge instantly covering the grubbs mouth, suppressing his urge to speak, “Shhhhhhhhh…” The sodden duo rigidly sat in the freezing water, daring not to even breathe. Hadge could barely make out footsteps, so he didn’t believe it could be spiders, but his best guess would be reavers. He had to find out who or what was up there, as he slowly arose from the puddle, and roguishly in the process pushed Uwee deeper into the water, while holding a finger to his hushing lips, “Shhhhhhhhh.”

  Hadge scurried to the hillside, cautiously climbing the ragged slope, through dead roots and weeds, not sure what he may find at the top, nonetheless he would use the landscape to remain unseen.

  Darkened figures appeared upon the bleary horizon of the road, steadily approaching the ravine that he now hid. Yet the identity of the beings remained shrouded and indistinct. Hadge restlessly hearing the lull of nightfall all around him, as the ebb and flow of his own heartbeat stifled all else, and fear froze him in place. The figures rippled in the shadows, as the cadence of footsteps signaled the thereabouts. At last the beings had moved unbearably close at hand, and the twilight traced the contours of their hideous frozen faces. His heart pounding with the knowledge reavers were on the road.

  It looked like two or three dozen of the hideous demons, some covered in blood. He sadly knew the blood could not be the reavers own, as he tensely shifted deeper within the root-infested ravine. The reavers were no more than a few feet from him now, as an odd semblance of hushed voices migrated from the terrifying pack, and he knew reavers didn’t speak.

  Hadge took a closer look at the horde of monsters, as humans were walking among them. Humans of all shapes, sizes, and colors, apparently from all over Elysium. It was a death march, as each crying human was plainly aware, after all no one ever returned once taken by reavers. Hadge wanted so badly to help them, but there were too many reavers. It would be folly to attack the reavers, too much to risk. Because he sadly knew the only chance anyone had was that damn unreadable book. His conscious reminding him, “The book must be read.”

  He could do nothing but watch them ultimately fade into the stealthy darkness at the end of the road, hearing a young girls curious departing voice, “Do monsters live in Hells Gate?”

  In fact he would like to know the answer to that question, as he sinfully thought what might be laying in wait for him. Hadge theorizing the answer to be a loud yes, yes there are monsters in Hells gate, seeing that monsters lived everywhere on Elysium.

  Hells Gate loomed forebodingly before him, ghoulishly resting within a barrage of wickedly dark forests. The bizarre structure imprisoned beyond the swirling gothic gates of an old cast iron fence, as the rusted bars had turned an eerie a blood red. Two large gargoyle-like statues fortified each side of the gate, nearly as tall as the fence. Through the bloody bars a macabre of headstones beset the ground, homage to a decaying past.

  Hadge couldn’t help but wonder, “What kind of place is this?” It was impressionably more threatening than he had ever thought, as layer upon layers of inky darkness could hide almost anything. He found the mystery quite intimidating, but he had no choice, it was the only way he could find someone to read the book.

  Hadges head queerly began to buzz, as bewildering images of this vile place flickered in his head, images from another space and time. He could hear the soft ring of Carrissa’s voice sounding unusually serious, “Hells Gate is home to the sheol. A demon straight from the very depths of Hell.” He could sense an unseen chill upon his own lips, uttering loosely, “How inviting.” Then looked upon the ominous gate, firm about one issue, “The water guns will be locked and loaded before I set foot in there.”

  Hadge hurried back to gather his things, as Carrissa’s haunting voice rang in his ears, “Home of the sheol…Sheol…” He couldn’t help but think that sheol sounded quite familiar, as he desperately tried to remember.

  His train of thought was interrupted by Uwee’s dark stare. The grubb was still covered in a thick layer of mud and soot. Hadge informed the angry grubb, “Get ready. We have to keep moving.” Uwee never moved an inch, and from where the grubb sat you would hardly believe he was even human, all covered in muck.

  The muck having a pareidolia effect, swirling into strange patterns over the body, as the dark images of faces glared back. Hadge looked away from the dark ominous images, reminded so much of the sheol, just as the meaning of the word became perfectly clear, place of the dead.

  Hadge went about filling his guns, as Uwee continued to stare at him, almost to the point of having a hole bored straight through his body. Then he safely tucked the book in his pack, half expecting the grubb to have moved by now, yet still Uwee had not budged from his spot. Hadge impatiently gesturing his hands at the grubb, stiffly asking, “Well, Are you coming?” Uwee silently arose looking sour faced, he was most certainly mad.

  Hadge chuckled, heading back towards Hells Gate. He found the whole thing humorous, rather peaceful, and in fact the first real peace and quiet he had in a long time.

  They scaled up the ravine in no time, halting at the side of the road. The mountainous road was obscured by several intersecting mountains, as strange shadows stretched in all directions. Even so the path seemed clear of reavers, clear enough to cross the road.

  Hell’s gate loomed before them, as unwelcoming as a pit full of poisonous snakes. The hellish place sharply jutted out of the side of the mountain, as the chunk of land barely clung to the steep cliff, which drastically dropped off into a blackened canyon. Everywhere the dead pines followed the rugged contours of the land, as the tips of the trees prickled to great numbers within the deeper parts of the canyon. Hadge was sure that had to be the lost woods, but the severity of the countryside didn’t provide him with much hope of ever reaching it.

  Suddenly Hadge’s sight refocused on the fence bordering this side of the mountain road, which was covered in barbed wire fence, as if it were some kind of prison barricade. He had to wonder, “Is that to keep people in, or keep people out?” His thoughts attained that it didn’t matter in the end, because that’s where he intended to go.

  The sinister gateway arose almost seven times their height, as the patterns of the iron bars were nearly as big as they were, and he realized the random patterns were actually swirls of fiery symmetry. Hadge hesitantly touched the ruddy bars, as the ice cold metal stung his damp skin, and he half expected something to happen. Even as he felt the eyes of the two outlying gargoyles upon him, as their massive claws held the gate upright, and seemed to challenge anyone to enter the hellish place.

  Uwee impatiently sputtering from behind, “Well…”

  Hadge eyed the annoying grubb, very nearly nettling a response, but in the end determined it wasn’t worth the trouble. He concentrated his full attention back to the gateway; warily trying to open the gate, yet quickly was met with resistance. The rusted metal screeched like an owl in the night, echoing across the canyon. Hadge without delay came to a standstill. Uwee adversely glanced at Hadge, rumbling, “Calling all monsters.” Hadge disregarded the childish grubb, and prayed nothing had heard, nonetheless he didn’t know how they could not.

  Hadge carefully peered through the small crack in the door, which was barely big enough to fit his head. Everything was obscured in darkness, as the tall pines had overshadowed the whole place, blocking any illumination from the stars. He could sc
arcely make out a peculiar stone structure set square in the heart of this morbid site, topped by a steeple, with the outlying grounds surrounded by intricate headstones.

  Uwee anxiously whispering, “What do you see?” Hadge hissed, “Shhhhhhhh…” Then his eyes fell to the odd paved road, which seemed to circle the building. In fact the pavement covered the majority of the ground, as mysterious elongated awnings lined the outermost portions of each side, and below those awnings you could see next to nothing. Hadge feared what might be hiding in the blackness, as a little voice shouted in his head, “Reavers were on the road! They could still be hiding in here!”

  Distantly he could hear Uwee exclaiming, “Graveyard!” Hadge would agree it had a necropolis feel, but somehow had a sense it was much more than that, as he nonsensically responded, “No.” He was quite baffled by this response, finding his memories as vague as the truth.

  Eerily the dark shifted among the grave markers, something was here, and Zaya’s warning words labored its way back into his mind, “Don’t look into the monsters eyes in Hells Gate.” Nonetheless this was the way into the lost woods, and they weren’t turning around now, besides there was no place left to go back to. Hadge decided they would just have to wing it, a basic plan they’ve followed thus far.

  Hadge squeezed through the door, finding it hard to believe he had actually made it through, whispering to the grubb, “Keep up.”

  He made a beeline for a series of thickets that had grown along the fencerow, following the coppice completely around the unusual structure, with Uwee hot on his heels. The dead dark limbs of the bushes didn’t seem to give, gouging and stabbing every painful inch.

  Then the undergrowth came to an abrupt halt, his foot suspended in mid air, and all he could do is yowl, “Whoaaaaaaaa…” Uwee pulled him back to safety, asking, “What’s going on?” There was a dark gaping hole all along the rest of the fencerow, as roots and dirt had been removed from the empty space. Hadge answered, “I don’t know.” He nervously scanned the graveyard, and oddly there were holes everywhere, as if anticipation of new arrivals. Uwee whined, “I don’t like this place.” Hadge could honestly say, “I don’t either.”

  The darkened figure had now lumbered to the entrance, and it was plain to see the creature was three sizes too big to fit through the gap. However it wasn’t looking to escape, rather searching for the source of the noises. Hadge anxiously knew they had to keep moving, as he darted towards the obscurity of an awning, sure the blackness would keep them concealed.

  His security was short lived, as the obscure had become abundantly clear, and dozens of dark figures had them surrounded. Uwee took a nervous step backwards, bumping into one of the creatures. He instantly spun around, looking the thing directly in the eyes, and started to scream, “Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”

  Suddenly the creatures blood shot eyes began to glow, and its arms terrifyingly spread wide. Uwee instantly struck at the beast before him, howling, “Its hard as a rock!” Then the creature started to move its sharp teeth, as it strangely spoke in a woman’s voice, “Churl welcomes you to Hells Gate. Home of the sheol.” At once a menu of food items appeared on the monsters lighted torso, and it didn’t seem so fearsome anymore.

  Hadge burst out in laughter, on the very verge of tears, as Uwee’s eye were still two sizes larger than normal. Uwee was quite flustered, striking out at the man dying of laughter, protesting, “Its not funny.” Hadge begged to differ; it was hilarious, as he chortled, “Your eyes!” It all made sense to him now, this wasn’t even a real graveyard, but rather an eating-establishment.

  Then the shuffle of footsteps silenced everything, and he remembered they were not alone. Hadge wiped the tears from his eyes, whispering, “We have to keep moving.” Uwee glared back but never said a word. Hadge was convinced anything Uwee had to say right now might have to be censored, so he was thankful for his tight lip.

  They carefully trudged onward, avoiding all the strange talking monsters. The far end of Hells gate quickly came into view, and there was nothing but wide-open space through the bars and trees ahead of them. It seriously looked as if this place barely clung to the edge of a cliff, one wrong move and you would be smashed on the rocks below.

  Hadge nervously began to wonder, “Is this really the way to the lost woods?” He truly had no way of knowing if they could reach the lost woods from here, or where they needed to go, recalling Zaya’s exact words, “In the lost woods, beyond Hells Gate. It is rumored that Elders roam the lands.” Hadge tensely whispered to Uwee, “Keep an eye out for a way down this mountain.” Uwee made a sound of acknowledgement, but from where they stood now things didn’t look so hopeful.

  In that instance a loud crash echoed from the rear section of Hells gate. Uwee at once asking, “What was that?” Hadge spotted a warped piece of metal rocking on the ground near a dumpster, which matched the section of lid still in place, as if it had fallen from the top. He was certain it wasn’t the creature behind them; it didn’t seem to move that fast, but had to consider one arresting fact, “Why after all this time did it decide to fall now?”

  That’s when he observed an eerie fading illumination several feet from the dumpster, which lighted the lower section of the fence, revealing several bars bent significantly out of shape, and then the light was gone. Uwee uttered, “A light…” Hadge quickly detected something stirring out of the corner of his eye, a shadow just behind the stone building, dangerously close to where they were heading. Uwee eagerly bolted ahead, yelling, “I see an opening in the fence!” Hadge anxiously trying to snatch the grubbs arm, muttering, “No… wait…” It was much too late.

  The shadow stepped out in the open, standing between them and the hole in the fence. Uwee had abruptly halted mere feet from the monster, looking quite surprised.

  It was a tall hideous skeletal sort of creature, with black leathery skin covered in tiny armored claws. The skin of the creature expanded and contracted in an odd sort of way, which was partly due to the countless faces imbedded into the flesh, as every face looked twisted and terrified. The devilish creature cocked its horned and scab covered skull towards Uwee, as if it could see from its empty eye sockets, or hear from the elliptical holes on each side of its head.

  Uwee cried out, “Hadge!” Hadge angrily shouted at the demon, “Leave him alone!” The creature didn’t seem to notice anyone other than Uwee, as it intensely growled through its razor sharp teeth. Hadge couldn’t use the gun with Uwee so close to the beast, as he pelted the demon with small chunks of asphalt from the roadway, yelling at the grubb, “Run!”

  The dark creature reared back on its bizarre human-like clawed feet, with its big toe separated all the way to the ankle, screeching loudly. Uwee collapsed in fear before the monster, protectively covering his head, as the beast loomed over him, and sobbed, “I can’t…” Even as the monsters three clawed fingers readied to strike, and its strange wingless limbs extended from its backside, folding ominously towards its prey. Hadge had to do something now, shrieking, “Noooooooooooooo!”

  Hadge amazingly ran the distance between them, as he forcefully knocked Uwee several feet away, making sure he was clear of the attack. Yelling after him, “Run!” The demons bony limbs slammed into the asphalt on either side of him with ease, and its sharp teeth headed straight for his face. Hadge was sure the beast wanted to suck out his soul, as he pulled the triggers, and soaked the Demon with the pinkish fluid. Terrifyingly the fight didn’t go as planned, as the creature never faltered from the ensuing attack.

  Hadge promptly dropped the guns, as he rolled off to one side, and grabbed the dagger from his belt, stabbing the demon beneath the chin. The creature slashed at his arm, as he dove between its legs to escape, and hacked at its ankles from behind. The demon shrieked, as it fell awkwardly face first into the road, breaking the two bony limbs as it fell.

  Hadge defiantly stood over the nearly unstoppable creature, having an uncanny sense he’d seen this creature before, and not the caricatures
from the menu board, but an actual Sheol from Hell. Hadge vehemently roared, “Die demon!” Then he hacked the monster apart, piece-by-piece. The appendages fell into an unusual heap of miscellaneous bones, teeth and animal hides, and ceased to move. Some of the parts appeared to have been sewn together, devoid of any real life giving blood, and its innards was nothing more than sawdust. It was in essence a life-size puppet. Uwee huffed, “Its not even real.” Hadge was rather perplexed, wondering, “How on Elysium did it move?”

  Oddly the ordeal evoked Carrissa’s misplaced conversation, “Its just a hoax.” Hadge mumbled, “A hoax...” He was sure the memories are why the thing seemed so familiar. Hoax or not, the thing was animated into life, and he could think of only one way an inanimate object could come to life, the book from his nightmare, “The edge of darkness.” He realized that if you believed in the book, there had to be a Heaven, and a Hell. All of a sudden a chilling thought crossed the threshold of his mind, “What if there are more of these sheols?”

  Hadge nervously gathered his things, seizing Uwee’s arm, pulling him away from the sheol, urging, “We should keep moving.” The grubb tried to withdraw his arm, complaining, “I can walk.”

  At that moment one of the menu’s lit up, and started to speak. Hadge uneasily searched the darkness, finding nothing was there, as his mind ran amuck, “Something had to make it light up…”

  He gripped Uwee’s arm tighter, stressing, “We need to go.” Hadge pulled Uwee towards the contorted bars, which looked as if something large and heavy at one time tried to drive straight through it.

  Uwee growled, “Get off me.” Breaking free from Hadges grip, irritably kicking the battered lid across the icy pavement, as the clamor of metal struck the dumpster, and echoed throughout the canyon. Hadge uneasily looked about, snapping at the grubb, “Can you make anymore noise?” Uwee gave him a mischievous look, almost as if to say, yes I can. Hadge angrily shot, “Don’t you dare.” He threatened, “I’ll tie you up, and leave you in that waste bin.”

  Hadge could hear rats squeaking from inside the bin, and knew Uwee could hear it too. Uwee recoiled from the container, and responded grudgingly, “No thanks.” Then he darted to the gap in the fence, asking, “What if there is no way down?” Hadge turned his attention to the fence, giving him the only definitive answer, “Then we go back to the road.” Uwee motioned, “After you.”

  Hadge cautiously advanced to the opening, seeing a mass of dead foliage on the other side. Alarmingly the shrubbery screened the fence line, making all light scarce, and near impenetrable. Chillingly he had seen light near the fence earlier, but how, as the question sorely picked at his brain, “Where did the light come from?”

  Then a more important mission came to mind. He had to find someone to read the book, and therefore no matter what could be beyond the fence, he had to try.

  Hadge warily stuck his head through the gap in the bars, spreading the overgrowth apart, quite fearful of what could be on the other side. Everything opened up to a grand canyon, branching off in a triad of directions, as a blanket of ice and snow helped to reflect the light from the stars. It was perfectly clear; the only thing dangerous was the mountain itself.

  Hadge breathed a sigh of relief, and climbed out onto the jutting ledge. He discovered an unusual slippery slope imparting from where he stood, as if it had been man made. However the slope was littered with countless dead pines, fallen logs, and rocks. He was ecstatic to find a way into the lost woods from here, as he clamored back to Uwee, “Its all clear!”

  Hadge’s foot slid on the icy surface, realizing it would be much too treacherous to walk. Uwee complaining, “You gotta be kidding me.” Hadge leveled a restrained stare at him, stating, “The road home is blocked, down is the only way left.” The memory of all the spiders, shadows, and mountain troll bore heavily on his mind. Hadge knew there would be no possible survival for humankind if they give up now, down was the only option, but finding a way to get safely down the slope was the problem.

  Almost immediately he started to search in his backpack for anything they could use, candle thingy’s, book, herbs, waste samples, but nothing useful. Hadge feebly grumbled, exhaling in exasperation, “Nothing.” Uwee wanted to know, “What are you looking for?” Hadge responded lightly, “I don’t know…”

  Then his eyes heedlessly rolled back to the fence, glimpsing the bent lid through the branches, and a wild notion popped into his head, “We can slide down the hill.” He scurried back through the bars to retrieve his prize. Uwee snippily inquiring, “What are you doing?” Hadge countered, “You’ll see.” Shoving the lid through the bars, and encumbering branches. Uwee looked utterly baffled as he grabbed the end, asking, “How’s this going to help?” Hadge climbed back through, taking the metal lid and flopped it on the ground, declaring secretively, “You’ll see.”

  All at once he had the hesitant notion his idea may not work, as he looked down the steep mountainside. Nevertheless he had seen pictures.

  Hadge climbed aboard the distorted metal, ordering, “Get on!” Uwee uneasily arguing, “But why?” Hadge growled, “Just shut up and get on.” Uwee reluctantly did as he was told, settling behind Hadge. Hadge yelled back, “Hang on tight!” Uwee did as he was told.

  Then Hadge leaned forward, and the makeshift sled lurched insecurely into motion, while the occupants held on for dear life. Uwee screamed right from the get go, but screamed louder as objects quickly approached, “There’s a tree!” Hadge tilted the lid narrowly enough to miss the tree. “A rock!” Uwee urgently slapped Hadges back. Hadge was already guiding them around the rock, yelling back, “I can see!” Each ensuing object became more and more difficult to maneuver, as the debris increasingly grew more substantial, and hidden by the shadows of darkness.

  Eerily that strange inky darkness seeped from a large chasm off to the left-hand side, as fingers of that darkness crept up the base of the slope, obscuring the obstacles ahead. “Watch out!” Uwee still yelling halfway down, “Log!” Hadge was now reasonably peeved, barking, “I can see it!”

  Out of nowhere a wraithlike illumination bathed a single pine tree. Hadge promptly noticed the light, but at the speed and distance they were traveling, he simply hadn’t the time to take a closer look. The tree fell directly in their path, and they could do nothing to avoid it.

  The crash that followed happened in the blink of an eye, bending the metal lid to an ungodly shape, and plowing them into the rocky snow covered terrain, nearly nine feet away. The momentums kept them in motion, as they continued to slide ruthlessly down the remainder of the hill. Along the way they managed to find every hard and sharp object on the slope.

  At last they were at the darkened base of the slope a little worse for wear. Uwee on all fours growling, “That was a bright idea…” Hadge snapped, as he crippled to his feet, “Ahhh..Shut up!”

  Hadge searched the slope for the mysterious glow, but it was gone. Uwee joined him asking, “Is something up there?” Hadge babbled incoherently, “I thought I…” Then jerked his head the opposite direction, changing his tune, “No, no..Nothing.” Uwee made a noise of disgust, and walked off, “Hmmph…” Hadge had lied to the grubb, in all truth he had an uncanny feeling that something was not right about these woods, something he couldn’t put his finger on as of yet. He fixated on the soft sound of frozen grass shifting from the dark chasm, followed by something slithering through the deadened foliage to his right, but nothing was there, just an excerpt into the minds of madness. Uwee impatiently asking, “Where to?”

  Hadge firmly turned from the sounds of the woods, which seemed to generate from the inky black of the chasm, a place he intended to avoid, as he replied, “Lets go this way.” He walked away from the dark half of the woods, ever mindful of the slithering sound tempestuously following their every move. Uwee didn’t seem to notice at all, as he gaily trounced along. They trudged about a mile through the dense woods, Uwee breathing heavily.

  Hadge found it relatively odd
that no creatures inhabited this place, frighteningly similar to the spider on the mountain. However he had found no signs of spider webs anywhere, so he didn’t believe the spider were in the woods, or else they would have attacked by now. He contemplated, “No…” His mind deep at work, “Its something else.” A foreshadowing thought, “Something that the spider must fear.”

  A short time later Uwee began to whine, “I’m tired.” Hadge refused to stop, it was simply too dangerous, “No we need to keep moving.” Uwee embellished his wearisome state, slumping his shoulders, dragging his feet, and gasping for air, “I’m sooo…tired…” Hadge reluctantly ceded to the grubbs complaints, saying, “Ok, ok, but only for a minute or so.”

  Favorably this neck of the woods was gamboled in chanterelles. A buttercup shaped mushroom, which filled the air with their sweet fruity aroma, the chicken of the woods. Hadges herb knowledge is quit extensive, knowing chanterelles have potent insecticide properties, which could possibly deter the spiders from this area. Uwee interjected his pondering, “Can I sit down for a while?” Hadge tensely listened for any sounds, however the woods remained in a stagnant silence. So he believed what harm could a few minutes do, and yielded to the query, “I don’t see why not.”

  Uwee flopped onto a rotten log, as it crumbled beneath his weight, and settled into a comfortable position. Hadge was still too rattled to rest, uneasily assessing their surroundings, during which he asked the grubb, “Do you feel better?” Uwee indulgently countered, “Ohhh, yea…”

  Oddly a glow reflected off the grubbs blonde head, a glow too bright to be from the stars. Hadge attempted to locate the source, stopping at an illuminated tree. Quickly he started in the direction of the light, just as a handful of chanterelles surprisingly fell to his feet, and he knew someone or something had to be out there. In that brief moment he had glanced at the mushrooms, the light had vanished, and he was left incredibly confused, “What is gong on?”

  Uwee wasted no time reaching for the mushrooms, as he shoved every last one in his mouth, chewing loudly. Hadge was drawn to the offensive sound, and all he could do is utter, “Wow, you really are going to eat yourself to death.” Uwee grinned with his mouth packed full of mushrooms, as bits and pieces fell out the sides.

  Suddenly Uwee’s eyes enlarged, focusing on a point beyond the Hadge. Then he frantically tried to yell, spitting and sputtering bits of mushrooms, while his arms motioned behind you.

  It was much too late, as a dark creature slithered up behind Hadge, and swallowed him whole, leaving only the water guns to prove he’d even been there. Then two more of the massive snaky creatures appeared, however they weren’t snakes, but rather vines that destructively whipped about. Uwee was terrified to move, seeing the outline of his friend inside one of those beasts. Eerily Hadge’s shape could be seen stretching and inching through the beast’s bodies, as if it were digesting him alive. Strangely the creatures seemed somehow connected, rooted somewhere off in the dark chasm, as their chameleon like scales blended easily to its environment.

  Uwee knew he had to do something now, or Hadge might die. He spotted the bright yellow water guns on the ground. Then quickly dove for the guns, as all the vines descended upon him. The tips of the vines marked in such a way that it resembled a face, each face wildly splitting apart revealing the ominous cavity inside, surely intending him to be the next victim.

  Uwee scarcely had enough time to roll to his back, and pull the trigger on the water guns, screaming, “Noooooooooo!” The bloody solution soaked the vines, as the excess dripped down upon Uwee’s trembling body, praying Hadge would still be alive.

  Almost at once the vines fell to the ground, and a rebounding shriek came from the inky chasm, eerily shrieking on and on throughout the canyon.

  Suddenly Hadge felt the muscles of the creature relax, as he wriggled desperately inside, screaming, “Get me out!” He knew he couldn’t survive much longer without air; he had to get out now. Hadge retrieved the dagger from his waist, slicing open the beast, sensing his body involuntarily be dragged along.

  He spilled out of the creature among the chanterelles, guts and all. The hideous debilitating smell of death and decay clung to him, like the slimy trail of a slug, to the point of being nauseous. Even in his state of illness he was immediately worried about the grubb, sure that he’d been eaten too, breathlessly trying to yell, “U..u…wee!” Then for the first time he’d seen the vine-like creatures, realizing they were all dead. They were lying in a heap near the log where Uwee had been sitting. He couldn’t help but wonder, “What could have killed them?”

  Hadge stumbled to his feet, seeing the tip of one of the water guns beneath the creatures, and straight away he knew what happened. “Noooo…” He begged to be wrong, “Uwee…please…no…” Overwrought he had the strength of a hundred men, throwing the massive deadly vines aside, as if they were nothing. Beneath it all Uwee lain lifelessly on the cold hard ground, still clutching the water guns. He had saved him from the creatures.

  Hadge despairingly knelt down to touch his friend’s hands. They were still moist from the bloody solution, he was dead, but a hero nonetheless. Hadge was distraught, crying out, “Uweeeeeeeeee!” He pulled the grubbs body in his arms, rocking him back and forth, hysterically screaming, “NOOOoooooo!!!” Ultimately grief-stricken, but he had the answer to a question he never really wanted to know, the blood was poisonous to all living things, except him.

  Hadge still grief stricken barely noticed the transient light, which spirited through the woods, and it was gone once more. He had an uncanny feeling that something would soon occur, because each time that light appeared all hell seemed to break loose. Eerily the wind picked up stirring dead leaves through the grass, and a chill up his backside. Hadge listened carefully to the sighing breeze; almost certain there was an undertone of sounds lurking just beyond his depth of perception.

  Without warning a handful of chanterelles landed several feet away, a mocking repeat of the prior incident. Instantly he turned to look for the light, however it was gone, as ambiguous as its identity. Although Hadge contemplated that the light had to be human of some sort, as it seemed to have a thought process. Human or not, in the end the only thing that mattered was, “Why are they doing this?” Regardless he knew the sinister vines would soon enough return.

  Hadge was unclear to the role the mushrooms played in each occurrence, did it have some properties that drew the vines, or simply the resounding thump attracted the beasts. Whatever the reasons he had to inspect the dastardly things closer. He reached for the mushrooms noticing his hand was oddly warm, even as the mushrooms started to grow. The mushrooms grew nearly three times its original size, until they exploded into a cloud of dust. He was promptly bewildered, shouting out loud, “What the heck was that!” There was something seriously wrong with those mushrooms.

  Winds abruptly shifted, augmenting an undertone of noise, which seemed to carry from the dark part of the woods. A slithering sound, most certainly the vine-like creatures, and it was impossible to tell how far away the beasts might be. Hadge hadn’t the time to waste, could be minutes, and it could even be seconds. But he had to get moving.

  Swiftly he gathered all his belongings, flinging Uwee over his shoulder, and off he went. Hadge hurried through the woods trying to keep ahead of the creeping sounds. In all truth, he had no idea where he was running to, but he had to flee. Soon the nightmarish sounds faded somewhere behind him, yet he dared not stop running, until he couldn’t run no more. Steadily the dense darkness seemed to ease, getting lighter as he walked, and the snake-like sounds had dissipated. Hadge began to feel relieved, however not out of danger.

  Slowly he trudged onward beyond the diminishing chanterelles, through the silence of the dense dead woods. Trees groaned as he pushed past, while grass and twigs snapped beneath his feet, otherwise not one living thing dwelled here. Hadge truly believed you could lose your sanity in a place like this, if you were here long enough.

&nb
sp; Then he heard a twig snap behind him, someone else had to be here. Promptly he turned towards the noise, merely to find nothing was there, and he had to trust it was an echo of his own making. Thereupon the wind sobbed lightly about him, almost human, growing louder the further he moved. In the distance he could see a pale light, possibly the same light he had been following all along. The sounds were distinctively clear, mournful wails, someone was crying.

  Hadge pursued the cries, knowing full well it could be friend or foe. Freakishly the light spread, reflecting off the ground and trees. He was sure to catch it this time, however worried that the mysterious light had assailed others in the woods, and he had no way of knowing what the attacker might do.

  Then he stepped through a patch of saplings, the light growing brighter, until the source of the light was quite evident. It was the opaque image of an old woman; she was dressed in a hospital gown, and sat on a tree stump crying. He was wary of what this ghostly creature might do; however it never once heeded his presence. Hadge tried to get its attention, “Hello.” He asked, “Are you ok?” He moved close enough to touch it, not sure how this distraught woman could even be the attacker.

  All at once a voice resounded from behind him, “She can’t hear you.” Hadge gasped warily trailing the voice, positive the unidentified person could understand, as he started to ask, “Why is tha..?” He was rather shocked to see a ghostly figure of a man standing several feet away, tall, thin, but a vague likeness, which was so unlike the woman’s. Hadge took a few encircling steps around the being, quite unsure what to think. The strange figure had a glow that permeated through a nebulous gray matter, its features lost somewhere beneath, nearly as if it were otherworldly. Curiously Hadge inquired, partially because he wanted to know if the figure was capable of real comprehension, “Why is she crying?”

  The ghostly form glided towards the woman, he seemed rather emotionally detached, as he answered, “Because.” He declared, as a matter of fact, “She died here.” Then just as quickly as he appeared, he stepped through a thick layer of shrubs, and departed into the woods.

  “Hey!” Hadge was yelling. Then he chased after the ghostly man, “Wait!” Bellowing, “Wait!” Hadge stopped breathlessly in the middle of the woods, realizing it was too late that the figure had vanished. Suddenly the insight into Zaya’s words came to light, “The Elders in the lost woods were nothing but ghosts.” Astonished that he had to find a ghost to read that damnable book, a book that has brought him nothing but heartache.

  He patted Uwee on the back breathlessly dismayed, “Ah, Uweeee.” Then he continued his search for the Elders of the lost woods, sifting through the trees. Finally the trees grew sparingly, opening up to a meadow, scattered with buildings, and ghosts were everywhere. In that brief moment he felt a glimmer of hope.

  Out of the darkness a creepy image of a wild shaggy old man leapt before him, dressed in a filthy hospital gown. The ghostly old man jumped like a frog, its raspy voice laughing wildly, saying, “None shall pass, none shall pass.” Hadge instinctively had pulled out the dagger from his belt, before he realized the ghost was harmless. Then the man hopped away, still muttering, “None shall pass…”

  Hadge continued onward, wondering, “What kind of place was this?” He couldn’t believe how crazy the ghosts were acting. At that moment a ghost of a young woman drifted past, her neck abnormally stretched in a crooked fashion. She stared vacantly ahead, with her tongue hanging to one side, seeming to avoid all trees. Hadge thinking of the book asked the woman, “Can you help me?” The woman never said a word, aimlessly drifting away. He daftly answered himself, “But of course not.” It was stupid of him to even ask after seeing her empty stare. Hadge kept walking; hopefully he would find someone here who could read the book.

  Then a small weather worn church came into sight, as its steeple leaned to one side, held in place by a few buckling boards. It appeared to have been a small community, as houses were scattered widely around the church, among other buildings of various sizes. Roads intersected the township, as vehicles were abandoned in the street, and still others had been wrecked. Even so the entire area was covered in ash. Intra the horizon of stars loomed an immense gothic structure, a stony fortress ribbed in roped columns, nine stories high. The façade of the building was decorated in garish faces, and enclosed by an abundance of trees. Hadge shivered at the sight of the overwhelming building, wondering what it could have been.

  Abruptly a ghostly image of a man aimlessly wandered through the trees, clothed in bluish scrubs. Horrifyingly his eyes were gone. Hadge spoke in hope of a response, “Excuse me.” The image stopped, the man inquired, “Who’s there?” It was obvious the man wouldn’t be able to read anything, but maybe he could help him find someone who could, as he replied, “Hadge.” Then announced, “I need someone to help me.” The man looked agitated, “Its not safe to be here.” Hadge curiously asked, “Why is that?” The man listened around before answering, “The sanitarium housed many crazed people.” He breathed apprehensively, “Patients turned on patients, until everyone was murdered. Some still try to kill the living, just for the fun of it.”

  Suddenly memories replayed in his head, the tree falling on the slope, the handfuls of chanterelles that nearly killed him, and in fact killed the grubbiest friend anyone could ever have. The man’s tale explained it all; a ghost was trying to kill them. Sadly Hadge glanced at Uwee, and thought, “They succeeded.” However Hadge had come here for a reason, he needed someone to read the book, and after all his sacrifice nothing would stand in his way now. Hadge asked, “Do you know someone who can read?” The ghostly man was apparently tense as he answered, “There’s only one who can read here.” He warned, “But how far can you trust the insane?” Hadge wasn’t sure what the man had meant, but regardless of the danger, he had to know where this individual was, “Where can I find them?” The ghost eerily said, “Trust me, he’s been following you all along.”

  Then the man hurried back towards the massive building, almost as if he were afraid. Hadge didn’t know how he would find this so called insane man now. The ghosts disturbing words still ringing in his ears, “He’s been following you all along.” Shaken he glanced in every direction, discovering merely mindless apparitions drifting along.

  All of a sudden a crisp breeze whispered in his ear, “Don’t believe everything you hear.” Hadge gasped, feeling the color drain from his face. Quickly he twisted to find it was oddly the same tall ghost he had spoke to from the woods, and questioned if this was the insane man the ghost had been talking about. The gray man charily asked, “Did I frighten you?” Hadge sensed something different about this individual, something he didn’t like, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He dryly responded, “There are more frightening things than ghosts.” The gray man was rather interested, “Oh really?” Hadge hadn’t the desire to enlighten the ghostly man, instead retrieved the book from his backpack, saying, “I’ve only come here for someone to read this book.”

  Unexpectedly the gray man was fleetingly taken aback. He looked from the book to Hadge, and Hadge back to the book, as if he knew something the others did not. The mans composure quickly returned, yet his offering a trifle insincere, “I can help.” Then coarsely asked, “But I’m curious why you don’t read it?” The gray man intensely searching Hadge’s face, as if to scrutinize that monumental answer. Hadge simply said, “I can’t read.” The man made a disgusted noise, “Hmmph.” Then tartly stated, “Such a quandary your in young man...” Afterwards he added loftily, “By the way my names Churl.” Hadge had a nagging sense that he knew this vile man, but how could he. In the end he was uncertain if he should answer truthfully, or not, however a lie would be unjust, and straightforwardly said, “Hadge.”

  The mans expression reflected a moment of cold calculation, and just as quickly returned to business, saying, “Well young Hadge I don’t do anything for nothing.” Hadge scoffed, “You’re a ghost. What in the world could you possibly need?” Chu
rl looked incensed, “Freedom.” He stated, as his hands wildly gestured around them, “Freedom from this place.” The gray man was oddly focusing on Uwee’s lifeless body, offering his condolences, “Such a pity about your friend.” Hadge couldn’t tell if that was an honest attempt at compassion, or Churl had some alternative motivation, but either way he had grown angered and weary of this exchange, “What do you want?” Churl had a sly smile, simulating the sound of deep thought, “Hmm.”

  Several moments past, and he boldly announced, “In the dark corner of the woods is a crematorium. A terrible beast killed me there. Now my bones lay in unrest, and my soul torn asunder.” He paced about Hadge like a nervous animal, trying to inspect the expression of his foe, as he continued, “I need you to bring them to me.” Hadge was confused, “Them?” He questioned, “I get the idea of bringing you bones, but how can I bring you a soul?” Churl laughed, saying, “A soul is much different than what you think, and besides you are the only man alive for this job.”

  Hadge felt suspiciously alarmed, asking, “Why can’t you?” The man laughed once more, passing a feeble hand through Hadge’s chest, “I’m dead.” Then repeated an earlier statement, “You’re the only man alive.” Hadge reluctantly agreed, sure something was amiss, “Ok. I’ll do it.”

  Churl looked towards the woods saying, “I think he belongs to you.” Hadge followed his line of sight, shocked to see Uwee’s ghostly image stumble from the woods. Uwee cried out, “Hadge?” Hadge turned back to the gray man, however he had vanished. Uwee moved closer, whining, “Why did you leave me?” Hadge replied sadly, pointing at Uwee’s body over his shoulder, “I didn’t.”

  Hadge looked back to the empty spot the gray man had been, worried this task could be more than he could handle. First thing that came to mind was the vine-like creature out there waiting, could that be why Churl can’t go, could he be afraid. Uwee’s overbearing voice interrupted his thoughts, “Hadge!” He grumbled, “I’ve been talking to you for several minutes, and you still haven’t answered.” Hadge heard his voice, but none of the words, saying, “I’m sorry.” He asked, “What were you saying?” Uwee irritably huffed, “This can’t be happening…” Thereon he rambled without end.

  Hadge walked away from the grubb, swearing he talked more now than ever before. He had more important things to worry about, like where is the dark corner. His best guess would be the inky chasm near the slope to Hell’s gate, surely that had to be it, and any number of things could be hiding in its deep dark depth.

  Suddenly a chill crawled up his spine, at the thought of the plant-like creatures, almost certain they were one of the many things hiding in that forbidden corner. He had to be ready. So the water guns needed to be refilled, and finding water was his first objective.

  Hadge marveled at the wondrous sight of the crumbling church steeple that could be seen from just about anywhere. He was positive he could find water in the church, good ole holy water.

  He adjusted Uwee’s body, saying, “Come on Uwee.” Uwee argued, “Wait. Tell me what’s going on.” Just as Hadge swung around and awkwardly ran into a bizarre stone statue of a cowering man, quickly sidestepping the obstacle. He involuntarily uttered, “Excuse me.” Uwee was trailing behind, saying, “Hadge?” Hadge took a last glance at the statue, realizing it was wearing a hospital gown. “How odd…” He thought.

  Then headed towards the weathered church. By now Uwee kept repeating his name, “Hadge? Hadge? Hadge?” Hadge just ignored him. He had seen nearly a dozen of those strange statues, each in various states of fright. Without warning Uwee yelled in his ear, “Can you hear meeeeeeeeeeee?” Hadge silently glared ahead. It was regrettable he no longer had the option of killing the grubb.

  Another statue set on the church steps. A woman, which looked incredibly real. The sinister artwork was masterful, down to every last detail, down to the mole on her cheek. Hadge found it difficult to understand why they had a statue on the church steps. Uwee’s voice grew louder, “HADGE!”

  Hadge could take it no more, hissing back, “What do you want?” He randomly pointed to the ghostly employee’s walking back and forth, asking, “Where are their eyes?” Hadge growled, “Just shut up…” It was a question that had no answer, but he had this crazy idea it had something to do with the book. He had to wonder, “What really did happen here when the darkness arrived? Why were all the employees blinded?”

  Uwee vanished through the double doors of the church. His muffled words barely audible, “What is this place?” Hadge followed inside, responding, “A church.” The church dilapidated, all the stained glass had long since fallen to the floor, pews broken and thrown about. The once white walls splattered in ruddy stains, like the color of dried blood. The stains leading directly to a ghostly female that sat crying in the corner.

  Uwee rushed to the girl’s side, asking, “What’s wrong?” She stopped for a moment to look at him, and continued to cry. Hadge inquired, “What happened to you?” She stopped to look at Hadge, sobbing, “Blood.” Afterward continued to cry. Hadge couldn’t help but wonder what she meant by blood.

  Then one of the employees floated in the church, announcing, “Its no use. Sasha is only coherent for a minute before she forgets again.” Hadge turned to the man, asking, “Do you know what happened?” The employee sighed, “A patient killed her, and just about everyone else.” Hadge needed to know, “Who?” However the ghost anxiously darted away, leaving the identity of the fiend a mystery.

  Uwee uttered from the corner, “I’ve heard them whisper the man claimed to be from another world.” Hadge could hardly fathom the improbable idea of another world; rather believing they were all mad. However the mere mention of blood reminded him of the poisonous book he now possessed, and was curious if the two were somehow related. He lifted an empty water gun, unconsciously whispering, “Blood…” Instantly Uwee cried out, “No!” Hadge promptly asked, “Are you alright?” Uwee breathed, “Yes.” Somehow he didn’t believe the grubb. Nothing along this journey made any sense, so why should it add up now.

  Hadge could waste no more time, he had a job to do. He searched every room of the church until he found water. The baptistery was oddly lined with hundreds of vials of holy water, as if they were expecting Satan himself. Hadge hastily refilled his guns. Throwing a few vials of holy water in his backpack, in case he needed backup.

  Shortly thereafter they were back in the woods. Hadge kept having the uncanny sense they were being followed, and he had an idea of whom, Churl. Once again they walked past the old woman on the stump. She repeatedly tried to put a foot on the ground, yet for some unforeseen reason could never touch it. Instead she would swiftly withdraw the foot back onto the stump, and weep. Hadge thinking it was all quite odd, how the woman behaved, and how Uwee dared not to even get close to him now.

  The chanterelles began to pop into sight, just a few at first, until the count was phenomenal. Hadge nervously sifted through the thickening pines; sure the mushrooms were a sign danger could be close. Eerily the light gradually faded around them, and the sweet fruity smell of the mushrooms steadily decayed. Which he found to be strange, since there were still mushrooms, however the tint seemed to be darkening.

  Suddenly the fricative sounds of something gliding over the ground could be heard. Hadge promptly turned towards the direction of the sound, but it was gone. Uwee was standing several feet away, his teeth clenched between parted lips, looking rather sheepish. Then he started to make a, “sssssssss” sound. Hadge growled, “Why you little shit.” Uwee burst out laughing, begging, “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

  Hadge furiously walked away. He didn’t have time for bullshit, and was sure monsters could care less about the antics of life. The most important issue at the time is the snake-like vines, certain they lived in this dark corner. However he was ready for them this time, convinced the plants wont be able to stand the taste of him, given the fact that he’s been marinated in poison blood.

  The dark chasm gentl
y sloped into an elongated gorge. The other end of the gorge was engulfed completely in blackness; even the pines had vanished from visibility. They were still only at the edge of the chasm, but already it was near impossible to see. The otherworldly glow from Uwee’s body was the only thing lighting their way.

  Hadge started to stumble over the uneven surface of the ground. He took a closer look, noticing the ground was littered with hundreds of those dead vines. Some of the more recent vines were secreting a foul smelling slime. As far as Hadge could tell the vines appeared to stretch for miles, with no end in sight. He was tensely afraid of what could be at the roots of these vines.

  Uwee exasperatedly asked, “Are we there yet?” The subtle undertone of soft slithers could be heard in all directions, seeming to encircle them. Hadge tried to count the sounds, maybe two or three, and shushed the witless grubb, “Shhhhhhhh.” Each passing second added a new slithering sound, until it developed into a choir. Hadge had no intentions of running from this fight, because he had a score to settle with those vines. They were the reason why Uwee is dead now.

  Through the shifting blackness a solid object loomed ahead, matter or monster the identity stayed obscured. At last Hadge arrived at the large object. He was convinced it had to be harmless, because it never seemed to move. So he dared to reach out and touch it, as his hand collapsed within the putrid mush. Uwee suddenly shrieked, “What is it!”

  Quickly the overwhelming smell of decay invaded his senses, and all he could think of was something dead. He pulled back his slimy foul smelling hand, seeing chunks of black chanterelles. Then turned on the grubb, vehemently hissing “Shut up…” Hadge thought beneath it all had to be a building, but it was encased in the blackened chanterelles. Certain this is where he needed to be. This must be the crematorium.

  Hadge began to hear other dubious noises besides the vines. His eyesight trailed the sounds, but visibility was next to nothing. Where Uwee hovered numerous feet away there were two holes side-by-side, potters graves. Hadge could imagine the open graves were everywhere, and walking could become a chore.

  He moved several feet along the structure, feeling the dirt give way beneath his foot, and knew it had to be a hole. This hole was different than the rest, a massive dark space, like the size of a pit. Hadge wondered, “What did they need a pit for?” In reality he could guess its use, a mass grave.

  Without warning a number of vines whipped from the darkness, lashing in his direction. Swiftly he set Uwee’s body on the ground next to him, and watered the vile creatures down. He rather enjoyed watching them die.

  Out of the deep black pit a garbled sound could be heard, and the blackness eerily stirred, as hordes of hungry creepers crawled from the pit. Uwee screeched, “Creepers!”

  The monstrous creatures were crawling on all fours like insects. Each limb of the creature twisted into an ungodly position, as crusty fingers and toes were deformed along the member. The faces were an abstract of wrinkles, twisted and drawn into collapsed jaws, as random teeth protruded here and there. Uwee anxiously darted closer to Hadge still screeching, “Creepers!” The glow from the grubb reflected off the shiny gunmetal gray of the creepers eyes, and athwart its shedding elephant hide. Every creeper running headlong towards Uwee’s carcass. Uwee shrieked, “Nooooooooo!”

  Hadge picked them off one by one with the water guns. A few stragglers managed to get by, snapping at his marinated body. He irritably bellowed, “You little….” However the creepers had already began to yelp, and fell over dead. Hadge was quite satisfied how well his bloody plan was going thus far, nothing could touch him. Uwee unhappily soared close, looking quite upset, his body minimally marked by the creepers. Hadge rumbled, “I don’t know why you’re so worried. Your dead.” Uwee countered, “Soooooo…”

  They were caught unaware, as a snake like vine started to swallow a nearby creeper. Gruesomely the creepers shape inched through the flexible body. Then another vine came from out of nowhere, whacking Hadge to the ground. Uwee screaming his name, “Hadge!”

  To his amusement the vine withered on contact. Hadges eyes followed the withered vine, as the sallow fragments of light traced the limb through a dark hole in the adjacent mushroom structure. It was quite clear that all the vines generated from within that mushroom covered building, and he was curious why the building was so important. No matter what, he had to get in that building.

  He crawled back to his feet, retrieving all his things. Uwee doted, “Are you alright?” Hadge answered as a matter of fact, “Of course I am.” He motioned to the grubb, “Come on. We have to go in there.” Uwee whined, “Do we have to go in there?” All Hadge could do is sigh at the lily livered ghost. Then Hadge set in motion, skirting the dangerous structure. He was sure an entrance had to be somewhere, other than all the large gaping holes. Likewise he was mindful of all the vines gathering near the pit, each seemed to be preoccupied amid the meal of dead creepers.

  Abruptly the breeze from a vine whizzed dangerously passed, but dared not to touch him. Then another whipped passed, and another, as if they had learned he was toxic. Uwee shouted, “Incoming!” Just as one more vine whooshed by, striking the wall of the building. A number of mushroom covered stones rolled to the ground, and a large flat panel appeared to have broke free on one side. Hadge quite confident it had to be a door. He would even bet this had to be the crematorium Churl was talking about, however the mystery of what hid inside was extremely terrifying.

  Hadge warily crept to the door, with the prospects of seeing inside. Gravely it was much too dark to see. Despite all else a shudder some hiss festered from inside the blackness. The sound would not detour Hadge, he had come too far to be stopped now.

  He slowly opened the door. Uwee impatiently vanished through the doorway. He could hear the grubb exclaim from inside, “What the heck is that?” Hadge rushed inside, concerned about Uwee, until he was standing inside remembering that the grubb was already dead.

  The light from Uwee’s aura reflected off something moving in the room. Hadge gasped at the sight. It was an immense humanoid creature blocking most of the room, unable to move by its sheer size, as layer upon layer of fat rolled from its fleshy none existing neck, to its amassed olive green torso. Immediately Hadge knew this creature was not a plant, but a gorgon, and its gaze was capable of turning a man to stone. He had no idea how he knew this information, nonetheless he did.

  Quickly he averted his eyes, not sure how he could defend himself against a creature that he could not see. This reminded him of the people of Unknown, he could only see shadows on the ground, until he looked through the pages of the book. Hadge wondered, “Would those pages help to protect against the gorgon?” He had nothing to lose; eventually they would all be dead, so it would be worth the try. Hadge removed the book from his backpack, and tore a page from the book, and used his goggles to hold it in place.

  Hadge sharply looked towards the gorgon, which set amid a macabre of clothes, jewelry and skeletons. He was sure those were the things she couldn’t digest. In the meantime his mind madly shouted, “Look at all those skeletons. How will I know which one belongs to Churl?” The gorgon hissed, bulging her unblinking ice blue lizard like eyes. The entrancing stare of death scintillated the orbs into a mesmerizing white glow. Hadge realized that if he hadn’t had the blue page for protection he would be stone at this very second. The Devilish gorgon stretched her fat snake covered head, and screeched as loud as she could. Everything shook with the high pitch of her voice. Hadge rather sure she was angry, because he didn’t die by the mere sight of her.

  Then the hideous beast recoiled all its vine-like tendrils from the holes, which conjoined to the very base of the monster, somewhat like an octopus. Uwee screamed, “Watch out!” Violently she thrashed the deadly tendrils towards Hadge, striking him from one side, then the other side, then from behind. He hadn’t even had a chance to raise his guns, conversely it didn’t matter, as one by one the striking vines withered and died. The gorgon relen
tlessly continued with this form of attack, until all its vines were dead, and it appeared to regenerate more.

  Hadge yelled, “Oh no you don’t!” He had no intentions of letting the gorgon have the upper hand; he set Uwees body aside, and climbed the macabre of items and dead vines to the beast. Uwee screamed from somewhere behind, “Hadge don’t go!” The various lengths of new growth fought to hold him back. Hadge continued to advance, shooting anything that got in his way.

  Unexpectedly the gorgon’s stubby fingers stretched into long needles, each needle threaded with gold filament. He couldn’t imagine what the beast had in mind, as he continued to fend the vines off.

  Then the gorgon lassoed Hadge with the threads, netting him closer and closer. Uwee shrieking his name, “Hadge!” Hadge made an ungodly sound, as he fought against the ironclad threads, with no way in the world to cut himself loose. Uwee nervously shot from side to side not knowing what to do, all he could do is shriek his friends name over and over, “Hadge! Hadge!” He fearfully breathed, “Hadge!”

  Hadge stared the hideous beast in the eyes. It reminded him of an old hag, hairy moles, rotted and misplaced teeth, and a foul smelling forked tongue.

  The gorgon’s mouth dislocated, and opened wide enough to swallow him whole. Hadge fought even harder against the gold threads, but it was useless, the threads were stronger than anything in this world. Uwee continued to shriek his name, “Hadge!” Hadge ordered the grubb, “Uwee you have to get out of here!” He protested, “No! I’m not leaving you!” Hadge bellowed, “Uweeee…!”

  Then his body was completely enclosed within the gorgon’s mouth, as something beyond fear took over. He knew he was going to die.

  Hadge felt overwhelming heat throughout his body, and his thoughts grew fuzzy, hearing the rooted sounds of screams below him, as if the beast’s roots burgeoned from the very core of hell.

  All of a sudden the rancid dark stomach of the beast abruptly alit, nearly as bright as the town of Unknown, strangely feeling hotter and hotter. Hadge had no idea what was going on, however the gorgon started to relax. Its screech echoed for miles, and its body withered around him, until it was finally dead.

  Hadge crawled from the beast’s mouth all covered in slime, and calcium dust. All he could do is retch, “Yuck!” The overpowering odor of decay clung to his sinus cavities, just like the smell of the chanterelles. Uwee happily called his name, “Hadge!” Hadge coughed and choked the words out, “I..” Hack, “Thought I told you to leave…”

  He stumbled to his feet, watching what was left of the gorgon dissolve, since the rest had oddly turned to dust. He was convinced it had to be the blood from the book. Uwee nonchalantly replied, “It doesn’t really matter, I’m dead already.” Hadge gave a humph, because he knew that much was true.

  He gave a once over of the wrecked room, not sure how he would find anything in this mess. The slime of the gorgon bubbled up, popping at that moment. Hadge kicked at the rancid goo, as something moved in the murky puddle. He nervously leaned closer seeing two round objects come to a halt, not absolutely sure what it could be. Hadge picked up the objects, finding the golden thread stuck to the side one of the objects. Exactly as he removed the thread the murkiness smeared a clear path across the orb, and horrifyingly an ice blue eye stared back him.

  Hadge jumped nearly three feet, tensely crying out, “Whoaaaaaaaa!” These were the gorgon’s eyes. Oddly he felt a sensation of life in his hands, certain they were somehow valuable. Hadge tried to recall the legend of the gorgon, but at this moment the fact eluded him. So he shoved the eyes and thread into his pocket for a later reference.

  Uwee protested, “Ewwwww.” Hadge looked up at the grubb thinking he was complaining about the eyes he’d stuck in his pocket, and asked “What?” Uwee pointed out, “All the skeletons have turned to dust.” Hadge mumbled, “No…What?” Then moved to Uwee’s side, staring at the mounds of dust where each of the skeletons had been, sounding a bit confused, “This cant be!”

  At that moment he realized they were standing over the spot where he had left Uwee’s body, and all that was left was a glo rock. “Oh my Yahveh!” Hadge cried trying to comprehend what happened between the moments the gorgon swallowed him, up till now. Uwee sounded hopeful, explaining the unexpected possibility of this unfortunate event, “Well at least you don’t have to carry me anymore.” Hadge gave the grubb a dour look; really not at all surprised he had said that.

  Uwee shrugged his shoulders, and wandered off expressing how hungry he was, “I’m starving…I need food.” Hadge shook his head, relating the simple fact, “I hate to tell you this grubb, but ghosts don’t eat.” Uwee was already standing next to a hole holding a dark piece of chanterelle. His hand stopped in mid-motion upon hearing the terrible news, and started to groan, “Ahhhhhhhh!” Then he dropped the disgusting blackened mushroom to the floor.

  “Oh my Yahveh!” Hadge shouted, walking towards the grubb. He commanded him, “Do that again!” Uwee was utterly baffled, throwing his hands in the air, asking, “Do what?” Hadge scooped up a partially deformed gold necklace off the floor, blustering to the grubb, “I want you to hold this!” Uwee was more confused than before, as he took the necklace, asking, “Why?” Hadge scoffed, his mind deep at work, saying, “Just as I thought.” It seemed Churls comment about being dead didn’t ring so true anymore, and he had to wonder what was his real underlying motive. In the end he was positive Churl could not be trusted.

  “Ahem…” Uwee pecked, raising one eyebrow at Hadge. He was still holding the necklace. “Oh…” Hadge attentively said, “Just drop it.” Uwee threw it towards the center of the room, as it oddly wound athwart what appeared to be a bone. Instantly Hadge was there digging the bone from beneath the remains of the gorgon.

  Uncannily an entire skeleton of a young child was uncovered, somehow untouched by whatever had incinerated the others. The bones rested within some strange markings written on the floor, and he was sure the markings continued beneath the pile of rubble. Hadge had an odd feeling the child was some kind of ritualistic killing.

  All of a sudden a swirling pale blue light popped from under the mound of jewelry and dust. The light was mesmerizing and beautiful, yet inherently sad. Hadge reached out to cup the light tenderly in his hands, as the image of a ghostly young woman played in his head. The woman was begging him to remember. For the life of him he had no idea what he was supposed to remember, or if the message was even meant for him.

  “Hadge!” Uwee interrupted, hanging unsteadily from the metal arm of a lift. He was pointing towards the entrance.

  A dark figure stood in the doorway asking, “Did you get it?” Hadge had the uneasy feeling it was Churl, and bitterly he realized Churl was never afraid of this place. So he must’ve been afraid of the gorgon. Abruptly it was all clear to him now, Churl was afraid of the gorgon, Uwee afraid of the water guns, they must’ve feared how they died.

  Hadge arose, even as a fist enclosed over the bluish orb. He dolefully answered, “No…all the skeletons were destroyed somehow.” Churl moved further into the room, stating, “Not that skeleton.” Hadge narrowed his eyes, blasting, “That’s a child!” Churl rustled, “I never said which skeleton was mine.”

  In the blink of an eye the skeleton was gone, and Churl’s unnatural voice evilly whispered from behind, “Thanks Hadge...” “Wait!” Hadge argued, “ You’re supposed to read the book!” Churl mockingly laughed at him, “I was wasn’t I.” Hadge deathly growled, “What game are you playing?” Churl boldly stated, “This is no game.” Hadge impatiently said, “I don’t care about any of it, just read the book.” Churl derisively smirked, saying, “I asked for two things.” Hadge raised his enclosed fist, allowing Churl to see he had the other object, and snarled, “Now you can read the book.” Then with his other hand extended the book. Churl violently spat, “I thought you were really the Hadge.” Hadge looked confused, listening to Churl ramble on and on, “The Hadge is always good and honest.” Hadge disgusting
ly breathed, “Hmmmmphh.” Declaring, “Unlike you Churl, I know you’re not from Elysium.”

  Churl grabbed the book from his hands, snapping, “Give me the damn book!” He glowered at Hadge; “I want my soul back when I’m done.” Hadge unruffled announced, “You can have it anytime. After you read that book.” The time had finally come, as the fiery blue pages opened, and the sinister Churl took a breath, and began to read.

  The Edge of darkness born out of evil, conceived through sins of the prince of the worlds, prince of darkness, forsaken all unbelievers to a fate worse than death, Satan’s mighty hand will rise from the lake of fire and brimstone, casting a shadow upon the world, so that darkness will unfold, bleeding athwart the land like a plague, corrupting all that shall live or ever live, and deliver them thus into chains of darkness, tormenting day after day, awaiting the day it must end, for thus is no hope, but to survive.

  Then he halted, “I’m done.” Handing the book to Hadge. This wasn’t what Hadge was expecting, and argued, “There’s got to be more.” Churl nonplussed snobbishly retorted, “No, nothing of importance.” Hadge growled, “All those pages to tell us we’re going to die.” Churl added, “And how Yahveh has abandoned the sinners.” Then Churl Vehemently hissed, “Now give me my soul.” Hadge negated the notion, sure the man was lying, “No!” Churl blared, “How dare you!”

  Hadge sadly knew he couldn’t keep the soul a hostage, in doing so he would be no better than the man before him, a deal was a deal. Against his better judgment he handed Churl the bluish soul, watching it shudder at his touch, as if it were terrified.

  Uncannily the strange ethereal voices he had heard all along permeated the air around them. No one noticed except Churl, and Hadge. The voices all-whispering, “Churls a liar. He lied to you Hadge. He’s running from the war in Canaan.” Churl snapped, “Don’t listen to them!” Hadge figured it out, saying, “You opened the book of Canaan.” Churl didn’t answer. Hadge continued to berate the dead man, “You left the people to die. You’re but a lying ghost of a man.”

  Then a warning roared from deep inside Hadge, “Tell your tales somewhere else before I find a way to end your spirits journey.” Churl spat back, “You wouldn’t dare harm the key of Canaan.” He evilly mocked, “No, I didn’t try to help them. I came looking for you instead.” He laughed maniacally, and declared, “I only needed you to kill the gorgon.” Acknowledging, “She’s been following me everywhere I go.”

  Then Churl fled into the darkness, vanishing instantly from sight.

  Hadge was still unsure exactly what just happened, or why he needed that skeleton and soul, but he had an idea that Churls dirty hands were involved in more than what met the eye.

  Hadge slipped the torn page back into the book, hopelessly coddling its life-like binding, breathing the lifeless words, “I need help Yahveh.” He was hopelessly lost on how he would ever possibly read this book. Hadge was convinced that the only chance to have saved Elysium was in the book, and it was all lost to them now.