

### Hadagery

By: Teresa VanMeter

Copyright 2013 Teresa Vanmeter

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Published by: Teresa Vanmeter by Smashwords.

'Smashwords edition'

Copyright 2013 Teresa Vanmeter

### Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Hadge!

Chapter 2: The Edge of Darkness!

Chapter 3: Harbinger.

Chapter 4: In the Face of Evil.

Chapter 5: The Secrets we keep.

Chapter 6: Path to Nowhere.

Chapter 7: Tale of the Hereafter.

Chapter 8: The Divined.

Chapter 9: The Darkest Hours.

Chapter 10: To Hell in a Hand basket.

Chapter 11: The Bowels of Hell.

Chapter 1: Hadge!

Aarrrrrgggrrrhhhh! A beastly sound twisted amongst a peculiar undying cold, like a beacon to all things that may dwell in the darkness, things born out of evil, ripened by the sum of all fears.

Thereafter a wild thrashing echoed through the remains of a town called Harbinger, left in ruins by some catastrophic event. Strange shadows shifted uneasily, through the fields of mysterious blood flora. Unseen voices stirred from out of nowhere, beyond the crumbling graveyard, where creepers crept nervously over the dead. Across the lifeless river left stagnant and polluted, as something churned just below the surface. Throughout the gnarled dead wood pines, where the sinister reavors lurked, drawn to the frantic noise of the living. Up the treacherous mountainside, in the vicinity of the abnormally large red cap mushrooms, where a gray fog lifted upwards, and the thrashing had promptly ceased. Seeing that a murky hulking creature emerged within the gray matter, silhouetted by an obscured inconsistent glow escaping the widow's weeds growing far above. The creature breathed quite fiercely in the dark cold silent face of this anomalous world.

Aaaakkk! The shadowy creature hacked. Even as the widow's weeds above swished aimlessly, followed by the subtle sounds of departing footsteps, and an inconsistent glow that had faded, leaving only darkness behind.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" The shadowy creature roared, "I'm going to kill you!" as its angry voice wheezed amidst the cloud of fungal dust. Which wickedly billowed up from a wild mutated patch of dried crimson soama, a red cap mushroom commonly known for its mind-altering capabilities. One of the few plants that had survived the constant dark cold, colonizing the entire dead pine ridge of Ennead Mountains, a cluster of nine mountains separating the valley from the rest of the ill-fated world.

The hulking shadow stumbled through the cloud. Its exaggerated size quickly shrunk down to an undersized solid form of a male, just over three feet in height, considered to be quite tall in his tiny populated group, and one of the oldest at the ripe old age of 19, nearly 20. Most in this bitter world didn't survive beyond age 25. His pale roughened skin had reddened patches from the cold temperatures, and stained with years of dirt. Unruly dark brown hair matted his head, and went on to prickle his entire body, covering every wrinkle and crack. He had an unusual indent on his right temple, which caused the nearby eye to be sluggish. Strangely his sight was nocturnal, however he had a thin milky membrane over the eyes, as if the gods were playing a trick on life. He was gimp on the right side from birth, still no one could tell with his oversized dirty clothing, since he'd learned how to use the leg quite well. He is simply known as the Hadge. And the remnant of this terrible world is called Elysium.

Hadge coughed, hacked, and furiously swore revenge upon the mischievous perpetrator under his breath, "Uweeeee...." He barked, "You grubb!" He often came here alone to the Cliffside for roots and herbs. Having no idea the rambunctious Uwee had followed, scarcely age 14. At what time his thoughts grumbled, "With friends like him, who needs enemies?" Even as the scene replayed in his mind, from out of nowhere Uwee nimbly leaped onto his back, like a stepping-stone he hurdled directly over the crimson soama, forcing Hadge down within the rotting mushroom remains. Then laughed like an impish child, while he climbed higher and higher up the Cliffside. Riskily yelling "Eat my dust!" It all compounded Hadge's fears that the noise could attract danger, and may even worse draw the deadly reavers.

He stopped momentarily to regain his bearings through the near blinding dust. Focusing on the thousands of flecks in the night sky, shiny beacons of light, and the only ray of hope left in all the darkness. It was foretold that Yahveh's Divine light could set the world free, but from where he was standing nothing looked divine. He berated himself for believing such silly fantasies. "Stop it!" He whispered crossly, "It's stupid."

Elysium a misleading name, far from paradise, Eden or even heaven as it suggests to be, because it's always been in a malevolent otherworldly darkness for as long as he could remember. However vague tales from the elders whispered that once upon a time it to be otherwise, such as the fantastic stories of the bright blue skies, or the warmth from a big yellow sun. The elders are all dead and gone, just like their stories, and any expression of hope. Yet he often wondered what really happened here, all the great cities lay in crumbled ruins under a frozen blanket of ice and darkness. He had seen the relics of great books of long ago depict creatures that no longer exist, such as the domestic pets of cats and dogs, even as mankind too had also somehow devolved into scared little animals, being fed upon by reavers and alike.

A sickening feeling lurched in his stomach, reminded of all the people he had once knew being dragged away by the evil reavers, as he watched powerlessly, and they were never seen again.

All at once Uwee's playful giggles echoed higher up the mountainside. Even as the sound carried uneasily here and there, certain to draw any creatures within earshot.

"Uwee!" Hadge lividly bellowed, feeling the uncontrollable urge to sneeze, the first symptoms of the crimson soama, sure to last many hours. His friend Uwee had known full well what the plant would do. Abruptly the force nearly bent him double, "Achoooooo!" At last heatedly grating threatening words through his teeth, "I'll find you."

Hadge irritably limped with his gimp leg towards the rocky incline mumbling beneath his breath, "I'm going to kill that grubb." Noting an odd crisp crunch under his threadbare feet. His eyes promptly fell to the ground, darkened by a massive amount of desiccated bugs. He instinctively bent down to retrieve one of the deteriorating corpses, hearing the tone of his own bewilderment, "What?" This was something he'd never seen before, only to believe they must have drifted from high on the mountain. All at once grasping the uncanny fact that he hadn't heard any bugs on this trip. Feeling somewhat puzzled, "What's going on here?" he sorted the details in his mind, "But why now? What has changed?"

He arose from the crouching spot, realizing he no longer heard Uwee's juvenile ramblings through the strained silence. Curiously wondering, "Is this part of the game?" his thoughts began to worry, "Has something happened?" Immediately following Uwee's path up the mountainside, knowing full well that danger lurked around every corner.

Quickly his attention was drawn to the two-foot high widows weeds, which still eerily swayed beyond the wild rustling throughout his ordeal, as if something had been there. He moved cautiously towards this destination. Momentarily catching a bitter smell of fireflies, carefully scanning the shadowed surroundings, seeing nothing in its wake.

"Uwee!" Hadges voice grew fretfully insistent, "Dammit, answer me!"

Abruptly he stopped to the noise of an out of the ordinary creak, trailed by a distinctly unreal clicking, sensing something wasn't quite right. His eyes nervously darted back and forth throughout the murkiness, having that same uncanny feeling of being watched. Just as a silky white thread drifted out of nowhere landing on his face, with an instantaneous touch he exposed the oddly tacky three-inch thread, however its origin remained a mystery, and he wiped the substance across his tattered clothes.

"Achoooooo!" He blathered from the pressure in his head, rubbing his running nose. Once again thinking angry thoughts about Uwee. Until there was a faint movement from higher upon the path, and he reckoned Uwee was still up to his grubbish tricks.

Hadge sifted further up the mountain to a plateau of herbs, picking plants along the way. He had expected his pal surely to find his way there by now. Still sensing as if he were being watched, as the repugnant smell of fireflies came and went, however he could see no fireflies, and the once chorus of insects had evaporated into a eerie calm. Seeing that his intensity of fear continued to amplify.

Painfully every contacting footfall the dried out insect carcasses pierced his footpads, as thousands had turned into millions. Shrinking back in horror, exclaiming, "Good Yahveh! What's going on here?"

Searching the skyline for anything and nothing in particular. As a peculiar swelling cloud arose from the distant mammoth soama growing near the surrounding dead wood pines, where the sinister reavers appeared to have grown much more active, factories of the damned. Half tempting that the reavers may somehow be involved in Uwee's disappearance, "But reavers don't eat." Hadge reasoned, "All other animals on this mountain don't have the capacity for this kind of destruction." Connecting the facts, "None of the clues seemed to add up." Nevertheless his dominating fear had to request, "Where on Elysium was Uwee?" Most importantly, "I have to find him, and find him fast."

"Achooooo!" He cursed under his breath once more, trying to brush the fungi from his body, creating a feeble fog flowing from where he stood. Exactly as something disturbed the bushes nearby, as if trying to avoid the irritating fungal dust also.

"Uwee?" Hadge carefully ventured. Examining the stirring bushes, gathering no response, as he moved even closer. Noticing more of the strange silky white threads, seeing that each stuck to his fingertips. Similar to the tiny roachenthrop living in the moist corners of the caves, who spun cocoons no bigger than his finger. Yet the size and comparison didn't concur, and the roachenthrop only consumed cave mold.

Swiftly that intense unseen gaze pierced deep into his backside yet again. At the same instance he'd glanced at the waxy leaves of the plant before him, catching a glimpse of a faint glow emanating from behind, first red, then a blue, followed by a green. It was practically unreal compared to anything he's ever seen in his lifetime. He twisted around to find nothing but darkness, except a gently swaying branch of a dead tree. Hearing the sound of his own confused voice, "Huh?" Knowing Uwee couldn't possibly be involved in all these strange undertakings, because none of the group could reproduce those elaborate lighting, "Heck!" He mentally bantered, "They barely knew how to breathe."

"But what...." He had to ask, "Am I dealing with?"

Hadge uneasily took slow deliberate steps towards the limb, which had grown from the side of a broken boulder walling in a small basin where the mature widows weeds grew. Watching and listening all around, aware that whatever it was had to be quiet and super fast. Even as he warily climbed atop the boulder, looking down upon the swaying plants, which could hide many creatures. The giant stalks of olive flowers emerged from the three-foot high leaves, even as something more disturbing seemed to be growing amongst the weeds, something that hadn't been growing there previously. Hundreds of silky white round structures two times his size. Realizing for the first time from this vantage point the white sacks were scattered everywhere, however they hadn't managed to migrate down to the fungal ridge, "Good Yahveh!" He was shaken and confused, "What are these things?"

Listlessly he backed off the boulder, the resonance of his quickening heart pounding in his skull. In the same instance his alarmed eyes followed the white masses higher up the mountain, having a gut feeling that snooping Uwee pursued the objects up the Cliffside without a second thought to any real threat. He somehow felt responsible for putting him in that danger.

Without further thought he too trailed the strange white sacks upwards. "Aaaaaaaa," He gasped as one of the sacks undulated oddly, seemingly pulsating whenever he was near. Hadge feeling his heart and head hammer amid near blinding terror, with every eternal step drawing him closer to the unknown.

Steeper and steeper up the hillside he'd gone. Looking out across the dark valley of Elysium, until his eyes reached the deteriorating remnants of Old Harrier Road that had long since collapsed. The road was something they had used long ago to travel between cities, leaving behind disintegrating concrete supports in the middle of nowhere, as mangled metal beams lain twisted like fibers of a rope, and the road no longer lead to anywhere.

Hadge climbed atop chunks of asphalt and concrete, near the mouth of the mountain. He felt warned by the mouths endless blackness, pulling himself up by the rusting guardrail, no more than thirty feet away from the entrance. The guardrail had been warped by a huge metal structure with wheels, plowed to the point both surfaces mirrored the other. The paint on the metal structure had long since faded, as he recalled that the elders had in the past called this metal thing a truck.

The truck had been wrecked. Its load of metal drums finally eroded away, as its foul smell waft far and wide. The terrible odor was even capable of traveling passed his swollen soama filled sinus cavities. The sickly yellow waste traced the same path the strange white sacks apparently followed, he couldn't help but wonder if something horrific grew from out of the sickening waste. Seeing that his attention returned to the wreck, moreover the barrels from Novena Military base. The base was no more than ten miles away, up the third hill of Ennead Mountains.

Then to his surprise the bones of an unfortunate soul was found wedged between the front fender of the truck and the guardrail. It had been there a long time by the large human size, the right side barely recognizable, with a sharp piece of grill piercing its right temple.

Sympathetically he felt a connection of phantom pain, even as he unintentionally rubbed the hollow spot on his own temple, experiencing such a profound mourning. Whispering, "Poor guy. I wonder who he was?" Sensitive to the mans death, "At least it was quick." Yet he was curious to why the creepers hadn't consumed the skeleton. "Hmmmmm." He considered, "Maybe the barrels deterred the beasts." The barrels were quite disgusting, and grabbed his nose chuckling as he limped backwards, "Awful."

At once in the broken and dirty window of the truck he could see that strange glow from somewhere behind, he moved ever so slowly to search the darkened landscape.

"Achooooo." The sneeze had come from out of nowhere. As the light quickly faded and blackness lingered, followed by a subtle clicking noise. Just as he turned realizing the mountain was papered in that same odd silken threads, with the loose ends eerily drifting amid the brisk air, like ghostly figures in the dark. Then a clicking came from the left, he found nothing, next swishing from behind, still naught a thing, and to the right. Something was toying with him.

"What on Elysium is going on?" Hadge had an overwhelming sense of terror picking at his brain. He crumpled to his knees in paranoia and fear, with his head between his hands. Seeing for the first time an unusual black stick beneath him. The strange object was three to four feet in length, pointed at the tip, spanning sharp thorns down one side. Then he suddenly noticed hundreds of those same black objects littering the ground everywhere. Defeated and dumbstruck at that particular moment to the issue, he wondered, "What are they?"

Suddenly something moved near the mouth of the mountain. His mind instantly pictured black soulless faces of the reavers, its long black twisted fingers clinching a blackened weapon. Recalling the forewarning of the elders, "The reavers watch the road." As his mind quickly asked, "Could the reavers have gotten Uwee?" Forcefully he pushed the panic out of mind, "No!" Wanting very much to believe, "Its Uwee."

Alive or dead he couldn't leave him here. Hadge stealthily turned towards the warning blackness of the mountain. He had that uncanny feeling of being watched, yet that feeling had become much more prominent, like millions of eyes processed his every move, his every life taking breath. His heart pounded violently, like the moments before death, the pounding smothered all other sounds into oblivion. Even as he surveyed the black for signs of the culprit, while his short fingers knowingly found his trusty dagger at his waist, ready for any engagement. He almost welcomed anyone who dares try.

Then the atmosphere changed, charged electrically as every hair on his body stood on end. When an instant of tiny white light could be seen at the other end of the tunnel, followed closely by ghostly hovering blue torches. One by one the torches materialized along the remaining stretch of mountain road, hissing as they lit, while others suspended themselves where roads had formerly been. With all that was hidden in the darkness abruptly becoming quite clear. "Lightning the way." He murmured in complete awe, "But to where?" Even as the right words seemed abundantly obvious, "Light can set you free." Feeling somewhat dubious, "What if it's a trap?" Those questions were among many Hadge's mind gathered, yet the biggest question remained, "Why did they light now?" Seeing that he'd never remembered seeing the torches before, but somehow felt a curious affinity to its purpose. The bluish flames burning away some of the heavy darkness caging all to this world, like a fragment of hope.

All the quarrels around him seemed to have just melted away, as he glanced to the heavens and the dark didn't appear so dark anymore, and the burden of temperature was neither hot nor cold, like living in a perfect dream, unable to tell truth from deceit. When his rational side suggested that the crimson soama might be altering his perception.

In that same instance he heard a muffled squeal, as his sight followed the sound into the once blackened tunnel, which was now eerily bathed in blue light. The tunnel packed with network after network of the same silken webbings, even as massive dark creatures three times his size skittered about, their abdomens intermittingly glowing, red, blues, and greens. Very similar to the fireflies he used to remember, but the wings have become useless due to the size. The sticks were actually the remains of spiders that had been cannibalized by each other. "How else could something that size survive without significant source of food?" Since they'd eaten bugs on this mountain to extinction. Then a darker thought crossed his mind, "Even I could be food." Feeling his body instantly shrink back.

Hadge's eyes lifted higher, seeing debris of animals and humanly corpses dangling among the webs of unidentified cocoons. Sure that unimaginable horror plagued those still alive, knowing what death may come, and he feared Uwee might have stumbled right into the monsters lair. Even as he noticed one of those hideous spider creatures were attempting to prod a wriggling white cocoon. Something was still alive, and promptly he thought of Uwee.

"Uwee!" Hadge screamed in horror, knowing positively it had to be his friend. Without thought to personal injury he leapt forth into the spiders den, heading straight for the wriggling cocoon. The spider loomed above him, rearing its hideous barbed legs in sweeping motions, clicking with every movement. He looked up into the black beaded eyes of this demon, at the same time as dozens more shifted all around him, all clicking in unison, every movement he made they followed. Still he inched closer to his friend, armed with the small dagger from his belt. Wondering as he moved, "Why haven't they attacked?" Then another curious thought occurred to him, "They followed me all the way here, but still didn't get too close."

"Achooooo!" A halo of dust particles dispersed throughout the tunnel. As he irritably growled, "Of all times for an allergy." Swiftly refocusing on the spiders, as they had oddly recoiled, recognizing for the first time, "They fear me."

He was given the time he needed to free Uwee from the cocoon. The gooey white threads were harder to cut than he'd thought, slowly exposing Uwee beneath those perilous fibers. Immediately discovering that he looked rather sickly, with several puncture wounds on his shoulder. The puncture was probably a way to subdue its prey, so they may eat them alive. Finally Uwee fell free from the cocoon, as Hadge quickly pulled him upright, edging closer to the entrance. Then that overpowering feeling of being watched crept up his spine. Exactly as something black lashed out at him, gashing his forearm, and he nearly dropped his friend. The spider quickly withdrew, screeching out, as if in great pain. "No!" Hadge howled watching the spiders unsettling actions. Very sure now, "They fear the mushroom dust." Now it all made perfect sense, "That's why they haven't migrated beyond the crimson soama. Its like a poison to them."

Hadge knew that the only hope they had was to get to the fungal ridge before the dust was gone from his clothes. Seeing darkened figures lurk in all directions, hundreds the way they had arrived, the army of spiders really left them no choice. At what time he moved towards the path of least resistance, where Old Harrier Road abruptly dropped off.

The road littered in rubble of concrete, rebar, and asphalt, scattered all along the mountainside below. Which would lead them to the fungal ridge and deter the spiders. Only if they could survive the fall. However Uwee was in no condition to do anything, as he supported his lithe body. Taking into account of the soama he'd breathed, in tandem his arms flogged his encrusted clothing, subsequently launching the fungal dust in the air around them, temporarily confusing the spiders, giving them precious time.

The cracks and debris in the concrete increasingly grew worse, as his feet launched rocks over the edge, and they crashed along the cliff below, exploding into tiny fragments as they struck solid surfaces. However the echoes of the rocks long treacherous journey terrified him most, reminding him once again that the fall could kill them both. His thoughts laughing hysterically, "Caught between a rock and a hard place." As he searched the edge for an escape, fortunately discovering exposed rebar holding the remnants of a concrete support close to the end of the highway. Just five feet below where he presently stood, while the other end was jammed into the mountainside.

Morbidly he envisioned how his potential plan might end, with two lifeless bodies dashed on the jagged rocks below. "Stop it!" He needed to be positive. Even as he grabbed Uwee tightly by the waist, without further thought and they plummeted off the end of the bridge. Landing hard on the concrete below, and he instantly scrambled to his feet, dragging Uwee down the support, like a child's slide. As dozens of spiders had followed, tugging at Uwee's comatose legs, a literal tug of war.

They had at last inched their way to the sanctum of the fungi, happily kicking the dust into the air. Overwhelmingly Hadge couldn't help but sneeze over and over, laughing as he spread the dust further. Watching the spider's retreat. Temporarily feeling relief, even as he was hacking and coughing.

Hadge knew it still wasn't safe to be here, all the noise had carried throughout every dark corner, even as more sinister creatures could be coming here this very minute. Then he weakly pulled Uwee over his unaffected shoulder, heading in the direction of home.

The soama and his wounded forearm took its definite toll, not to mention his head felt like an oversized balloon, as his distracted mind seemed to marvel everything along the way. Saying far out things, like, "That rock is sooooooo cute." And pointed at the red cap mushrooms, "Stop laughing at me..." Realizing the soama had really befuddled him, and wondered if the whole spider ordeal was even real. Climbing down that mountain, home never seemed sweeter than it did at that moment. His home was hidden beneath the cemetery, where no reavers would ever look, and creepers dared only nip at the living.

Hours had passed before they were safely inside Hadges home in a hidden cave beneath the cemetery, and the passageway secured. As he lain Uwee on the quilted coverlets, his gray skin appearing quite pasty, light tan locks coated with a hairnet of webs, deliriously moaning under his breath. Hadge wasn't entirely sure any herbs could help cure the spider's venom, but he had to try.

Picking various herbs from the pots he had growing around the room, swiftly mixing a foul smelling concoction. He applied it to both of their wounds. Then collapsed next to the bed. Captivated that this creepy sensation might be how a comatose person felt, limbs lifeless, mind starved and hazy, randomly thinking of those strange blue torches. Yet even his question was unclear, "What could they have been?" Before his aching head sank to the hardened floor, he blankly stared at the plants he'd grown. Plants that had at one time needed sunlight, but he had miraculously made them grow. Then he drifted off into a bleary restless slumber, peacefully knowing they'd escaped.

### Chapter 2: The Edge of Darkness!

Hallowed deep inside the pain of this slow burning venom, Hadge laid trapped in a near comatose condition for hours, feeling neither asleep nor awake. During which every repetitive drop of water in the cavern echoed to a maddening end. As the grayish blur of awareness flitted across his eyelids, a veil of secrecy drawn between reality and fiction. He blinked until he recognized the uneven rocky ceiling of his chamber, something tangibly real. A hidden place carved by eons of erosion from the nearby ocean, networking caves and tunnels far beneath a family mausoleum in the Grendlocke Cemetery.

Suddenly he winced in pain, as memories of the spider's attack replayed through his mind. And his concern returned immediately to his ailing friend, "Uwee?" However the words were barely audible. Hoping the annoying grubb was truly all right, while he naturally reached out a hand in the direction of his friend. Uttering once again, "Uwee?" As his hand greeted nothing but air, confused to find no one was there.

The deafening silence throughout the constant dripping water was much more than he could bear, eroding away his sanity. Curious as to just how long he'd been unconscious, and beginning to doubt what really happened on Mount Ennead, "Maybe." He considered, "We're still on the mountain." Very sure that the poisons in combination with the soama could produce any number of elaborate hallucinations. Knowing one thing, "However this all ends. The truth will become clear."

Hadge feeling devastatingly fatigued could hardly roll to his side. Initially still surprised to find Uwee was gone, but the overall shock of a completely empty room had hard-hitting ramifications. Wanting sorely to know, "What happened to my bed?" He growled, "And my plants!" Irritably scrutinizing the small room. While his ire loudly increased, "Where are all my herbs!" Instantly accusing the first grubb he thought of, "Uwee!" He'd been the only one who knew about the vegetable garden. As he acidly spat, "He told the others!" Slamming a fist onto the rocky floor, disregarding the infliction of pain. Hissing, "The grubbs took it all!"

He stumbled to his feet. Fueled purely by rage. Ignoring the overall darkness of everything in his path. Then laughter echoed softly through the cavern. "Uwee's childish laughter." He seethed, hearing the foreign sound of his own voice, "I'm going to kill you grubb!"

Lurching through the exit, he tore through the cavern like a madman. Hearing the manic sounds of his ranting and raving. Descending the spiral tunnel deeper into the ground, bypassing his friend Feo's quarters, next leaving little Uma's behind, then Nibb's, and all the others that lived in the caves. Who's quiet all seemed for the most part unusual. With every room the darkness had steadily grew brighter. While his footsteps splashed heavier with his ever growing anger. Until the drowning sounds of the ocean filled the depths of the cave, like the deafening hum of a seashell. And the tunnel budded open to the lower half of the cavern, a gathering room used by his entire group. Thinking "They all must be there."

At that time an intense shimmering light began to dance eerily from crook to curve along the black rocky surface of the ceilings and walls, brighter than anything he'd ever seen, momentarily mesmerizing. "What the..." It reminded him so much of a sunlit world that lived merely in pictures. As his tripping feet was abruptly impeded by something hard, and his eyes following the wayward journey, plunging face first into a pool of crystal blue water.

Thrusting himself upright out of the water, he had swallowed what seemed a gallon of water, gagging and choking for a single breath of air. Wondering how and when in Yahveh did the ocean flood the lower half of the caverns. He'd only been gone a matter of hours. Until it dawned on him, everyone and everything had vanished from the cave. As he whimpered feebly, "What's going on here?" And slumped to the watery floor, asking that terrible question, "Am I the last person alive?" Positive the reavers must somehow be involved. But then he questioned, "Where did the laughter come from?"

Then he noticed the peculiar rock he'd tripped upon only moments ago. It sparkled from the shimmering light originating from the depths of the ocean, jutting directly in the middle of the walkway. It rested at the edge of the clear water, surely brought in by the tides, stuck in a layer of sand and silt. He quickly unearthed this rare find. A three inch thick square foot of white quartz fashioned in the shape of a book. The bizarre stone book was etched with gentle wrapping vines, and an extraordinary bluish flame emanating deep from the core. Strangely reminiscent of the blue torches, which had mysteriously appeared along the road, akin to some fanciful fairy tale. Frankly he didn't believe in such things.

Hadge found himself more confused than ever before, the torches, the strange rock book, all have to have some underlying connection. "But what?" Was his question, the answer elusive as reality or fiction.

Unexpectedly the taunting laughter now resonated from whence he came. As he angrily clutched the rock to his chest, sneering as he followed the sound, "What kind of game is this?"

Everywhere he looked, all was gone. As if he imagined this life in Grendlocke caverns, imagined all the people he knew. But still the laughter came and went. Drawing him ever upward, half scared it may be some kind of trick. Hearing that anxious inner voice, "What if I end up like the others?" Yet still he cautiously treaded onward, because he had to know what was happening.

Hadge's empty room eerily echoed as he entered. Noting a ghostly light stretched across his floor, as the wayward dust swirled in this brilliance. The path of the ghostly light led directly to an empty vault inside the mausoleum, where the lid must have been left ajar. Sadly knowing who was to blame, "This is all my fault." He cried. "I didn't shut the lid all the way."

"Stop!" he forcefully cleared the trash from his mind, and refocused on what was happening at this very minute.

The weird and wonderful light was odd in itself, seeing that the world remained in a limbo of darkness. Nonetheless curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he had to discover where this peculiar light emanated from. As his apprehension bounced from interest to fear, imagining the glowing spiders waiting just outside, maybe a ghostly figure, or quite possibly a reavers trickery.

Hadge was tired of living in fear, even as he dared to slide the lid all the way open, and bravely climbing out into the musty mausoleum. As a stained glass window caught this strange illumination, and the plain resting place of the dead was painted in a picture of colors. He hadn't seen anything like this before, desiring to see more, no matter what the consequences. Following the beautiful light out into the open cemetery.

Swiftly he felt beside himself, observing the oddities before him. The sky was the brightest blue he'd ever seen, and the green fields gently rolled towards the mountains, which swelled with beckoning tree's that were alive, and swaying with a warm gentle breeze. Old Harrier Road stretched as far as the eye could see, as metal objects of all shapes and sizes followed the road to the nearby town. The town rose like a garden of color, buildings close enough to kiss the clouds, as thousands of people moved about their daily lives. And the grandeur of it all made him question, "Which is the dream?" An intake into the matter, "Here and now?" As the fragrant sweet smell of endless fields of wildflowers tantalized his senses, and the merry sounds of birds chirping in the trees. "Or..." His mind bleeding like and open wound, "The terrible cold dark place lain withering and dormant deep within his memories. A frozen dismal place he easily had forgotten."

Hadge found himself wandering aimlessly through the cemetery. He was seeing things differently than he'd ever seen before, enjoying the simplistic cushion of the grass beneath his feet, the warm gentle touch of the summer breeze across his face and through his hair, as well as the ultimate sounds of life all around. Gazing at all the fascinating headstones, discovering the writings on the headstones suddenly made sense to him now. "Here lies MARGARET E. EGDAH." As he had to laugh at the similarity, "My imagination named me after a headstone, HADGE." Strangely the headstone seemed familiar, the bony arms folded over the edge, with one hand holding a whitish key, which had been imbedded into the cement. "How odd." He breathed. Starting to believe all this might be real, and everything else he knew and remembered was conjured by his subconscious.

Out of the blue a shadowy figure leapt from behind the headstone. Within that second an array of dark creatures invaded his memory, as he took a stance of defense.

The dark figure began to giggle uncontrollably, "I." Trying to speak in the midst of the amusement, "Knew you'd be here." As the cover of soft brown hair fell away from the face, revealing a young human girl. Her eyes were as heavenly blue as the sky above, lovely creamy skin aglow by an underlying iridescence, like the breath of an angel, all dressed in white. He knew he was in love.

"Hady?" She stopped a foot from where he stood, looking up into his lost expression.

All of a sudden she felt concerned, "Are you alright?"

Hadge nodded, barely noticing she said his name. As he answered, "I was just day dreaming Carrissa." Quite surprised her name just fell off the tip of his tongue.

The girl glanced impishly into his face, replying softly, "Dreams aren't real." Then leaned her body close enough he could feel her warm lingering breath, his eyes expectant to close, as the tense moments awaited a kiss.

Unanticipated he felt Carrissa's hand push away from the book rather amused, running through a field of tall grass, mischievously calling back to him, "Catch me if you can." Leaving him somewhat stunned, "Oh." He watched her tempting form depart, affirming as a matter of fact, "I will catch you."

Much to his surprise feeling the chill of the stone book in his hands shift. He shouted as he let it fall from his grasp, "Oh my Yahveh!" And watched in amazement. The quartz transformed into a worn dark leather-bound book, pages gleaming a dazzling blue, which was bound tightly with pure silver vines from edge to bind, locking the pages securely from wandering eyes.

Carrissa's giggles once more dominated his attention. As he scooped the book up with his hands, chasing the obscure image of the girl. He trailed her through places she'd already been, as the field of flowers gently parted a path she'd left behind, footprints left in the soft earth, through the broken branches of the thickets guarding the base of the tree's surrounding the town. Then she'd vanished completely from sight.

The whimsical game of cat and mouse had abandoned him in the middle of a busy street, as motorcars darted and honked around the idiot in the roadway. Quickly he stumbled to a sidewalk, where a self propelled two-wheel bicycle knocked him down. While the person shook a fist, yelling, "Get out of the way!" He sat perfectly motionless where he landed, watching the buzz around him. A typical residential street, lined with grand Victorian homes, white picket fences, flower gardens, people mowing their lawns, kids laughing and playing, also barking family pets.

"Hey!" an elderly woman's voice shouted from her front lawn. The startling noise causing him to gasp, jerking his nervous form into motion, as he turned in the direction of the insufferable sound. She was slightly overweight with a quarter size mole on the side of her nose. "A sight nearly as terrifying as the reavers." He thought. As the sound of her grating voice filled the air once more, with her false teeth spitting and moving as she spoke, "That dog of yours dug up my garden!" He was thoroughly confused "What?" His mind asking, "What dog?" He had no dog, and no idea what she was talking about. He was interested as to what a dog really was, recalling only pictures and stories of the Elders. The insolent old woman's voice continued to ramble, making thought next to impossible.

Then the laughter he'd been searching for could be heard coming from up the street. As the young girl's figure ran deeper into the city. Instantly he jumped up chasing her once more. Hearing the old woman yell after him, "Hey!" She shrieked, "Hey!" While the devilish sounds of trapped animals thirsting for a taste of his flesh, snapped at the nearby fencerows he passed.

Oddly the girl halts at the street corner, then turned dashing through someone's yard, and she once again vanished from sight.

Breathlessly he halted for a short time at that same street corner. He could see numerous fliers all asking have you seen this dog or cat, understanding for the first time about dogs and cats. Most of the pictures had long since faded, as his eyes stopped on one dog in particular, with a dog named Reybe. A black sleek haired animal, muscular in build. He realized the picture was taken at the very house he stood before, a house that seemed incredibly familiar; "No!" He shook his head, still unsure of what was real.

Unexpectedly a scraggily old man appeared out of thin air. The thinning layer of his gray hair visibly saturated with oil, one eye barely open in his gaunt face, and a mouth full of decayed teeth, looking more haggard than age revealed. As his sweltering breath smelled of rotting flesh in the midday sun, and his words rang a bit odd, "Animals go missing all the time."

Hadge instantly felt alarmed. The same amount of fear as the spiders had instilled in him, as he warily searched every possible avenue of escape, his vision nervously stopping on the open manhole cover. Promptly the disturbing old man's eyesight tagged his gaze to the darkened doorway to this underworld of the city, leaning in a tad too close, saying, "They say monsters live in the sewers boy!" And Hadge swiftly backed across the busy intersection. Hearing the old mans maniacal laughter go on and on. Until his pace was virtually an all out run, and eerily the man faded in the background, among all the crowds of people spiriting his figure away.

Suddenly he realized he was several blocks away by now. People were strangely halted in place. Everywhere motorcars had come to a standstill in the middle of the roadway. The occupants abandoned their vehicles, gathering in the streets, and the walkways, many exiting buildings, everyone looking to the sky. An indistinct shadow slowly was creeping across the town. He too gazed up into the unknown, as the moon began to block the rays of the sun, and the ground commenced to lightly tremble. The glass in the storefronts began to vibrate, but not break, and the dimness bit by bit blanketed the town.

Hadge searched the confused faces around him, all staring in disbelief, as if to say, "What's going on?" He watched the shadows eerily twisting and turning along every curve and crevice of their horrified expressions, transforming the innocent faces into devilish creatures he clearly remembered, but he fought to remind himself it wasn't real. Hearing the low rumble as the people talked amongst themselves, "Are we supposed to be having an eclipse?" Until someone abruptly burst out, "It's the end of the world!" Panic ensued the crowd. The intense shadows became monstrous, leaving his imagination to run amuck.

Quickly a mans wrinkled visage suggestively materialized like a chameleon into a dark horrid creeper, bags of murky skin drawn-out in a gruesome distortion, with eyes no bigger than shiny black marbles, even as his elongated fingers pointed towards the darkening sky. Then a child's petrified expression looked so much like the frozen face of the reaver, cold and terrifying. He was unsure once again on what to believe, as the line seemed blurred between this life and that life, however the fear of that darker world seemed much more threatening.

Nervously he sifted through the contorting crowds, trying to get away. Something oddly brushed his ankle, as he searched to find nothing was there, yet feeling quite spooked. Then something sharp gouged at his side. Instantly he turned to glimpse a set of keys in someone's hand, and still there were many more people with sharp objects in their hands as well. Reminded yet again to stay calm. Out of the darkness a hand grabbed his arm, pulling him in the opposite direction he was moving. Even as he searched for the unknown assailant, only to find shadows in its place, as he fought desperately to break away.

Hadge was forced inside a dark building. A musty odor quickly invaded his lungs, and the door slammed shut behind him, dispersing clouds of dust, making visibility next to nothing. His quaking hands dropped the strange book, jerking hard on the handle, while his erratic breathing filled the space.

"Hadyn?" A sweet familiar voice called out, "Its me."

Immediately the fears melted away, and his dark memories were nothing more than a child's nightmare. As he suddenly felt foolish and embarrassed he'd allowed his imagination to wander so far, quickly masking that expression, in no sense of the word to be unmanly. His head tilting in her direction replying, "Carrissa." Pretending to know all along, "Your perfume gives you away every time."

Carrissa's heckling stare said more than words could ever say, as he swiftly changed the subject, "What do you think is going on out there?"

The lines of her face grew solemn. She looked out the glass at the ensuing turmoil, and her eyes grew dark with a knowing sorrow, "The edge of darkness."

Then she leaned down retrieving the strange book. Without delay the silver binding turned green and alive, growing and moving. Then the intertwined vines untwisted from the book, unfettering the bound blue pages, even as the dried darkened leather had grown as lively as human flesh. The leather flexed back and forth, stirring beneath her very fingertips.

Carrissa gasped, her hands suddenly trembling, and her face as white as a sheet. Hadge held out his hand for support, rather concerned, asking, "Are you alight Carrissa?" All at once the letters of the title carved into its soft tissue one by one, as each letter began to bleed, surely as if the book were living. The words were now clear, "The Edge of Darkness."

Hadge marveled, "How did she know the name of the book?"

Carrissa opened the cover of the book. The pages were thin sheets of blue fire, as the flames remained in a perfect square, each fiery sheet clearly revealing the next, seeing that the written text were layers upon layers.

Her ashen complexion turned even whiter. Swiftly she closed the book, looking quite grim, and bizarrely stared at him, but never seemed to truly focus he was there. Then she said, "No matter what happens promise to protect me."

Bewildered by this request, he discerned there was only one possible answer, "You know I will."

She nodded, as her eyes fell back to the book. Watching the blood drip from its surface, as if it were an eternity, but in reality only a second, until the blood struck the floor. At once that single droplet of blood sent a vibrating sonic type boom across the planet, and all grew astoundingly silent.

Then the warmth began to be devoured from the environment, and the soil chilled to an ashy gray. Everywhere you looked bizarre black vaporous gas escaped from cracks in the ground. The gas expanding into solid black sinister forms, as the forms unsettling faces were drawn and frozen, with the excess skin seemingly pulled under the snout, which concealed the creature's mouths. The hellish creatures had cold black shark like eyes, which gave it the impression of being able to stare straight into your soul. Ungodly as they were ominously shifting among the people, with the dust of ages falling from the tattered rags covered bodies, or maybe it was the ashes of the dead.

The evil creatures extended their long sharp blade-like fingers, attacking onlookers one by one, as if they had come to do the devils bidding. What evils truly lain hiding beneath all of the Devils children, horror, death, despair, the answer as elusive as capturing a moment in time. But these hideous creatures were simply known as the reavers. At once people began screaming and running, as the reavers did what they do best, kill.

Suddenly the floor beneath them began to shake, diverting their attention to the dilemma at hand. Boards began to snap and break, even as the floor tore open, and swallowed them into the dark chasm below. They were lost amid the fragments of Scheel's Bargain Bookstore. Each choking on the dense billowing dust, as a ghostly bluish glow cascaded through the debris, which had left a layer of grime in its wake. Definite the shallow light emanated from the strange book, almost certain The Edge of Darkness laid hidden somewhere in the rubble.

Weakly they crawled from under the muddle, encrusted in deposits of dirt. Both looking discouraged up at the precarious opening above them, but they were glad to be all right. At what moment Carrissa learned she'd lost the book, yelling, "The book!" He wasn't quite sure why she was so upset over the book, yet could hear her every taut word. "Help me find it!" Filth flew from her fingertips, as she dug through the rubble.

Then the room started to fill with several of those black vaporous gas pockets. Fear instantly seizing his lungs, hearing the urgent sound of his voice ricocheting through his skull, "Reavers!" And he knew they had very little time to flee. He quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her towards a basement window. It had been shattered in the collapse. She desperately fought against him, squealing, "No! We need that book!"

Hadge forcefully pulled the combative Carrissa into the alley behind the building. He declared loudly, "The book won't do any good if we're dead." Something she'd already known deep down inside.

That very moment something small and black darted towards their feet, hissing. He believed they'd stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire, as they fearfully sidestepped the obscured creature, realizing it was nothing more than a terrified black cat. The cat hastily fled from sight, just like all the other animals, like they had known something was going to happen. At what time they breathed a temporary sigh of relief, without delay the brief moment of safety promptly ended. The empty window filled with the terrifying shapes of reavers.

They rushed off into the maze of cars in the street. He observed the out of the ordinary blue torches following the roadways, not sure how these peculiar events have to do with the happenings on Ennead Mountain, or if any of this was factual. Nonetheless the devastation seemed exceedingly genuine. Bodies were flung here, people would run there, every which way they turned the path was red with death and destruction, amid horrific earsplitting shrieks that never seemed to cease.

They rounded yet another car, running headlong into one of those dark demons. It wasted no time in aiming its deadly weapons upon them. Unerringly as Hadge flung the car door open, blocking the beasts assault. Giving them enough time to crawl through the vehicle, and escape to the other side. When he came to realize, "Leaving the city is the only hope." Thinking of the Grendlocke Cemetery cavern, recalling how the caves had always been a haven from the darkness. As he suggested between breaths, "I know, where we can hide."

"No!" She reacted very adamantly, "We have to follow the road."

"Carrissa." He pleaded. While they continued through the chaotic street, "We can't do that." She went stubbornly silent. He chillingly remembered the rules of the dark world. "The reavers watch the road." True or false it logically made sense, as he stressed, "It would be suicide."

She gave him a fleeting glance, stony and complacent, "I have to do this." Persisting to move en route for the mountains, as he tugged at her arm begging, "Please, Carrissa." However knew her mind was set, furthermore there would be no changing it now, and he would follow her to the end of the world, if need be. Above and beyond he couldn't break his promise of protecting her, praying she understood what she was doing. Thenceforth all words remained unsaid.

Out of the hectic darkness he recognized the street corner plastered with numerous flyers. His mind reflecting upon the frightening old man he'd met earlier, as his eyesight promptly fell to the manhole, seeing people fleeing into the sewers.

Abruptly the noise of distant thunder drummed across the town. Then dark ominous clouds rolled overhead, and the ground commenced to quake harder, causing a webbing of cracks in the land. The ground starting to split beneath their very feet, as they manipulated the surface like a game of chance, one wrong move could cast you to your death. Finally they had come full circle, to the street at the very edge of town, convinced they may still have a chance of escaping this maddening place. The picket fence still there, but oddly leaning, as Hadge half expected he would hear the old woman's grating voice, but she was no longer there. Only the reavers lingered behind, roaming for those they have missed.

All of a sudden a reaver's distorted head stopped, and crooked stiffly in their direction, as its hunched stance tensed with awareness. Then just as quickly it galloped in their direction, seeming to move much faster than they looked. Hadge shouting, "Run!" Which barely gave them time to take flight through the picket fence.

They trampled the once prized flowers of the old woman. Hadge wasn't sure if they could even out run this creature, curiously he couldn't remember them being so fast, nor could he remember being so slow. Certain they would have to stand and fight this thing. They scrambled around to the back of the Victorian house, and he hastily searched the yard for a weapon. A shovel rested against the house, next to the old woman's prize flowerbed, as he swiftly scooped it up on his way passed. Then pulled Carrissa flat against the back corner of the house.

Hadge waited and listened for the demon to appear, not in the least surprised by its growls, a deep throaty rumble, similar to a big cat. A shadow rounded the building, and the shovel instantly slashed through the air, with swift and deadly might he severed the demons head. Ashes discharged from the deadly wound, until the twitching beast ceased to move. At what time he grasped the bizarre fact, that these reavers were never really alive, wholly the spawn of Hell.

Hadge threw the shovel aside, anxiously seizing Carrissa's arm, "We have to get out of here now." As they climbed over the backyard fence, departing into the nearby trees.

Grendlocke Cemetery could be seen from where they were. Everywhere you looked were heaps of bodies, all sick or deformed somehow, some covered in bandages, or others missing limbs. They dared not get too close, walking instead through the field of flowers. The ground trembled once more, with their vision falling between the flowing flowers, horrifyingly discovering the bodies of small children and babies strewn throughout the field. Hell had cast them all away, not worthy of the Devils army.

"Oh my Yahveh!" Carrissa cried. He could feel her form become limp with despair in his arms, and he pulled her tighter to his chest, knowing exactly how she felt, because he felt the same way. But he had to remain strong for the both of them. Saying weakly, "We have to keep going." And lead them towards the river.

Eerie black smoke boiled up from the pines at the base of the mountain, rolling amongst the turbulent clouds overhead. Elysium seemed darker than ever before. Out of this blackness a distant rumbling echoed throughout the valley, it was thunder, as a storm was sure to follow. Streaks of lightning barbed across the sky, and the cold wet rain began to pour, however it wasn't water, but droplets of blood. The red rain tinted everything in its path a bright scarlet, even staining the flowers in the field. The lightning wickedly grew more frequent. They ran faster, throughout the pines, searching for some kind of shelter.

Then a dark looming structure came into sight. His steps faltering, as he questioned what the object could possibly be, "What is that?"

The structure set just beyond the opposite side of the river, close to the lock and dam. It was a huge unfamiliar construction nestled amid the pines, at the base of Ennead Mountains, which emitted an eerie black smoke into the rain clouds. The structure was the shape of a massive mollusk shell, having the appearance of a living sentient being, as it breathed in and out, expanding its dark vein covered surface, as one large central vein traversed its entire expanse, and ending at the river. Even as it seemed to expel a red waste into the once clear river, and the stench was unbearably revolting, drawing a mass of flies to the putrid substance.

They had noticed reavers coming and going from this place, from the very abscess of Hell. Quickly they ducked out of sight. Seeing that the reavers guarded the dam. Carrissa anxiously asked, "How are we going to cross the river now?" He confidently replied, "We'll find a way." However he wasn't so sure.

Abruptly the trembling ground rocked violently, as they ran in the direction of Old Harrier Road, along the riverside, the bridge swayed from side to side, dropping chunks of concrete, and a support transversely over the water, nonetheless remained generally intact. When the shaking stopped he pointed at the unstable concrete, stating, "We cross there."

She timidly yowled, "No." Staring at the unsound concrete swinging above the site.

"We don't have a choice." He briskly announced. Spotting a reaver nearby, from a trace of light originating from a bolt of lightning. He securely grabbed her arm, and pulled her to the provisional bridge. She reluctantly let him guide her over the unsteady concrete, as they inched their way across. Terrifyingly the sounds of concrete thumped all around them, as splashes of water doused them time and again. Most of the pieces were tiny, but even big slabs of concrete slipped into the river, sinking as fast as it hit the water. The river was wider than he had anticipated, as they jumped from one rock to the next, and some would sink as quickly as their feet leapt from its surface. At last they made it across, but just barely.

"This way." Hadge said, pulling her in the direction of the mountain, because if memory served him right the bridge would collapse right where they are now.

He anxiously scanned the countryside as they ran, finding that the darkness and shadows seemed very much the same. Hadge feared that a reaver could emerge from anywhere, even amidst the haunting flashes of lightning, although the lightning was becoming few and far between. Safety was first and foremost, as he suggested, "We should keep going." She soundly agreed, "Yea."

They tracked up the path, through the pines, where mushrooms grew in plentitude. She inexplicably stopped, and picked armfuls of the red cap mushrooms. He observed her odd behavior in sheer confusion, asking, "What are you doing?" And rushed, "We don't have time to pick mushrooms." Her reply seemed far away, as if her thoughts were on a different planet, "I need to do this." Hadge could hardly understand the reasoning why she had to pick mushrooms at a time like this, when death lurked around every dark corner. Nevertheless all he could do was silently trail behind her, as they crossed the ridge, and hope they wouldn't be seen.

Carrissa mysteriously scattered the mushrooms all along the way, as he started to believe, "Those are the same mushrooms that saved Uwee and I from the spiders." Hadge thought of the hideous spiders, how their strange glow reflected off the leaves of the widow's weeds, and how their size could bring down even the largest of men. Suddenly he noticed small flashes of light all across the ridge, as tiny harmless fireflies soared everywhere in the darkness, glowing reds, greens, and blues. And he had to wonder just how these tiny bugs turned into something so horribly gruesome.

Steeper and steeper up the mountain they'd climbed. Old Harrier Road was no more than a few feet away. "We have to follow the torches." She exclaimed, as the flames gently tilted in her direction, and it was understood, "She has to finish this journey."

All at once tremors rocked more fiercely than ever before. The bridge once again swayed from the twisting force. Off in the distance the shadowy form of the city began to crumble, until it had vanished from the skyline. Rocks came rolling off the mountain, as they ducked and dodged the falling debris, and scrambled to the protection of the mountain tunnel. Vehicles were wrecked everywhere along the roadway. All they could do was idly standby and watch the bridge fall apart, section by section, taking vehicles, asphalt, and concrete all to the river and land below.

Unexpectedly a reaver came from out of nowhere. It snatched Carrissa from behind, prying her from Hadge's grip. Hadge roared an indistinguishable noise, "Naaaaaoooooooooo!" The sounds of her screams echoed like an eternity in his ears, a hopeless eternity, because he doubted he could save her now. The creature sped to the opposite side of the roadway in less than a blink of the eye. Hadge was in hot pursuit, yet the reaver was much too fast. It stopped briefly, as if to mock him. He was angrily shouting at the beast, "I'll kill you!"

A startling bright white light fast approached Hadge in the middle of the roadway, next to blinding. He recognized the light a bit too late; it was a military truck, hauling full force in his direction. The driver was gone, bloodstains left as a clue that someone had once been there. The huge metal object was out of control, plowing into Hadges soft pliable body. Hadge heeded the sounds of his own breaking bones, even as the flesh tore from his body, and he could no longer move. He helplessly lay dying, half a man, and crushed between the guardrail and the truck, realizing he surprisingly felt no pain.

Time had come to a standstill. Hadge was perfectly clear about his last conscious moments, how powerless he was not to be able to help the woman he loved, nor could he help himself.

The reaver dragged Carrissa into the darkness. She was kicking and screaming, but her futile struggles didn't hinder the beast in any way. At last they faded from Hadge's wearisome sight, faded from any chance of keeping his promise. He hated the weak person he has become, until he despaired to think, "I deserve to die."

Hadges waning vision stopped on his distorted reflection in the bumper of the truck, it was not of a man, but the remains of the skeleton he'd so recently remembered from mount Ennead. His thoughts twisted in doubt, "Is all of this real?" Or "Could it be a freakish nightmare?" At last deciding it had to be real, because it explained so many things in his own world, things that all led to The Edge of Darkness, a book seemingly the root of all evil.

His beaten mind could hardly process anymore, and all that he had left was a wish, "I want to go home." As his darkening eyesight lastly fell upon a blue torch that lit a nearby sign, which read, "You are now leaving Harbinger." Even as he deliriously whispered prior to this life's demise, "The book.............."

Chapter 3: Harbinger.

Hadge gasped for air, as if death were knocking at his door. He sat bolt upright in his room beneath Grendlocke Cemetery, trying to focus out of the melee of darkness. Still he felt trapped somewhere between realities, between the light and the dark worlds. All throughout his waking ordeal haunting words rang over and over in his head, the murmurs of a dead man, "The book.... The book... The book...."

At last the murky trappings evaporated into the corners of his unkempt room. In that same instance he envisioned seeing the frozen face of a reaver staring back at him, from just beyond the connecting passageway. He gasped out of surprise, however not a sound had passed his lips. Then the dark figure glided silently passed his chamber door. Its filthy robes rippling as it stirred, descending into the depths of the caverns, and it was gone.

"No..." He excitedly exhaled. His head fell into his hands, still disoriented by the soama. Replaying the recent nightmares in his head, almost positive he'd somehow transferred the dream-like image of the reaver from Old Harrier Road, and replicated it into the doorway. Reminding himself of the fact, "Reavers don't come to the Cemetery."

Slow and painfully he arose, ambling warily to the entrance. Attempting to put this subject to rest once and for all. As he took that heart-stopping step into the murky walkway, feeling the unusual powdery dirt beneath his feet, just as something touched his face. He grabbed his small dagger from his belt, defensively extending it out in front of him. At once his eyes rested on the stray tree roots dangling through the cracks in the rocks, like black gossamer threads, every single one eerily moving from an unknown source. Soundly berating his foolishness, "You idiot." Feeling relatively stupid, "I'm the reason the roots are moving."

Quickly he scanned the devious walkway, discovering absolutely nothing. Bitterly thinking, "Imagine that." As those irritated words resounded throughout the cavity of his skull, tormenting and twisting into something so unexpectedly familiar. "The book..." The lasting sound still ringing from his haunted memory, "The book..." Uttered the poor guy from the Old Harrier Road. He recalled the girl thinking the book was important, and he too had now come to believe the book was the answer to everything that has happened. Hearing the warring voices argue in his head, "That is." He questioned, "If its real." The last place the book was known to have been was in the city, and the city happened to be a very dangerous place. He hated to take a trip for something that may not even exist.

Hadge stepped back into his homely room. Everything remained in its place, clothes and books left where they'd landed. Uwee still asleep on his handmade bed, which he'd made from all sorts of scavenged items. Remembering how terrifyingly it was that they had barely escaped the deadly spiders. All thanks to the girl that spread those mushrooms across the ridge, or they wouldn't be alive right now. It was curious how she'd even known to scatter the mushrooms in the first place. Finally clarity dawned upon his set mind, "Its all true." As his demeanor turned stony and complacent, and his emphatic words were no more than air, "I need that book!" Deciding on the spot, "I have to go to Harbinger now. While Uwee is still out cold."

Without a second thought he grabbed his small Novena military rucksack. It had already been packed for the previous expedition to Mount Ennead, and had everything he would need for this latest danger filled trip. Starting to feel intensely worried, knowing that Harbinger is full of monstrous creatures, and the dangers on this jaunt far outweighed what occurred on the mountain. He eyed Uwee the entire way out of the room, since he couldn't risk having that grubb following him this time.

Hadge climbed up and out of the deep dank vault. Keeping in mind how easy the climb had been for the dead man from his nightmare, he had been at least two feet taller. Nonetheless size didn't impede his tiny form, anticipating that first step out into the mausoleum. However it was not bright and beautiful like he had remembered, instead settled into a murky darkness, left scarred over the many years. He carefully slid the lid of the vault back into place. Immediately glancing at the hole where the stained glass had once been, seeing that the ghostly images of sunlight wafted through his mind, drawing him eagerly out into the open cemetery. At first feeling a bit disappointed, recalling how wonderfully warm the sun had felt on his skin, but the bleak cold had taken its place. Letting his eyes miserably fall to the bizarre headstone with his name etched in stone. Uttering softly, "Poor old woman."

Abruptly the face of a reaver eerily rolled up out of the darkness. He half ran, half stumbled onto his backside, and the face hovered an inch from his own. The shadows jarringly played over the flesh, like the silken wings of an insect, confusingly shifting in the sallow light. At last recognizing the dried deformed husk of a creeper, its shape similar to a human. Angrily he struck out at the snake like skin, stomping it into the ground. While the unspeakable memories of the bodies forced its way back, the dismembered and sick. Instantly he jerked away sensing his weakened stomach lurch.

The subtle sounds of movement slithered through the freeze-dried grass. Quickly he turned to see what it could be, making out two marble sized gray elliptical eyes, which seemed to watch his every motion from its dark vantage point. Right away he knew it was a creeper, very rarely seen in any light, and generally harmless, except to small fingers and toes. He protectively folded his arms close, taking a wide path around the creature. Then walked in the direction of Harbinger.

Hadge glanced back from whence he came, catching movement out of the corner of his eye. A black figure was milling around the Mausoleum, lumbering unlike any other creature, except for the evil reavers. Precisely as he cocked his head solidly in that direction, finding nothing out of the ordinary, except for the empty cemetery. As he began to think, "The soama must still be creating hallucinations." Counting the visions of reavers since his awakening, "Three times in all." Fearing the effects may hamper this journey, if it didn't wear off soon. Nothing in this entire world was as important than that book.

Harbinger a dark menacing foe, awaiting his reckless arrival. He walked through the once beautiful field of flowers, which were devastated by death, when the blood of innocence had tainted this ground, permanently staining the flora scarlet. His mind rewinding the nightmares back to that moment in the field, with tiny discarded bodies left helpless and dieing, "Mama." A phantom voice called out, emotionally immersing him deep into a well of sadness, as the moment had grown so intense, and he nearly believed he was there. As his nervous steps began to falter, half worried about all the things that could hide unseen by the naked eye, until it would be far too late.

Suddenly he realized the plants gently leaning to follow his path. He weighed the threat of the undergrowth in his mind, "Should I be afraid? Or not?" He questioned, "Could it be a reaver?" Yet somehow the tiny voice in his ear convinced him there was nothing to fear. Even as loose petals oddly drifted around him, like moths to a flame. Duly noting the lack of any real breeze, swatting the little annoyances away. Hearing the onslaught of teeny tiny noises all about him, rather like the muffled voices of children deep in the heart of the caverns. Goose bumps raised across his body, feeling quite spooked, forcing his knocking knees to keep moving. Still swatting at the strange cumbersome things about his face, seeing that walking had become a chore. Without warning tripping backside first over a concealed rock, motionlessly moaning in pain.

Hadge opened his eyes, just as a scarlet petal landed on the tip of his nose. It was not a petal nor an insect, but a plump microscopic cherub, an angelic winged fairy-like child. The fairy child laughed at his folly, even as laughter carried along the air, and the sounds began to make sense. He now understood what had happened to the children so long ago, "They are still here in this field." And he wondered, "How did I not see them before now?" As a soft melodic whisper played in his ear, "They're here."

Without warning the fairies flocked his body, covering every inch. Terror ripped through his mind, "They're going to kill me!" He flapped his arms at the tiny creatures until an invading noise hushed his actions, and the fairies into silence. Sounds of rustling grass in close proximity. He dared to take a peek above the vegetation. The outlines of five reavers lumbered passed, unusually in the direction of the Cemetery. And he realized, "The fairies had saved him." As he was amused to think, "A lot of things can hide in these fields, including me."

At a snail's pace he crawled in the opposite direction, much like a snake in the grass, slithering his way to Harbinger. His tiny new found friends tagging along. Although he was quite interested in why the reavers were so close to Grendlocke Cemetery, because normally they never come to the Cemetery. He realized he may never know the answer to that particular question, and continued on his arduous creeping journey.

The edge of Harbinger, remnants of another time, left charred, and broken. This world crawling with innumerable sorts of creatures, all hell bent on survival, and killing whatever may come their way. Eerily outlines crept back and forth among the ruins, moreover he was positive some had to be reavers, harbingers of death. Without a doubt he realized the only chance to reach the book safely would be the sewers, nevertheless he didn't cherish the idea. He had heard stories from the Elders of humans in the under city, which had devolved into monstrous creatures. They killed their own kind to survive, until that fierce hunger for flesh became their way of life. Hadge scoffed at the thought, knowing the rumors to be unfounded, as he himself had entered the sewers many times for rare molds, and never encountered any so called man-eaters.

Precisely where he stood at this moment had once upon a time been a street, which was now leveled, and blended into the field. Everywhere scattered pieces of humanity were strewn in the silt, a piece of a yard bench peeking from the flora, a wheel from what they called a bicycle, and a child's doll stuck in the filth, with half its face distorted from the fires. Hadge had stumbled upon this place many years ago, while searching for rations. It had literally been buried over time; he'd been the first human to walk its streets in decades, with no one else aware of its existence.

He kneeled down, sweeping his hand through the soot, until he found the manhole. Not long after he could sense the fairies nervously dart around him, certain they had no reason to be worried. Hadge cautiously removed the manhole cover, and climbed down into the depths of inky blackness, fortunate to have nocturnal eyesight. His kind were born of the night, nevertheless the blackness down here was close to impenetrable. Immediately he began to scan the foul smelling passageway that lain beneath a dead end street. The walls and floors of the sewer were coated with layer upon layer of black sludge, which had all drained from the destruction above. He carefully traversed through the straightway of sewers, towards the first junction, half a block away.

Unexpectedly one of the fairies landed on his ear, as its soft melodic voice whispered, "They will hear you." Hadge instinctively brushed his ear, relatively confused, "What?" Hearing the same thing, but now in his other ear, "They will hear you." He rumbled, "Go away!" Swatting the stale air around his head, watching the fairies flitter away. He started to wonder what the fairies had truly meant, because if he made enough noise he could be heard by any number of creatures, and he hadn't planned to make any noise at all.

The inconsequential matter caused him to misstep, stumbling into the murky waters flowing down the center of the sewers. The substance within reminiscent of the thick slime from a slug, sticking to the skin just like glue. Each ensuing step he would slide crazily for a toehold, and his feet would seem to gravitate back to the water. He rather feared those rogue splashes sounded just like an injured animal, chastising himself "Way to go grubb." Feebly scraping the pads of his feet on a broken chunk of concrete. Suddenly starting to think everything seemed much darker than before, but feared a light may not go unnoticed, and slowly trudged through the sewers, until he reached the first junction.

Oddly he began hearing indescribable sounds, precisely as the fairies nervously darted around him once more, trying to whisper in his ear. He swatted the little buggers away, suspecting they were making the odd noises, irritably growling, "Would you leave me alone?"

Then followed the left hand path, realizing the indescribable sounds now faintly resembled something being dragged. Quickly he dismissed this as well, reminding himself, "All things constantly settle." Next he took a right, in the direction of the Victorian homes from his vision, which he had committed to memory. The dark side of the memory trailed close behind, seeing the unceremonious death of the reaver play over and over in his head like a broken record. At that very moment the reaver had fallen in two pieces from the trauma of the shovel, empty of any real life, apart from ashes to ashes and dust to dust.

He mindlessly swatted at the air around him. Oddly aware that he hadn't seen or heard any rats, it was as if the rodents had vanished off the face of the planet. He laughed at the notion, "Nah." He thought, "Something else is happening here." Then he recalled all the dead insects on Mount Ennead, as visions of spiders danced in his head. Quite certain there had to be some other reasonable explanation, because neither stories nor wild ideas would keep him from his task of obtaining that book.

Suddenly the bizarre noises had grown louder, to the point that he could no longer disregard it. He was positive of one thing, it couldn't be the fairies, as they fretfully zipped around him. Hadge tried to adjust his vision towards the originating sound, yet black only lead to more black, with the distant sound migrating closer with each and every step he took. He nervously felt trapped, trying to catch his bearings, almost sure he must be close to the corner with all the flyers by now, however a discouraging thought trailed close behind, "Where is the exit?" Knowing even if he made it out of here, he is still blocks from his destination, and had no doubts that many monstrous things stood between here and there.

"Shhhhhhh. They will hear you." A tiny voice whispered in his ear, it was a warning, he knew, like all the other warnings, "But from what?" He speculated it was much too dark to tell, uneasily on his guard.

He stood mere steps away from the next junction, remarking that the noises had now moved ahead of him. Subsequently there was rustling, followed by a scrape, then something being dragged, and the sounds of rocks toppling across the concrete floor. Eerily the blackness rippled before his eyes, something was there. What and how many were unclear.

Hadge silently stood stock still less than four feet from the exit. The tiny fairies had grown quite agitated, darting at the obscured creatures. They were trying to protect him once more, yet the malignant creatures never seemed to notice, as if they might be blind, or the dark impeded their eyesight much more than his own. He now understood the words of warning he was given, "They will hear you." These things hunted with a dominant sense of sound. Warily his eyes were drawn to the icy metal ladder, dangerously hanging in the midst of the creatures. Being this close to the exit he had no intentions of going back now, but was uncertain how he could escape without making a sound.

The scuffling noises randomly moved around him, they couldn't hear him, but knew he was there. The tall dark ominous human-like figures all aimlessly swept the space, stopping only for immoveable objects. While still others of its kind fought amongst themselves viscously biting, and clawing. The deadly figures meandered in circles around him, as even more arrived with each passing second, ensnaring him within a sketchy dilemma. He envisioned the dire outcome, " If I stay much longer I will most likely die. If I run they will attack like a pack of wolves, and I would die." There seemed to be no real solution.

Jarringly he felt something brush against his hair, like the wisp of a spider web. He knew something was nearby, as a foul sweltering breath assaulted his nose, smelling of rotting flesh. Promptly focusing on the rippling blackness in front of him, a sinister figure was close enough for him to see. It was a scraggily pale old man, with thinning gray hair, one blackened lifeless eye barely open in his gaunt face, and a mouth full of decayed teeth. Those features alarmingly reminded him of the haggard old man from the corner, seeing that he was mentally bewildered, "How could it be him?" It didn't add up, "He should be dead by now." The man's final words eerily replayed like a death march in his head, "They say monsters live in the sewers boy!" Knowing the old man was right; monsters do live in the sewer.

Hadge discerned the fact that the next pass they would find him, he only had seconds to live or die. Instantaneously the fairies united, taking on the shape of a human, while their tiny echoes of laughter filled the sickening sewers, and the monsters were drawn to the childlike sounds. Then the fairies led the zombie inhabitants in the opposite direction, as he heard a tiny voice in his ear, "Run.." He wasted no time sprinting for the ladder, thankful once more for their help.

Hadge stopped for a split second on the ladder, glancing in the direction the fairies had gone. He could no longer see them, or hear them, and hoped they were okay. Then a mysterious white light took their place, eerily drifting in his direction. It was redolent of the moment before the poor guy on Ennead Mountain's death. In that moment he oddly felt a familiarity, although in an intimidating kind of way, and he had no desire to find out how familiar. His pace was virtually an all out run through the manhole.

Breathlessly he stood in the middle of the ravaged, and torn street of Harbinger. It had been left fractured by the many earthquakes so long ago. The familiar street corner from his nightmare, even as flyers still loosely clung to the twisted pole, which had fallen from a great crack in the concrete. Everywhere ominous shadowy vehicles were positioned alarmingly around him, like abandoned chess pieces. He imagined any second he would be checked by something in the dark, and the game would be over.

The immeasurable crisp silence tormented his exceptional hearing, clinging to the only audible thing he could find, the frantic vibrating of his own beating heart. His thoughts were warningly predisposed; "Silence isn't necessarily a good thing."

Instantly he noticed an airy disturbance, rather similar to breathing. Unerringly he spotted one stray fairy zipping fretfully from side to side; sure it was the source of the disturbance, as its radical motions were hardly understandable. He edgily asked the tiny cherub, "What?" Until he comprehended the fairy wasn't manufacturing the unusual short blustery sounds, and the fact remained the bursts steadily were getting louder, and louder, and louder.

At that instance his full attention moved to the macabre of shadowy vehicle. He spotted two massive huffing black figures heading his way, at top velocity. Fearfully he stumbled backwards, just as a white ghostly hand seized his ankle from the sewer, causing his unbalanced body to plunge hard into the remains of a nearby car. Abruptly a dark hissing beast was flushed from the vehicles inky odorous depths, it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Hadge was frozen with fear among the metal frame of a seat, the twisted wires trapping him inside, and could no more than watch the sinister events unfold before his eyes.

Time and space moved at the speed of lightning, erratically the hissing beast ran like a bat out of hell through the mish-mash of vehicles as well as debris, running ill-fated, and headlong towards the two large fast shifting shapes. Then the pair of massive black figures took chase after the smaller hissing beast.

All at once the air began to rumble again and again, with short ferocious bursts of deep down grisly tones. He'd never heard the likes of these frightening sounds so closely before. The sounds resonated at an increased rhythmic frequency inside the metal shell of the vehicle, painfully ringing inside his delicate eardrums, as he winced from each hard-hitting sound, promptly covering his tender ears. Uneasily he crawled from the vehicle, to a safe dark place between the broken post, and warped fencerow, which was meshed with a canopy of dried dead vines. That is where he remained until the excruciating sounds weakly released their grip on his senses.

Spontaneously the washed out flyers on the warped pole fluttered from his intense breathing, noting one faded flyer in particular. It was the flyer from his dream, with the image of a large muscular black dog. Without delay he recalled the photo had been taken at the very house on this corner, as he chanced to take a look at the ramshackle dwelling. The greater part of the house was gone now; sadly all that remained was the dark dank basement, with boards and siding collapsed on top. Restlessly imagining the dark dank inky depths as just another place for creatures to hide. Suddenly a chill crept up his spine, as if something eerily watched him from that mysterious darkness, and the dread was so intense he had to get away.

The crushing dread drove him in route to the obscurity of a nearby car, and then he fled to another car, each not seeming far enough away from that inky dwelling. He apprehensively continued sifting through the vehicles, moving further through the streets, realizing he was close to the last place he remembered seeing the book. Strangely he couldn't shake the sense of being watched, as if it were pursuing him. That's when he heard the light sounds of footsteps terrifyingly shadowing his own, his three steps echoed three from the unknown, when he walked, it walked, when he ran, it ran, like a game of cat and mouse. Whatever was out there its motives were as uncertain as the dark world they lived in, and he knew only one thing for sure, he was much too close to that book to stop now.

Suddenly the shimmering red fairy darted before his eyes, and an idea sprouted in his mind, whispering to the little flying gem, "Come here Ruby." He believed the name sounded befitting, and the fairy flew close, whilst he whispered his proposal, "Distract that creature." Ruby gladly did as he asked, swiftly vanishing into the darkness behind him.

Hadge could see his final destination, Scheel's bookstore. The building in need of more repairs than he had hoped, it was nothing more than a pile of rock and wood. Adamantly thinking, "Discovering a way through the dense rubble would without doubt be a trick." He listened for the shadowed steps behind him and amazingly they were gone. Ruby had done her job well. He had to laugh that he'd outsmarted the thing.

Carefully he made his way to the dilapidated structure, squeezing through the precarious debris, inching his way deeper inside. Everywhere things fell around him, large, and small, even as strained nails groaned loudly from his shifting weight. Even worse sharp objects tore at his exposed skin, the besieged flesh leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Finally he reached the inner sanctum of the basement, thankful he had made it almost in one piece.

The basement was inundated with a ghostly blue light, shelves broken and toppled in all directions, and wires dangling everywhere. Eerily the wires dangled in such a way they were reminiscent of a giant spider's legs, all hanging from its monstrous inner core. The faux spider gave the creepy impression that it could squash you at any given moment, if it so wished. Hadges eyes scanned the contents of the room, his sight focusing solely on the mysterious book. It surprisingly rested peacefully in the center of this space, as its tempting blue glow generated outwards, like the fingers of evil, expressing words it could not say, "Look what I can do."

Immediately he was horrifyingly aware of hundreds of dead creatures lain amongst the debris, with layers of dust dating how long each had been there, some more recent than others. Each had mysteriously dropped dead, and he had to wonder, "Why?" Shockingly realizing for the first time he now stood within a tomb.

Without warning he heard a deathly low growl from the far corner, something was still alive in the room. He had no plans leaving without that book. Hadge skimmed the debris for a weapon, anything would do. He picked up a busted two by four, determinedly inching his way to that book, sure it was the answer to everything. The growls turned to hissing, similar to the beast from the car. He tilted his head ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of this foe, a scabby feral cat, left hairless, emaciated, scarred, and strange flesh–like growths allover its body. Then a much louder growl came from the opposite side of the room, a hairless mutated dog, with similar growths. It too was nearly scarred to the point of being unrecognizable, other than it was big, and black. He now stood between a rock and a hard place, because both starving animals wanted a piece of him.

Suddenly the animals leapt forth, as he dove for the book. He expected to feel pain, but there was none. Anxiously he spun to see the animals brutally rip at each other, as the fierce sounds echoed throughout Harbinger, in all probability drawing every creature to this place. Hadge recognized this could be his only chance to flee, he was no longer an equation in this fight, but he had to leave now, before the fight changes hands.

Hadge grabbed the book and scurried through the cracks, discovering getting out was more difficult than getting in. He had barely noticed Ruby had joined him once more, until he reached street level, nodding to acknowledge her presence. The darkness of the street seemed more intense somehow, as he anxiously searched for movements. He could hear animals allover Harbinger in an uproar, not sure how he could escape all the harbingers of death awaiting for him just to make a move.

Hadge coveted the book close to his chest. A sigh escaped his lips, as if building a moment of courage, and cautiously stepped out into the open. Swiftly he retraced his footsteps through all the abandoned vehicles, and made his way towards the corner where he started. He was oddly surprised he hadn't run into anymore-feral animals, but thought they may have been drawn to the sounds from bookstore. Oddly as a matter of fact he hadn't even seen any reavers on this trip, curious to where they may have all gone. Nevertheless he had to keep his mind on the treacherous location, because he still hasn't left the city, and any numbers of beasts could appear around the next dark corner. Sadly he feared if one of the feral house pets would appear he most likely couldn't outrun it.

Quickly the house came into sight, and his eyes intently searched the inky depths of the dilapidated remains; a place that felt like home, if it weren't so dark and dangerous. Right away he noticed he wasn't being watched, so whatever was watching him earlier from the house was now gone. The corner was nearly a step away, and the edge of the city was not too far from there. He felt somewhat relieved that he would soon be out of this place, allowing his tense muscles to relax, and gave the book in his hand a satisfactorily look. "Easier than I thought." He contentedly told himself, and stepped onto the curb.

Suddenly the decayed curb crumbled beneath his feet, as he was thrown off balance, and propelled downward towards the metal storm grate. His first thoughts were of the book, he couldn't let anything happen to it, as he protectively held it closer to his chest.

Almost immediately he heard moans from beneath him, as he turned just enough to see the sewer below the storm grate was packed with walking corpse's. The hideous beasts disregarded life and limb, as they reached through the damaged grate, and held his feet in place. He pounded on their steely grip, but nothing seemed to affect the inhuman creatures. It was as if they had a dire need for his flesh, so much so they burst the grate from out of the concrete, and he was slammed onto his backside, with the heavy grate on top of him.

The undead spilled out of the opening, one crawling on top of the other, all in an effort to reach the fresh meat. Hadge desperately tried to push the heavy grate off, but its weight plus the zombies weight was too much for him to move, all that was left for him to do was scream, "Aaaaaaaaaassssaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Ruby fretfully fluttered around him, as her insignificant attacks upon the monsters face did nothing to help.

Unpredictably the warring animals from the tomb had stirred to the streets, which in turn temporarily engaged the zombie's attention. Soon they were chasing the animals, as some pursued the hissing cat in one direction, and the others pursued the big black dog.

Hadge had fleetingly seen the ordeal out of the corner of his eye, however it still did not relieve him of his own dodgy predicament. Several of the undead clung to the opposite side of the grate, reaching over the edge at his face, but he jerked his head from side to side to avoid the contact. He didn't know how long he could keep this up before the things actually reached him, or if he developed a severe case of whiplash.

To Hadge's dismay he recognized the disgusting old man staring back at him through the grate, evilly smiling down at him, as chunks of rotten flesh and teeth rained down upon his trapped body. The horrifying words rang over and over in his head, "Monsters live in the sewer boy!" Inch by inch the dirty old man moved over the grate, as he extended his reach further and further, and at last his long dirty fingers yanked a patch of hairs from Hadges head. Hadge howled, "Yeeoooooooooooow!" And winced from the deadly touch. Ruby was still trying to help, as she kicked the zombie in the eye, and still it reached for Hadge, not even noticing the fairy at all.

All at once the large emaciated dog from the tomb inexplicably returned, surely bringing dozens more zombies with it. Hadge could see that his deadly situation had just gotten worse, because that dog wanted a piece of him as well. The big black dog ran headlong in his direction, and he braced for this new attack.

Oddly the dog assailed the zombies that were crawling over the grate instead, knocking the handful of undead to the pavement

Ruby anxiously coaxed him to move in her teeny tiny voice, "Hurry!" Hadge at last summoned enough strength to move the grate, but all he could think of was the book. "Where is it?" He hastened to roll over searching for the book as he went, and hobbled to his feet. Ruby still wheedling in his ear, pulling at his lobe in an effort to get him to move, "Run!"

Hadge started to run, but the big black dog had blocked his way, assured that the attack would ensue rather quickly. However a strange image randomly raided his mind, a hand thumbing the tag on a dog's spiked collar. It was his hand. Hadge was rather befuddled to ask, "My hand?" As an otherworldly voice simply said the name on the tag, a voice he acknowledged from the dream, "Reybe." At once knowing the dog had belonged to the poor guy on Ennead Mountain. He was quite bewildered, feeling a strong emotional attachment to the dead man, rather forgetful to his current situation. Distracted even to the fact that Ruby pushed against his ear, huffing, "What are you doing?"

The marred dog quickly nudged him into motion, and he swiftly fell into step behind the familiar big black dog, his best friend Reybe, and they ran, and ran. Running over debris of a civilization lost, at the hands of the devil himself.

Hadge detected the relics of a white picket fence, which was mostly buried beneath soot, and he knew exactly where they were. Reybe cut through the yard, where flowerbeds had once grown, and the foundation of a house still rested. It was a familiar path, a path he remembered so well, as he and Carrissa had ran into the backyard, trying to escape a reaver.

Hadge searched for any signs of the dead reaver, as if he were walking in a dream, fearing if he found one more piece of evidence it would make it all real. Astoundingly enough the reavers body still laid where it had fallen so long ago, as the head had rolled several feet from the body, its frozen face staring up at him, with a large mass on its nose. He shockingly knew who the reaver had been. He remembered the horrible old woman with the mole on her nose that lived in another life, another time, realizing for the first time that some people must have been turned into reavers. A throbbing pain ached in his heart, and mind, bearing the forceful knowledge of the fact, "I may know some of those reavers." Given that people went missing all the time.

The undead persistently followed them into the yard, over the leaning fence, and through the dead foliage. Hadge could see the field of flowers ahead, thanking Yahveh for its safety, "Thank you, oh thank you..." Then he terrifyingly heard the moans from behind them, distressed to hear the sounds of the zombies, saying, "Don't they ever give up?" The assiduous moans resounded again and again, and he was certain the man-eaters would never ever stop, not until they have blood.

Hadge began to question the trip into Harbinger, all for a foolish nightmare; nonetheless it was much too late to change his mind now.

Ruby flittered nervously about Hadge, as her tiny voice went on and on, but the words were unclear. Soon it was a plethora of tiny voices, as fairies rose up from the field of flowers, and the tiny voices kept growing louder. Hadge come to realize the voices were a gentle melodic song, as the lull of the tune seemed to slow his progress through the field, until he felt vulnerably too tired to run anymore. Nothing seemed to matter, as he watched the big black dog vanish into the flowers, as the petal-like fairies rose upwards into the thousands, all agitatedly flittering around him. It felt like a warm cloud had wrapped around him, as the tiny hands gently pulled his weary figure down into the shelter of the field, and he hadn't a care in the world.

Hadge was nestled in the safe arms of the field, as his dog Reybe was close at hand, and he coveted the strange book soundly against his chest. He could see the ominous black clouds swirl above, a sure sign the black snow was returning, and it would cover everything in a layer of ash. But nothing seemed to matter, not the zombies, not the book, or the black clouds. Only the sounds of the fairies sweet hypnotic song, as he fell fast asleep, and carefree of everything except for the lovely innocent songs.

At once a silhouette of a man and a dog lifted up from the field of flowers, drifting like feathers across the meadow, as thousands of teeny tiny giggling voices could be heard all together, all leading the unsightly man-eaters far from the field.

### Chapter 4: In the Face of Evil.

"Zombies!" Hadge frantically yelled. He could feel an icy sensation lingering upon his cheek, as something had touched him. While sorrowful moans shuddered terribly close to his ear, rousing a cool breathy draft across his neck, and a chill down his spine. His minds eye instantly visualizing the rotting corpse of the old man, hovering dangerously above him. Its long cold skeletal fingers wickedly aimed at him, and its rotting mouth breathing down his neck. He was certain of the disturbing implications, as the unsettling words rang through his head, "Dinner is served." He sat bolt upright in the unusually silent field of flowers, expecting to see a deadly man-eater drooling over him, with the unnerving notion nauseously boiling up all over again, "Dinner is served."

At that time the sluggish scenes of the fairies flashed like still photography. They had led those lifeless fiends away, leaving behind no sounds, no fairies, as he confusedly wondered, "Did any of it really happen?"

The foreign feel of dampness trickled down his cheek, every nerve and discord grimacing to the touch. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" He bellowed, quick to believe it to be slobbers, reacting to the chilling moisture like everyone would. Hadge swiftly wiped the substance from his face, as the thick pasty feel eerily spread athwart his skin, and his fingers were smeared red, the gruesome shade of blood. Then another drop struck his face, and another, and another. Even as his disconcerted vision staunchly followed the route the bleeding drops had plummeted, it was tragically raining blood once again, a true omen of death.

Dark clouds ominously churned overhead. Heathen spires had rose from the murky depths of the planet, volatilely heating and contaminating the air, as it ushered its foul pollution from the very bowels of hell, from the reavers factories. The evil factories had emerged out of hibernation once more, where death may not come only once, or even twice, but an unending demise, where sanity and pain may truly wish there were an end. The reavers hunted once more, sending their dark army's to unearth new victims to torture, and no one would be safe.

The declaration of safe unbearably struck home, he couldn't help but to worry about everyone in the caverns. Hadge wrestled with the recollection of seeing a reaver inside the caverns before he left, gravely asking, "What if it wasn't the soama, or a dream?" Which evoked more memories, "There were more reavers outside the Cemetery." Feeling his body nervously quake, "Oh my Yahveh." He cried, "They're all in danger!"

All at once bloodcurdling shrieks pierced the rigid silence, like the grisly sounds of prey captured within the razor-sharp claws of its predator. At once he thought of Uwee and the others, begging to ask that terrible question, "Could the screams be one of them?" There was no time in the trivial pursuit of answers, as he frantically attempted to trace the sounds. Scanning the darkness from his hiding place, he was despairingly drawn towards Grendlocke Cemetery, certain the reavers had to be there. By this time he had established the identity of the distinct tonal shrieks it was Uwee. With much dismay trouble seemed to find the grubb no matter where he may be, however the blame this time had grown heavy on Hadges shoulders, miserably requesting, "What have I done?"

Hadge leapt to his feet, recklessly dashing towards the distraught sounds. Oddly a startling noise swished the leaves mere feet away, shifting beneath the weight of something heavy in his wake, something moving hard and fast in his direction. He turned just in time to see a massive dark shape leap up from the shadowy foliage, his mind at once associating the shape with a reaver, and his heart skipped a beat. Then a closer inspection revealed the shape was strewn with haphazard flesh-like growths, as it quickly out ran him, and the massive figure had become identifiable. It was the dog Reybe.

The sight of Reybe was a sure sign that everything that has happened had to have been real, as real as that dog running at his side. Reybe barked a friendly acknowledgement, then left him behind, and ran into the shadowy Cemetery, vanishing from sight. The frantic shrieks grew much more invasive, infiltrated by a low guttural growl, then two, and three, until it was hard to tell how many was out there. Hadge helplessly shouted, "Uweeeeee!"

Abruptly an obscured object flung from the murky depths of the Cemetery, and shockingly landed on the ground next to his feet. "Whoa!" He was quite surprised, nearly jumping out of his own skin, as he took a step back. He caught a glimpse of the dark falling object, just before it fell into a mass of scabby scaled skin. The light had eerily played across the creatures two marble sized gray elliptical eyes, the creature had to be a creeper. Creepers were very rarely seen by humans, nor did they as a rule attack the living, nonetheless survival and hunger can make monsters out of anything. Hadges mind wrangled to fearfully consider, "Someone must be dead."

Immediately a crumpled body came into view, lying between two crumbling headstones, he had been right, someone was dead. At once he knew it was Uwee, his fair-hair matted with blood, exactly like the bodies in his nightmare, they too had been left for dead. Hadge emotionally felt he was breaking down, as the blame felt like a large brick house on his chest, just enough anguished breath to cry out, "Uweeeeee!!!"

His whole world moved in slow motion, each running step seemed to create more distance between them. Skulking shapes of creepers eerily crept from the cover of darkness, hunched on all fours, all moving deformed limbs in the direction of the helpless body. Uwee would be their next meal. Rage became all consuming, sensing the weight of the book in his hands, as he instinctively swung the book at the nearest creeper, and it smacked hard against a headstone. The creeper crumpled into a blood-splattered mess upon the grave, shrieking out in pain. Then one by one he battered the rest of the creepers aside, seeing that they too cried out in terrible agony, all bizarrely dieing where they landed. He had been momentarily bewildered, watching the last one fall, they had no real injuries, and still they died. "Strange." He'd thought, mysteriously striking a chord back to the tomb of the dead animals, wondering, "How did they all die?"

"Hadge?" A wonderfully familiar voice whispered, "Is this a nightmare?" Hadge hurried to his side, happily leaning over the grubb to respond, "I think it is."

"Good." Uwee exhaustively blinked his eyes closed, "I thought the reavers were real." Hadge promptly inquired, "Reavers?" Uwee peeped up at him through long lashes, speaking barely above a whisper, "Yea." He replied, "I dreamed there were dozens. They took everyone away except me." Horrifically this was Hadges worst nightmare.

Hadge was thankful Uwee was now out of harm's way, but had to wonder, "Why?" Then the flittering memory of the unsightly face of a reaver inside the caverns crossed his mind, they had both been in the room at the first sighting, so he had to presume, "They were both passed over." And if he had to wager a reason, it would be, "They'd been rejected because of the spider poison, or maybe the soama?" It was ludicrous to think, "No." He argued, "It couldn't be so simple." He could hardly see the reasoning in most things these days.

Hadge knew Uwee was safe, but now had to see if the others were all right inside the caverns. He turned to look at the big black dog standing over his friend, patting its grimy coat, careful not to touch any growths. Then spoke as if the dog might understand, "Reybe, watch Uwee for me."

Hadge rushed inside the blanket of blackness filling the inside of the dilapidated mausoleum, hearing the uneasy sounds of rock crumbling from the concrete vault, yet even in all this darkness he knew the way. He ran straight for two tombs, ornately fashioned in unusual keyholes, which rested next to the hindquarters of the space. Climbing up and over the edge of the farthest, which was stained from years of use. In the bottom of the tomb was a virtually invisible gap in the floor. He crawled through that crack, to a semblance of narrow stairs, which now was covered in loose rocks and debris, as slid roughly all the way down to a heavy wooden door.

This is the door to his chambers, which had oddly been left ajar. Doltish to think he might've forgotten to secure it closed, because he never forgot. The blackened door eerily creaked before him, like a breath of evil, moving slowly in and out, as he warily stepped inside. The room for the most part was intact, down to its ungodly walls and floor, which were imbedded with bones from the cemetery. An uncanny feeling of being watched literally burned hard into his flesh, seeing that the uncanny feeling had become most common these days, spiders, reavers, cats, and dogs. All had made life out to be for the most part uncomfortable, yet he was no longer afraid, just angry.

Hadge languished in the center of the room searching for any signs of life; nonetheless he was greeted by an unbreakable stillness, realizing he must keep moving. He moved to the dark uninviting exit, which separated his chambers from the caverns, the hanging roots remained utterly motionless, and he knew what he'd seen was real. The faded image of the frozen faced reaver stared from just beyond the linking walkway, its filthy robes rippling as it stirred, spreading ash when it moved.

He was certain the ordeal was quite reminiscent of the old woman reaver in Harbinger, wondering, "Could it have been somebody I've known?" He blinked the terrible vision staining his mind away, and it had once more vanished. Although the memory had departed with a farewell souvenir of ashes, scattered everywhere he looked, the same ashes he'd felt on his feet after seeing the reaver. He bent down to inspect the very ashes, which suspiciously looked like black snow.

Hadge considered the fact that the reavers may still be in the caverns somewhere, whether it were true or not he had to press onward. He quietly dared to step through the adjoining exit, which led into the networking caverns. The strange texture of ashes clung to his feet; the creepy vestiges were spread far and wide. He descended the spiral tunnel deeper into the ground, bypassing his friend Feo's quarters, after that passing little Uma's behind, at last Nibbs, and all the others who lived in the caves. Each chamber was alit with the strange glo rocks from the deep spring, revealing that the rooms were all left in shambles, however void of any real life. It was uncommonly quiet, a bit too quiet for his liking. He could hear only the insane trickle of the spring far below, sure someone would've ran up to him by now, if they were still alive. His mind despondently concluding from the overall evidence, "The reavers must have taken them?"

The intensifying sounds of the ocean permeated the caverns, growing louder as he descended the coiling path. He felt genuinely disturbed by the shadows twisting among the rocks, distorting over the natural niches within the stone, exhaling a life of its own. He growled beneath his breath, "Stoooop it..." Knowing that the caverns had long since been etched by erosion, and nothing was there. The passageway began to bud open to the lower cavern, just as the slightest racket of shifting rocks under someone's feet echoed all through the caverns, moreover he knew he was not alone, "But who or what could it be?" First and foremost in his mind, "It's a reaver!"

Then he felt as if he were being watched, the watcher studying his nervous descent. Hadges brisk walk developed into an all out run, until he reached the bottom, with nowhere else to go. The natural spring came into sight, like a tiny waterfall gathering in a clear blue pool completely lined by glo rocks, and he warily stopped at the pools edge. He scanned every shadowy recess; hearing what he believed to be breathing amid the sounds of the ocean, even as he lividly began to shout, "Show yourself..."

Suddenly there was a swish; something was cutting the air, just as he twisted to see a dark figure beside him, with its arms already in motion. The garbled tone of this creature harshly told him what he understood was the word, "Die!" There was an instance of darkness clouding every corner of his brain, but even in the confusion he had to protect the book, "The book." Soon after an angry voice rang out, words as unclear as standing in a windstorm, however he could only think of the book clutched tightly in his hands, murmuring mindlessly, "The book." All there came to be was blackness; if time passed he hadn't a clue.

The indistinguishable voice grew louder through the haze, indubitably loud enough to wake the dead, "You brought the reavers here!" The words raging, "You knew the city was off limits!" Hadge diffidently reacted, "Huh?" still enveloped by the shaky darkness. The fuming tone continued to roar, "The reavers took everyone!" He merely moaned in response, "Noooo!" Rubbing his forehead, feeling a warm thick gooey wetness collected there, in tandem he opened his eyes, focusing on the blood in his hand, "Oh my Yahveh!" He cried, "What's this?" The voice curtly apologized, "Sorry." Simply stating, "I thought you were one of them." Hadge appeared thoroughly baffled by this statement. Then a rough fat finger scoured the delicate bridge between his eyes, as those same black smudged fingers were brusquely held exceedingly close to his face, the man exclaimed, "You see!" He wanted nothing more than to argue, "No I don't see..." His eyes still focusing from whatever had hit him.

Suddenly he recognized Nibbs, a balding male about his height, however a few years younger, with a portly stomach, holding blackened fingers mere inches from his face, requesting an answer he'd by now seemed to have guessed, "What is this Hadge?"

Hadge ogled the black smudge, recalling the sinister black snow falling just before he drifted to sleep in the field of flowers. The last time the snow came was seven years ago, reeking of death, the everlasting smell lasting months, and with it many had vanished. He sadly announced, "Black snow." Nibbs feverishly yelled, "Then everyone's dead!" Hadge firmly barked, "No!" He refused to give up on the others so easily; "We can follow them, and bring them home." Nibbs stiffly retorted, "We're no match for reavers." Hadge surmised, "Maybe we're not." Pointing out, "But we can't let our friends die either." Solemnly Nibbs answered, "Your right."

Hadge stood upright, still black as night from the ash, eerily to be mistaken for the outline of a reaver. When a form dashed into the room yelling, "Die reaver!" Hadge scarcely blocked the weapon soaring at his already aching skull. He quickly identified the offender at the other end of the rotten tree branch, howling at that darned Uwee, "What the heck is wrong with you people?" Uwee begged, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to help." Adding for good measure, "But you do look like a reaver." Hadge just turned away, crossly ordering, "Lets just go."

A short while later they were all on the trail headed south towards Ennead Mountains. The trail led through the endless field of flowers, which was secretively intertwined with woodbine vines, a wild form of honeysuckles. The trodden plants left a great sorrowing divide, upset with personal effects belonging to the people they knew, Uma's glo rock necklace, Feo's homemade bow and arrows, clothes, and many more things. Without warning Reybe grew anxious, barking at something dark in the field. They cautiously moved closer, only to find the bodies of several small children, like tiny rag dolls left in the mud.

Out of nowhere the fairies materialized, gathering protectively around the children, their tiny voices weeping at the sight, and began to sing a heartrending melody. Hadge walked up next to the circle, the fairies spreading only to let him enter, as the atmosphere within felt as warm as a comforting fire. He examined the children, they were still alive, although just barely. He pulled a tonic from his backpack, giving a little to each child, hearing all the teeny tiny voices of the fairies chatter to him at once, "Yes." He answered, "Please keep them safe until we return." As the swarm of fairies swathed the children's little bodies, and swept them away with a breeze, without a doubt the children were now gone. "Lets keep going." Hadge gave a resolved look, "But." Uwee pointed towards the empty spot where the children had lain. "Don't worry, they're safe." Hadge assured them, "Now lets keep moving."

Morbidly the closer they came to the mountains, the thicker the black snow beneath their feet, wearily trudging through nine inches now. The red rains had replaced the snow for sometime, soaking everything to a vivid red. The overwhelming smell of death sickened them all, each randomly halting to heave along the dismal path. The turbulent noise of water kept growing louder; strangely from the muddle of noise voices could be heard, as if in conversation, however faint as a whisper. Hadge twisted to look at the others following behind, asking, "What did you say?" Uwee curiously cocked an eyebrow, declaring, "We didn't say anything." And the voices were now gone.

Far as the eye could see was the forest of dead pines screening the Gehemma River. No one ever came to the river, because the reavers were too thick, guarding their deadly factories on the opposite side of the water. The giant spires from the factories could be seen above the tops of the trees, yet oddly the reavers were nowhere in sight, although it did not mean they weren't there. Hadge had to wonder, "Does any of this have something to do with those damnable torches?" At what time he thought he heard an airy sigh answer, "Yessssssssssss!" He twisted this way, and that way searching for the fairy Ruby, but she was nowhere in sight. It merely had to be a figment of his imagination, or maybe he was just losing his mind.

They arrived in a clearing of the dead pines, a perfect circle where nothing grew. The Elders held to the belief they were fairy circles, but Hadge believed they have a much more sinister origin, like some kind of scar. Quickly their attention was drawn to the hideous dark factory bulging from the surface, like a vast unsightly boil upon the land. It was nestled in the midst of the dead pines, at the base of Ennead Mountains, where all the freakishly large mushrooms seemed to grow. The mushrooms were taller than the factories, hiding the evil in their shadows, even as the emissions of eerie black smoke from a factory spires greatly resembled the mushrooms.

The factory itself resembled a massive mollusk shell, having the odd appearance of a living sentient being. It breathed in and out, expanding its dark vein covered surface, as one large central vein traversed its entire expanse, with that veined intestine ending at the river. Intermittingly the vein seemed to expel a red waste into the once clear Gehemma river, seeing that most of the putrid chunky substance was locally blocked by hundreds of falling tree's, flowering woodbine vines, and other unidentifiable debris settled near the bowels of the factory. It was an unbearably revolting stench, far worse than even the black snow.

Hadge had the uneasy feeling that's where their friends were taken, time was running out, they had to keep moving. He ordered, "We'll cross the dam." Uwee cleared his throat, asking, "How?" From where they stood you could plainly see the dam had fallen in the Gehemma River, most likely long ago, which barely flowed from all the collective debris over the years.

That option was impossible, as he scoped the waters edge for another way across. Nibbs recklessly ran headlong into the water, yelling as he ran, "We can swim for it!" Even as Uwee started to follow, halted by Hadges deafening screams, "Noooooooo!!!" It was too late, Nibbs began to convulse in the wastewater, shrieking, "Something's biting me!" He barely made it back to shore.

Nibbs body was covered in blood, hard to tell if it were his own, or from the river. His body had tiny chunks missing from all over his flesh, as a few of the dastardly culprits were still latched onto his skin. They were inch and a half long white worms, with two black bulbous eyes, insignificant little black legs, resembling what people used to call maggots. Hadge hadn't encountered such things before, wondering, "What are they?" At the same time as he recalled the flies drawn to the waste in his nightmare life, supposing, "The creatures must have been born out of necessity, spawns of hell."

Abruptly chilling screeches escaped Nibbs, as he frantically beat his body, "Get'em out of me!!! Get'em out of me!!!" Everywhere you could see those things moving just under his skin, he was infected with that monstrous hell spawn. Hadge promptly held his friend down, using his dagger to kill the spawns, one by one piercing the flesh. While Nibbs unrelenting screams went on, " I can feel them inside me!" And on, "Get them out!!!" There were just too many, seeing how fast the bloodsucking creatures appeared to move, some surely had moved deeper by now. The saddened fact of the matter, Nibbs death would be imminent, a day, maybe a week, a month at the most, guessing was irrelevant at this time. He writhed in agony, as Hadge searched in his pack withdrawing a handful of dried leaves, while miscellaneous other things fell to the wayside, and he ordered, "Eat this. It will help with the pain." Nibbs begrudgingly did as he was told; wrinkling his nose to the offensive odor the leaves gave off.

All at once Reybe took a position of attack, snarling murderously, and focusing on Hadge. Hadge was momentarily confused as to why Reybe would violently turn on him. He tried to diffuse the situation, even as he raised his hand in a calm approach, softly speaking, "Its ok boy." Which goaded the dog further, as he viciously snapped at him. Hadge had no idea what to do next, considering, "I may have to kill him." Hearing Uwee shout from the shoreline, "Behind you!" Until he realized another snarling beast stood directly at his back, almost certainly drawn to all the noises they had made, however this thing was in no way friendly.

Then Reybe leapt over Hadges head, onto the hideous charcoal tinted demon dog. They tore fiercely at each other's throats, and it was hard to tell which dog was which, since their color and size were so very similar, until one dog was left standing. "Which dog?" Was the problem? It was Reybe, he had killed the beast, running to stand next to his master, "Good boy." Hadge automatically petted Reybe. He gaped at the odd dead creature, as if in deep contemplation, "What could it be?" He hadn't seen the likes of such a beast ever before. The beasts front paws bizarrely looked like hands, which at present had the misgivings of a fabled gremlin, long pointy ears, in addition to a stretched muzzle, and it too carried the same types of fleshy growths that Reybe had, so that led him to assume it must be some kind of dog.

Hadge was certain things would only get worse from here, and it would be much easier if he went alone, he would simply have to worry about himself. He calmly suggested, "Uwee, you stay with Nibbs and Reybe." A firm hand seized his arm, "No!" Nibbs expression was that of determination, "I'm going." Hadge argued, "You can hardly stand upright." Then Uwee chimed in, "Well. If he's going, I'm going." Hadge rolled his eyes, and could do no more than express this lunacy, "Oh my Yahveh. You two grubbs will be the death of me." Uwee grinned mischievously, and said, "Ok." Simply asking, "Now what do we do?" Hadge narrowed his eyes at the grubb, growling, "What do you think? We have to cross the river." Uwee disregarded him, blabbering on, "Oh. Yea right." He casually proposed, "Why don't we just use that boat right over there?" pointing to an old wooden rowboat, hidden under a thick layer of dried brush. Hadge felt a moment of disgust, gave Uwee an irritable look of loathing, "You know kid...sometimes I hate you." Uwee grinned wickedly, laughing out loud, "Sometimes I think the same thing about you." Then he ran to drag the boat from the bushes.

Hadge turned en route to his backpack; he had to clean up the mess he made. Nibbs had already began to pick up the assorted items that were thrown aside, shoving them inside the pack even in his state of pain, a canteen, some bandages, rope, a number of long russet candles. Hadge recalled the candles never seemed to work, he'd tried lighting them several times, but they would only fizz, and spark. "You can leave them." He stated, "They don't work." And took the pack from his friend. Hadge shoved the mysterious book securely inside, he wasn't about to lose it now, after all the trouble he's been into to obtain it.

The startling crash of the boat breaking the waters surface reminded Hadge of the task at hand, stopping to glance at the rickety old weather worn boat, having second thoughts to its seaworthy condition. Nibbs arose adjusting his bloody clothing, hobbling to the shore, with Hadge helping him to the boat. Uwee self-righteously handed Hadge a white plastic bucket, stating, "I thought you could use this to row the boat." Hadge grudgingly took the pail with his free hand, promptly spotting another nearby. Hadge retorted in a holier-than-thou attitude, topped by a smirk, "There's yours." Uwee complained, "Oh man...I don't know how to row a boat." Hadge smugly declared, "Your learning today."

Soon they had set sail in the hellish Gehemma River. The river gurgled to life around them, starting with the deafening din of insects chirring, merged with the sickening glugs of waste escaping the factory, and the debris amplifying the garbled currents. The contents of the debris were shockingly obvious, arms, legs, and intestines. They slowly paddled across the nasty river, observing the little white creatures break the surface everywhere, ravenously feeding on the debris, until the movement of the boat attracted them in their direction. Then the monstrous little spawns followed them by the thousands, an action suggestive of fresh meat, as if they knew they were in the boat.

Suddenly the boat sprang a leak. Nibbs irrationally jumped upright screaming, "They'll get inside!" Instantly the boat rocked precariously from side to side, putting a strain on the worn out wood, creating yet another leak, and another. Hadge roughly jerked him down, barking out orders, "Sit down and shut up! You'll kill us all!" Then sternly turned his gaze on Uwee, "Row faster!"

The boat steadily sank into the scarlet water, closer and closer they came to those hungry awaiting spawns. Hadge anxiously eyed the opposite shore, for what seemed an eternity, until the shoreline was close enough to jump. He ordered everyone, "Jump!" Reybe easily bounded the distance without coercion. Uwee hesitantly yelled, "I cant!" Hadge exploded, "JUMP!" Then Uwee hurdled across, while Hadge seized Nibbs by the collar, and leg, flinging him across the distance. Hadge had no time to think the jump through; he just took that leap of faith. The bow of the boat at present had sunk below the waterline, feeling the tip of his toe touch the blood stained waters. He feared that small connection was close enough for the spawn to attack, as second seemed like hours, and land was far away. At last he landed safely on shore with the others, at once glancing at his foot, finding it hard to believe they had all made it across.

They sat several long moments in silence; all watching the boat vanish beneath the bloody water. Air bubbles popped to the surface where the boat had once been, and the menacing little spawn favored the shore where they now sat. Hadge quickly surveyed their surroundings; numerous dead pines and woodbine vines safely screened the area. The shelter allowing them a small break.

Suddenly heart-rending screams plagued these shores, thousands of cries. Cries of mourning, as the invariable sound went on, and on. Hadge felt overwhelmed, tears streaming down his face, as the terrible sounds had awakened him to reality, and to what had brought them here in the first place, to save their friends.

Hadge looked at Uwee and Nibbs, saying, "We have to get moving." To his surprise, they were eating woodbine berries. Promptly he slapped them from their hands, bellowing, "They are poisonous!" He raved like a madman, "Dumb...Berries!" He ranted onward, "Stupid...Grubbs!" All in all thinking, "What idiots!" Wondering how in the world they had lived this long.

The snow was falling yet again, and the spires of the nearby factory released its toxic vapors, seeming to horrifyingly coincide with the screams. Which left the question to ask, "What the hell is going on in there?" Hadge moved closer to the trees, he wanted a better look at the reaver factory. The walls were like skin, thick and slimy, there were no windows, no doors. From where he stood it looked hopeless, as he began fixating on the subject at hand, "We have to find a way inside? Before time runs out."

Out of the murky blackness dozens of reavers appeared, they were herding a group of humanlike figures. As they poked and prodded their prey, all of which were crying out in despair. The passels were being lead straight towards the dark factory, a place well known for the fact, once you enter, no one ever returns.

Then one of the male's bolted from the group, trying to escape, yelling as he ran. At once a reavers spear fatally gored him, hearing it rip his flesh as it entered his chest, and the poor mans body dropping where he had stood in the ashes. The lasting sounds of his death remained, the rattling breath of blood filling his lungs, growing shallow, until it slowly faded away, and his body at last ceased to move. Finally the others were horded into a strange black opening in the wall of the factory, a doorway unseen by the naked eye.

"That's it!" Hadge exclaimed, "That's our way in." Then motioned to the others to follow, "Come on." Quietly sneaking towards that same opening, certain this had to be insanity that led them all to the devils door. The cries growing unbearably louder, with every step their eardrums throbbed in pure agony, and the sense to flee overpowering.

The bizarre entryway looked precisely like the outer membrane of the factory, breathing in and out. The entrance vanished only when it detected movement, opening up to a mysterious deep black hole. Uwee hastily piped, "I'm not going in there." And turned to go the other way, held fast by Hadges grip, as he simply uttered, "Have you forgotten about your sister Uma?" Hadge at first wasn't certain if they should dare to enter or not, darkness can hide many things he feared, but in the end they really had no choice, since they came to save their friends. Uneasily they entered the black hole, into the unknown, fearing what may be on the other side.

The inky blackness enveloped them, a nebulous of dark shapes shifting before their unfocused eyes. The fleshy floor beneath their feet severely slanted downward, steadily breathing in and out, like the resilient black skin of something truly alive, making the simple task of walking a chore. After a few moments their eyes adjusted to the weird environment, seeing haphazard holes riddled throughout the floor, each odorous hole rancor with the smell of death. Everywhere the view of the expanse was thwarted by copious amounts of soaring black pilings, each of the pilings spindled from ceiling to floor, all covered in sticky black ooze. Hadge examined one of the nearby pilings, realizing its whole structure was nothing but a stringer of mucus, mucus that clung to the entire cavity of this place. He repulsively emulated the stuff to something he knew, "It's like chewing a sand slug, when u get to the gooey center, and it leaves slimy stringers between your teeth."

Precarious cries rebounded inside the factory, making its origination impossible. Then an outline stirred within the entrance, and the voices yowled, "Help..." Other captives were being forced into the factory, as their distressed cries echoed just out of sight. Hastily they hid in the shadows of a slimy spire, watching the reavers roughly herd the humans through the jungle of stringers, and darkly out of sight.

Hadge rushed to follow, deftly hiding in the shadows. The group was being led towards a multitude of strange blackened gears, each gear suspended from mucus like stringers, which extended as far as the eye could see. Everywhere random bursts of black fire shot from the holes in the floor, permeating the smell of death beyond humanly conception. The fire generated a sickly glow, teasing the sense of sight in flashes, revealing the factories secrets little by little. The blackened gears were suspended in a line, assembling throughout this place, stopping at various key points along the route, somewhat like a conveyer belt, which distributed its wares.

To Hadges horrification a reaver singled out a female, its crushing grip dug into her shoulders, tearing her from the struggling group. She boldly fought against the monstrous beast, crying out. Hadge could only ask, "What in the world are they doing?" By all that is unholy the cold-blooded reaver picked up the flailing girl, forcing her towards the strange gears, plunging her back onto two meat hooks. Hadge felt his body nervously shake with rage, until he realized humans dangled everywhere in this Yahveh forsaken building,

All at once a multitude of cries merged in his head, sure this was happening everywhere in the factory, people were being processed for something. Scream upon other unplaced screams, he could only think one thing beyond the house of horrors, "This needs to stop!" Warily he measured the cumulation of reavers, "I can't just sit here." Angrily subsided that he could do nothing at the moment, "There's too many to fight."

The humans were like animals to slaughter. Each of the dangling victims was slowly rotated through the structure, approximating an assembly line. They would pass amid reavers who stabbed, as well as prodded the yielding flesh, tasting of their innocent blood. Still no rest for the weary, as even more torturous devices stabbed at them, they would bleed and beg for mercy, nonetheless there is no mercy in Hell. The gruesome conveyer rounded to the final stages, jerking each victim to a halt above a giant funnel like pod. Then long bony spider limbs reached up and around the prey, expertly dissecting the flesh, and the victims were disemboweled. Blood and organs sifted through the funnel, and out into the awaiting troughs below.

The gory trough sloshed its ghastly contents, as strange figures sat upright around the duct far and wide. The darkly lit forms appeared to be grabbing bits of human flesh from the flow, and eating it. "Uooomph..."Hadge repressed the urge to vomit, with only a tiny sound escaping his clinched lips. His attention had been drawn to the strange hideous hands of the beasts, reminding him of the dog from the river, a dog with humanlike hands, but not a real dog, "Possibly hellhounds." He thought, "But he'd only heard stories from the Elders." The gruesome hellhounds eerily fought over the innards, which ran the course of the conveyer. The trough ended at a giant bladder, dumping the remains inside, which had to expel the waste into the river, turning the river into a bloodbath.

The lifeless bodies then traveled to the next stop of the assembly line, dangling above a large hole in the floor. The upwards draft from the hole rocked them back and forth. All at once the blackened hell fire shot up engulfing the inert body. Smoke and ash arose upwards, the soot exiting the spires, spires that could be seen for miles, filling the atmosphere with human particles. The fiery breath ended as quickly as it began, with the charred body fractionally smaller than its original size.

Hadge for the first time could see the face of evil, as the withered carcass ceased to move, he had watched the ritual birth of a reaver, and seen the last hellish expression frozen on its face. He wanted to scream, feeling his heart pounding, his breath erratic, his heart wanted so much to cry, but any noise would give them away. He had to stop this torture, and stop it now.

Another group was marched into Hell; he recognized Uma, and Feo. Uwee and Nibbs had noticed them at the same time, Uwee asking, "What are we going to do?" Hadge helplessly didn't know how to help them, feebly answering, "I don't know." For now he would monitor the groups every movement, and hope a plan would ensue. Nibbs flinched, "We have to help them." Hadge steadied his friend's arm, stating, "And we will." It was alarmingly to watch them being forced towards the conveyer, and a plan would be now or never.

The remote pish of Uwee's inane voice could be heard asking, "What is this?" Then plucked one of the fleshy growths off Reybe's back. Without warning the unsightly giant flea screeched loudly. The sound ricocheting through the dreadful space, enough noise to draw all the attention in their direction. Hadge hastily snatched the flea from Uwees hands, rumbling, "Give me that." Throwing it as far as he could. Deep down what he'd rather done, was to kill that grubb.

Reavers and hellhounds everywhere stopped. Gazing ominously in the path of the sound, as several hellhounds trekked to sniff the flea. It seemed they could smell something more than the flea, maybe a human scent, as the demons slowly worked their way towards Hadge and the others. Hadge felt sorely incapacitated, holding his breath, hoping the beasts would move the other direction. Uwee nervously asked, "What are we going to do now?" Hadge leveled his accusing eyes at the grubb, and flatly said, "Shut up." Then Nibbs said, "I have an idea." Just as Hadge turned to tell him no, he'd vanished like a blur.

Suddenly Nibbs had jumped up, running in the opposite direction. Hadge ineffectually whispering after him, "What are you doing?" However his reasoning was clear, he was creating a diversion for his friends, dangerously drawing attention to the all the hellish creatures. Nibbs ran through the maze of stringers, around the holes in the floor, along the conveyer. By now he had reavers and hellhounds all chasing him. The lone sound of his voice shouted, "Save them!" Hadge sadly could only do as Nibbs asked, knowing not many would sacrifice themselves for the benefit others, speculating if the connotation had something to do with the swarm, and his imminent death. Without further thought they dashed towards Uma and the other, which were now guarded by only one reaver. Hadge shoved the reaver into a nearby hole, yelling at the others, "Lets move!" Uwee barked, "You heard him!" Pushing the others into motion, "Move!" Hadge lead them to the exit, which was now sealed shut, they would have to find another way out, and fast.

They ran back to the conveyors, at top speed, but a way out eluded them. Uwee pointed towards the trough. Hadge snapped, "No!" He watched the disgusting contents flow its length, which expelled its waste from the very bowels of hell, and he believed it might work. Nevertheless he wretchedly thought, "But very disgusting."

Suddenly a hellhound bit Nibbs, ripping a hole in his already threadbare pants, as one of the worthless candles fell from his pocket, candles that he was supposed to throw away. The candle had found its way within one of the holes, just as the hell fire had burst forth, sending a great explosion across the room, and bodies to the floor.

Hadge picked himself up off the floor, astounded, "Dang..." Sure those weren't candles after all. He anxiously returned to the task at hand, helping each of his friends onto the blood filled trough, Uma, Feo, Uwee, Reybe, and all the others. Their forms had turned crimson, concealed easily by the innards, slipping and sliding towards the disgusting exit. Hadge turned to find Nibbs, surprised to see he was still running. He was sure they could both make it out alive, yelling at his friend, as if to say everyone was safe now, "Nibbs!" Then jumped into the trough himself, eagerly watching Nibbs, feeling the muck pull him along.

Hadge caught a fading glimpse of the brave little grubb, he could see Nibbs reaching in his torn pocket, pulling several more of those explosive candles out, and his plan had become quite clear. Hadge had to stop him, urgently trying to halt his movements along the trough, howling, "Nooooooo!" His body was still being quickly pulled along the trough, and sucked into the large collection bladder. Hadge could scarcely see through the haze of blood, just as the blurry image of Nibbs leapt into the black hell fire, and an explosion blasted debris in every direction. The last thing he remembered seeing was a ghostly bright white light reaching out to him, as he felt his body flushing downward, temporarily depriving his senses of sight, sound, and air to breathe.

The next thing he remembered was being expelled in mid air from the hellish factory, his mind screaming, "Nibbs didn't have to die!" He could see flashes of blood-streaked faces below him, assured that the others were safe. He landed hard on the slippery pine tree's damming the river. The trees surface had grown slithery, like sponge in his hands, as he struggled to stay out of the water, positive the spawn were waiting. Uma screamed his name, "Hadge!" And promptly pulled him up to safety.

Someone yelled, "Run!" Setting his stunned body into motion. He peered back at the falling factory, even as they maneuvered across the slick debris to escape the explosion. Almost immediately the spongy debris beneath them began to collapse, as rotting trees fell into the river. And assuredly the spawn was out there waiting for them to fall. Horrifyingly they had escaped one hell for another, as death truly wanted to claim them on this very day.

Suddenly the woodbine vines lifted them up and out of the river, like the tentacles of a sea beast. Screams came from every direction, as the vines hovered over land. Hadge frantically tugged at the vine, screaming, "Nooooooooooo!"

Oddly he heard what sounded like the fairies singing, as he could see the tiny creatures flying about, like minuscule specks in this great big world. Then he heard a familiar teeny tiny voice next to his ear, impishly whispering, "I thought you could use some help." Then she spoke again, but not to him, "You can put them down now." At once the vines set them on the ground, and he realized she had been talking to the vines. Then she sat playfully on the tip of his nose, titillated by his confused expression, and laughing at his entertainingly crossed eyes.

Chapter 5: The Secrets we keep.

A dreadful rumbling resounded from every lesion upon the land, pressured by the furious vibrations beneath their feet. Hadge could scarcely fathom the wrath that soon waited them, aware of only one thing, "Hell hath no fury like the Devil scorned."

The backlash of Hell fumed far and wide, seething a blinding black vapor. As the onslaught of vapors seeped from every crack in the land, choking the air with the smell of death. Then the rumble transposed into a roar, a volcanic roar from the depths below the ground, as every hole abruptly burst with black flames. The sinister flames charred everything in its wake, the dead pines, the woodbines, and destroyed the remainder of the reaver factory. The destructive flames arched vehemently higher, merging at the highest point in the sky, shifting and changing like a maddening storm.

Everyone was affixed to the surging black mass, unsure of what wickedness truly lingered before their stricken eyes. Then at last they witnessed its shocking transformation into the shape of a demonic face, the face of the Devil.

The face of evil dwarfed all else, its unbreakable gaze leering sinfully in their path, as if it were seeking them out. The face stopped only for a moment, a moment to laugh, a sound that chillingly raised every hair upon their bodies, alarmed to this creatures intent. It lunged suggestively towards them, close enough they could hear the hiss of its malevolent flames licking the silence of this world, and the crackle of its deadly jaws, which spread wide enough to swallow them whole. That sweltering dark opening was a gateway straight to Hell, as a rush of screams pierced into this world of the living, marking the world of the damned. Soon a collection of foreboding howls quelled the screams, and the murky darkness within the jaws insanely rippled, hiding its threatening secrets amid the insidious black. No time to think, no time to move, as masses of dark creatures poured from the Devils lips, tainting this soil with their evil presence, the Devil had released the hellhounds.

Hundreds of deadly hellhounds fell short of the shore, landing in the marsh of human waste, still others deftly bounded over the ones whom fell first, similar to stepping-stones across the great divide. Every hellhound was hell bent and unstoppably fast. Their unusual front hands stretched wide, firmly planting a grip on the surface beneath them, accelerating to speeds beyond any human understanding.

Hadge and the others stood in shock; positive the outcome this time didn't look so good, because death was on its way. Second by second in the unfair medium of time, the hellhounds continued to move closer, hacking at the slow wit of its indubitable prey. Hadge had only clear thought, which played over and over in his head, informing him, "We're dead." There seemed to be no hope. The monstrous horde quickly advanced, with murder in their blood shot eyes. Until a few kindling words purged Hadges lingering despondency, and his inner voice gave him some words of advice, "Hope without trying is no hope at all."

A tiny voice yipped, "Run!" Ruby had spoke in his ear, trying to stir him into action. Hadge at once was awake, and aware of the dangerous position they now stood, as he roughly bellowed athwart the immense echoing lands, loud enough for every living thing to take notice, "RUUUNNNN!" He guided everyone within arms length with his prodding hands, certain safety would be hard to obtain at this time, snapping, "MOVE!" The anxious tenor quaked in his voice, "MOVE!"

Hadge knew they would have to protect themselves, they couldn't possibly outrun these animals, they would have to find a weapon, and anything would do. He searched the harsh lands as he ran; black snow had covered most everything, except the stalks of deadened plants. He started to believe it was hopeless once more, as the strain of his backpack irritably pulled on his shoulders, and he crossly jerked it forward, seriously thinking, "Just drop it!" Oddly he felt a corner of the book gouge him in the back, an unbearably heavy object, like carrying a rock. Gravely he could see the unsightly forms of hellhounds in his peripheral vision, realizing it was much too late for weapons. Then the hot soured breath of the hellhounds curled his nose, expecting the end to come any second now, feeling painful nips at his arms, with the warmth of his blood meeting the frozen ground. Eerily something slithered through the foliage, snaking under his feet, and he had to wonder, "What else had the Devil released?"

Unpredictably the woodbine vines cast from the undergrowth, thousands of tentacles, halting the hellhounds in their tracks, weaving a lofty twenty-foot wall between them and the beasts. Uwee laughed, stopping to stare, "Look at that." He mockingly pointed, "Come and get us now!" The beasts excitably paced beyond the makeshift prison bars, some of the hellhounds viciously gnawing the vines, others clawing. While still others climbed with those bizarre integrated hands, one hand over the next, and the barrier would most certainly be temporary. Hadge fearfully continued to urge everyone, "Keep moving!" Uwee blew him off, saying casually, "Everything's fine." Hadge had no time for stupidity, angrily pulling the grubb by the ear, commanding the situation, "Come on grubb!" Hearing the following whiney complaints, "OUCH, Ouch, ouch."

They ran to the point of near exhaustion, as several dim structures appeared on the horizon, nearly a mile from where they were. Hadge was certain it was the remains of old lady Egdah's farmhouse; he had been there many times. In fact it was the place he'd found the Novena backpack, as he tugged it into place again, convinced he heard murmuring when he jerked.

Strangely the murmurs reminded him of the old woman, memories that had not belonged to him, but rather from Hadyn. Suddenly it crept into his head, recalling; the crazy old woman sat in her study, sipping a strange brew of vanilla café. She informed him that she had something important to tell him, and went on to speak of different worlds, saying something about mirrors, and lost within time. Even as she spoke odd sounds murmured from a nearby bench, and she kept talking as if she hadn't heard it at all. Recounting her strange claim of noises coming from her well.

He wasn't sure how he knew all this, but he did know that the old woman had bizarrely vanished, and that her grave in the cemetery was empty. Some had believed her disappearance was due to foul play, however she had spoke of places and things most never heard about, and wondered if she had simply gone home. Hadges head began to ache, as he rubbed the pain and memories away, very curious, "How do I know this? It happened so long ago."

Reybe's consistent barking had grown persistently louder. Hadge nervously glanced to see why, turning just in time to see several of the hellhounds climbing over the top of the wall. He knew there would be more to follow, seeing them easily scale the vines, until there were nearly a dozen beasts bounding their direction. Hadge anxiously accounted the entire group, and immediately was aware someone was missing, Feo was nowhere in sight. "Where is he?" His thoughts shrieked, "Did the Hellhounds get him?" He fearfully searched the faces once more, praying he'd made a mistake, and Feo would be there somewhere, but still he was nowhere to be seen.

Then the fairies protectively gathered, much like a swarm of bee's, with their whimsical laughter, making a silhouette of the group, which ran in the opposite direction, trying to lead the hellhounds astray. This ploy didn't work on the hellhounds; the crafty beasts didn't follow, not falling for such trickery. Hadge could only surmise it was because of there heightened animal senses, which reasonably could be his only conceivable guess. The hellhounds increasingly drew closer, at phenomenal rates of speed.

Hadge counted heads once more, as Uma and a few others were now missing, and he frantically cried out, "Uma!" Positive the hellhounds were taking them out one at a time. Hadge twisted to see the demons seconds away, with only a breath between them. He needed a weapon, and needed it now. The book stabbed him in the back once more, as if to declare here I am, a semblance of a weapon. Hadge swiftly pulled the book from his backpack, wielding it tightly in his hands; it seemed to be a quite formidable weapon in the cemetery. Rapidly his vision moved from the beasts to his friends, as he now noticed everyone had vanished except he and Reybe. Instantly screaming, "Uwee!" With his mind in utter turmoil, "I was supposed to keep them safe." He was upset and feverishly wanting answers, "What happened to them? Did the Hellhounds get them?" His brain like a train wreck, "I have to find them!"

All of a sudden he heard Reybe yelp, as one of the demon dogs bit his hind leg, and they fiercely tumbled in the grass. "Reybeeee!" Hadge shrieked. He too found himself in dire straights, with the hot stinking breath of several hellhounds curling his nose. They were near enough to hear every movement their rigid muscles made, without a doubt he knew they were behind him now, and the last man to fall.

Hadge could feel the anger welling up inside of him, the time for retribution had come, and he would no longer idly stand by and let them prey on the weak. He swiftly swung the book in a circular pattern around himself, hitting four of the beasts one by one. The satisfaction of watching them whimper to their deaths evilly warped his lips, and the thought of revenge sounded so sweet. His dark emotional side was now in control.

Suddenly the woodbine vines rose up from the ground around him, trying to pull him out of harms way, and swiped tendrils at the beasts. But he'd dashed like a madman to help Reybe fend off the three surrounding him, shrieking murderously, "Die!" He struck the three demon dogs one at a time, watching them thud to the ground like a load of bricks, at once dieing where they fell.

Hadge protectively leaned down to rub his old friends battered body, promising, "It'll be alright boy." Then a hellhound leapt over his head, grabbing at the book, while another grabbed at his waist, with those damnable humanlike hands. Hadge would not permit the Devil to get his hands on the book; he knew it could destroy what's left of this world. Horrifyingly he felt the sensation of the book slipping from his very grip, nonetheless he wouldn't allow that to happen, blaring, "NoooOOOOOOOO!" The maddening possessive hum in his tone somehow strengthened his grip, roaring the words, "The book is mine!" It was a tug of war; he was sandwiched between two hellhounds. He jerked hard enough to trip over the one behind him, falling hard on its leathery body, pulling the other beast atop him. Ominously the beast on top released the book, raising its sadistic hands, and exposed its razor sharp claws. It was ready to slash its wary victim, and Hadge had nowhere to run. In the distance the sounds of other hellhounds were coming up fast, he was positive if he didn't die now, it wouldn't be long before his death would arrive.

In a matter of seconds Reybe had hobbled upright, and lunged at the odious beast, knocking it from Hadges chest. He had ripped one of the clawed hands completely from the creature's arm, as it wailed out in pain. Then the mass of hellhounds arrived, drawn to the injured wailing beast, as they too had joined the attack upon Reybe. Rapidly Reybe's form vanished among the monstrous creatures, and his blood curdling cries resounded everywhere. Hadge desperately screamed, "Reybe!" Then jumped to his feet, and began to violently kick and swing the book at the beasts. Some of the hellhounds redirected their attack to him, and others died by his hands, until the shrill of the Reybe's cries died away, but the battle raged on.

All at once Hadge shockingly felt his body being dragged, "Oh my Yahveh!" He howled, "I'm gonna die!" He imagined a hellhound at his ankles, pulling him away from Reybe, and all he could really think of was his friend, how he must be in pain. Yelling, "Reybe!" He fought and twisted against his dark assailant, discovering it wasn't beasts that had held him, it was the woodbine vines, dragging him unceremoniously through the field, to only Yahveh knew where.

Hadge now knew what must've happened to the others, as the woodbine vines rose up all around him. The vines tried to keep the hounds at bay, while still other vines swiped at the Hellhounds attacking Reybe, but the mass of vicious creatures kept coming. Hadge didn't want to go, he couldn't just leave his friend, screaming, "Nooo!!" grasping at the leaves around him, "I've got to help him!" The vines continued to pull him away, across the ashy field, and down into Margaret Egdah's well. He splashed in the cold water at the base, feeling his breath momentarily suck from his chest, as fairies nervously flittered around him, asking, "Are you alright?" Angrily he fought, "No!" Swatting at the little pests, quite insistent, "I have to go back and help Reybe." He could hear Ruby's dismayed voice, "Its too late." Hadge just couldn't accept that to be true, howling, "No!" He was sure of one thing, the fairies didn't intend to help him. He jumped up clawing at the cold stonewall, "I have to help him." Feverishly trying to climb out. The fairies half-heartedly flew about looking heartbroken, murmuring amongst themselves. Hadge continued to cry out, "You don't understand. I promised him everything would be alright."

At that moment the fairies began to sing a soft melodic song. Hadge furiously shouting, "Leave me alone." As he continued to battle, sensing sleep overpowering him, until he silently slipped to the watery floor. Then he could feel the vines move him, through the caverns below the well, hearing Ruby's teeny tiny voice reassure him, "Things will be right in the end." With his silenced voice still shrieking in his skull, "Nooooooooo!"

Hadge was neither asleep nor awake, sound and touch became his only two senses. He could hear a constant trickle of water, as the water incoherently prattled the length of his voyage through the cave. The rustling sound and feel of the vines gently moving his listless body somewhere deep beneath the well, as the mind numbing drips picked at the distant sounds of the ocean, like the hum of a shell. Inexplicably rather odd noises intermingled with the calm of the sea, a summary of soft loathsome moans, with a familiar vacancy of tone, which reminded him very much of the zombies from the sewers. Then the sounds of cascading water drowned it all out, and the monstrous moans vanished, and he sensed his body being lowered. He could feel tiny flecks of water spraying his skin, and all activity at last come to rest, amid the drone of a waterfall, which little by little eased him into a sound sleep.

Hadge rested for what gave the impression of hours, perhaps minutes, since he had no real measure of time. His mind inquired about everything he sought to know, mulling over the safety of his friends, assured the fairies have everyone out of harm's way. To listening hard for any commotion around his location, and picking out the infinitesimal rhythmic sounds of breathing that had come to his attention. As it vibrated in and out, reminiscent of the soft melody rendering the land, but the answer eluded him, "What could be?"

All at once an unknown voice spoke, saying, "He doesn't know who he is." It was the voice of a female. Then another nameless voice pealed, "All he has to do is ask." This time it was male, and another voice, and another, cultivating into conversations, as thousands of voices all called his name, "Hadge." The more he strained to hear, the less could be heard. He was worried it might be Uwee and the others, what if they needed his help. He frantically fought to rouse, hearing no more than the mumbles of his own voice, "What do you want?" Sitting bolt upright on a bed of vines, and the voices had rapidly departed, with only the sounds of the waterfall left behind.

Immediately his sight was attracted to the sparkling white quartz ceiling, like millions of stars in the night sky. He curiously noted similarities between this cave, and the peculiar book from his nightmare, anxiously wondering, "Where's the book?" Sensing the consoling weight of the book in his hands, and he momentarily relaxed, letting his memories fall back into their rightful order.

Hadge let his eyes fall back to the twinkling ceiling, how its uneven surface seemed to capture tiny fragments of none existent light. It was truly captivating, as the light sparkled like fairy dust allover the entire space. The sparkling dust covered the flowering woodbine vines to a glittery perfection, which thrived from floor to ceiling in the cave. Its intricate heart shaped leaves and petals was so overgrown that it hid the cave walls, and mushrooms nearly from sight. Here and there the grayish mushrooms peeked from beneath the leaves, as vines and mushrooms followed the patterns of the rocks. The vines gradually began to break up athwart the floor, as stalagmites prickled the landscape, which gently rolled into a meadow of greenish moss, and ended at the shore. It all harmoniously merged around a large luminescent pool of clear blue water, as the water merrily leapt over the edge of a crescent shaped fracture in the ceiling. The waterfall playfully skipped down the gleaming white cave walls, foaming over the bed of glo rocks lining the bottom of the pool.

Hadge was positive it had to be the same connecting pool from his own caves system, even as the gentle light hinted to an entrance beneath the waters surface, an entrance to a place he once called home.

Extraordinarily for the first time he noticed flecks of light emanating from all the gray mushrooms hidden beneath the overgrowth of vines, as he curiously pondered, "I've never noticed that before." He walked closer to a tier of mushrooms, exploring one of the odd lights, as that uncanny source of light led to a dimple in the side of the mushroom, and he leaned in to take a look. It was a teeny tiny window, with a little fairy moving about its dainty abode, seemingly resting in a comfy mushroom chair. This was the fairies homes. Then he realized thousands of dimples marked the mushrooms throughout the cave, feeling suddenly awe-stricken as he looked around in glorious amazement at the fairies hamlet.

Suddenly the wails of someone crying intervened with his fascination of this fairy world. Hadge turned just in time to see Uwee mischievously dart through the cave, Uma irately chasing after him, squealing accusations, "You pulled my hair!" He laughed, "Prove it." Then kept running. Hadge didn't have any doubts that he'd done the deed he was accused of doing, however was pleased to see everyone was safe, including the two small children they had found in the field, and chuckled lightly at the notion, "Apart from Uma's hair of course."

Hadge still had the impression however something was missing, checking all the faces in the cave, and he had to ask, "Where is Reybe?" The agonizing memory quickly returned, in the company of an immense sadness, which rushed back like a plague, and he cried, "Reybe!" He searched the faces in the room once more, hoping the recollection was untrue, but Reybe was not here. He knew unerringly what he had to do, flatly stating, "I'm going back."

Promptly the fairies flocked from their homes, fluttering in his path, humming in a tone quite alarmed, "Nooooo!" Hadge stepped right through them, like water beading off his skin, saying firmly, "You can't stop me." Ruby's tiny voice fearfully sighed, "Its too dangerous." He retorted, as he began to climb the rock wall next to the waterfall, "Danger didn't stop Reybe from helping me." Ruby unhappily succumbed, "Then I'm coming with you." Hadge turned to evenly size up the tiny fairy next to his ear, taking into account the dangers that lay ahead, and at last agreed, "Ok." Hadges mind settled out of the fact he knew Ruby would be safe as always, fairies were very resourceful, "But." He added, "Everyone else stays here." Uwee promptly objected, "Wait a minute." A vine wrapped around his body, trapping him to the spot, yelling, "You can't go without me!" Hadge boldly smirked, "Watch me." Then he witnessed Uma yank a chunk of hair from the back of the ensnared grubbs head, and all the tiny fairies giggled at Uwee's surprised expression.

A vine curled up beside Hadge, ready to lift him out of the cave, hauling him upwards through the crescent shaped fracture in the ceiling. Then it transported him the length of the crawl space, and out into the deep well. The vine was like an elevator, lifting him higher and higher, even as the screen of vines capping the well crept apart, allowing him to exit. At last depositing him on firm ground once again.

It was eerily silent outside, his mind blaring, "What happened to all the hellhounds?" Everywhere the long shadows crept athwart the darkness, shadows that could be almost anything, living or dead. He remained nervously aware of the field, knowing anything may be hiding among the dead plants. Hadge could see the crumbled outline of the farmhouse, and was positive Reybe couldn't be that far away, but on the other hand he worried, "Where are all the hellhounds?" He was certain by the sheer numbers of them, they couldn't just vanish. Cautiously he traversed towards the remains of the farmhouse. The black snow overturned below his feet, a testament that the hellhounds were here. Then he found blood, in a small matted area of the field, which clotted the black snow, and a clawed hand nearby, certain he must be close. Every step he took was like a knot tying tighter in his chest, anxious that at any given moment a hound could jump from the darkness, and he couldn't be certain at that time he would be ready for the attack. He wandered several feet away, stumbling blindly, his foot halted in its tracks by a large massive figure, four figures to be exact. It was the four hellhounds he'd killed with the book, as the dead bodies were easily hidden by the darkness. Hadge now knew he was really close, warily moving deeper into the danger zone, seeing mound after mound of bodies. The piles of hellhounds had collapse to the very spot where the woodbine vine wall had once been, but the wall hadn't killed them. He could hardly believe the beasts were all dead, as he kneeled next to one of the monsters, poking it with his dagger, quite curious, "What could have killed them?"

Hadge looked out across the sea of bodies asking the most important question, "Where is Reybe?" He recalled the last place he'd seen him, close to the farmhouse. Slowly he moved in that general direction. It was a hunt throughout the darkness, like blindly looking for a needle in a haystack, overturning corpse after corpse, until at last he found the remains of his friend beneath several dead hellhounds. Then Ruby anxiously whispered in his ear, "We need to hurry." However he barely seemed to notice her at all. Hadge tenderly stroked Reybe's head; his voice quivering through choking tears, saying, "I'm sorry..." He knew his friend was sadly long since dead, even as he thrust the lifeless hellhounds aside.

Suddenly something moved on the hellhound rolling from atop Reybe's body, possibly a muscle, yet he really couldn't tell. Hadge looked even closer at the beast, seeing something frightening move just under its dark leathery skin, and he was absolutely positive he'd seen this before. He had seen it in Nibbs; sure it was the spawn from the Gehemma River. The spawn were hideous little creatures, creating quite a lot of havoc for its size, they had eaten the Devil's dogs from within. Hadge thought it was rather ironic one creation from Hell killed another, mockingly chuckling beneath his breath, "The Devil is an idiot."

Abruptly a maelstrom of babble wafted across the field, sounding in a weird way like talking. However the language wasn't one that Hadge recognized, as a matter of fact he'd only heard two species ever speak, humans and fairies. He nervously searched the darkness, rather leery about who or what was out there.

Ruby had also seemed fairly skittish, flitting swiftly back and forth, as she fearfully pointed out to the rolling darkness, "There!" Hadge could make out several shadows lurking about the mounds of carcasses. The shadows babbled between other throaty sounds, a disgustingly familiar chaw, reminiscent of Uwee's gluttonous devouring of food on a good day. Then he realized what was out there, creepers, they had arrived to feast on the corpses. Hadge knew the creepers could smell death from miles away, and was certain there would be many more creepers to follow. Thereafter he realized even more shadows had gathered around the dead, and was convinced creepers would overrun the whole place very soon.

He turned to look at Reybe's lifeless body, knowing it wouldn't be safe here, as he pulled the dogs torn body from the pile, glumly uttering, "I cant leave him here." Ruby flittered closer agreeing, "No, we cant." As she shifted in the direction of Margaret Egdah's farm, "Come." She said, "I know a place."

Hadge adjusted Reybe's body over his shoulder, following the tiny fairy to the suggested site, Margaret Egdah's farmhouse, or what was left of it. The oak trees that were around the house laid uprooted and dead, there was nothing left of the house, except the rocks of the foundation, as if the home had exploded. Hadges hand wiped the layer of ash and blood from the tree roots, as the eerie tale of the boogeyman played in his head, "He grew from a root, angry and wronged, the penance for death, is an innocence song." Ruby inquired, "What are you thinking?" He laughed at the idea, saying, "Nothing at all."

Then looked around at this empty place, confused how being here would help, declaring, "I don't see anything." Ruby purposely fluttered to the ground, near where an old fireplace had once been. The waft from her wings shifted enough of the ash from the hearth, revealing the blackened rock beneath, announcing, "Here."

Hadge looked skeptical at the blackened stone, and back to Ruby's eager expression, unsure of what to do, asking, "What is this?" Ruby restlessly tried to explain; "I've seen an old woman from time to time." She breathed, "She always comes here." He repeated in disbelief, "Old woman?" Having the scary notion that Margaret Egdah may not be dead, because no one ever really found a body, and some believed she might have been a witch.

Suddenly the disturbing sounds of the creepers seemed to grow louder, as he came to the realization that now was not the time for thought, but rather action. Hadge quickly set Reybe on the ground next to him, and started to brush the debris away from the stone, the more he brushed away, the more he uncovered, like an archeological find, wondering, "Will I find Margaret Egdah?" He unearthed the bizarre stone, skulls and other bones of all sizes were imbedded in its limestone, and quartz surface, as he shockingly breathed, "Oh my Yahveh..." Each of the distorted skull faces was unnerving, as a glint from the eye sockets seemed to watch your every move. He found that to be quite odd, since they had no eyes.

Hadge touched one of the tiny skulls, realizing they were no more than children, and couldn't imagine why someone would do this. Instantly he felt a range of emotions, starting with anger, and concluded amid an overwhelming sense of grief. A kinship of sorrow beat loudly in his heart, finding words were replaced by gulps of air. Quickly panic set in, as he stared into the face of the unknown, hearing the haunting sounds of little children crying out for help, and his breathing became erratic, bending nearly double over the stone.

Ruby's tiny little voice screamed, "Hadge!" Her voice sounded miles away. Hadges breath had cleared even more debris from the stone, revealing two perfect handprints cut into the rock. He just knew he had to place his hands within the impressions, but found the task exhausting. His trembling hands inched towards the stone, feeling the cold impression wrap around every digit, as if it had been made just for him. Then the heavy feeling of distress lifted, as sure as if nothing ever really happened.

Straightaway a light emanated from the impressions beneath his hands, extending soothing warmth through his palms. Then the ground began to shake, until the stones separated like a puzzle, opening to an oddly lit space. "Go!" Ruby ordered, pushing without success on the side of his head. Hadge brushed the pest aside, still unsure of the safety of this endeavor, and said, "I don't know about this." Ruby reminded him, "The creepers are getting closer." She was right, he could hear them getting nearer, grunting to acknowledge the fact.

Then Hadge boosted Reybe over his shoulder, nervously entering the oddly lit space. Each descending step the faces were there, guarding the secrets within. Ruby buzzed in his ear, asking, "Do you think the old woman's down here?" He stiffly replied, "I sure to Yahveh hope not." They moved deeper down into the strange space, until the outside vanished from sight, and the stone puzzle pieces sealed the exit shut. Hadge shouted, "Wait a minute!" Frantically pounding on the exit, fearing they may be trapped inside, until he'd seen identical handprints on the inside. Hadge started to question, "What is this place?" It reminded him of the Elders stories about funhouses, minus the fun.

The peculiar stone staircase twisted deep into the ground, as the odd faces seemed to have generated even to the walls. Hadge had a gut feeling that something was odd about those faces, as if they were constantly moving within the stone, and watching his every move. "No..." He laughed it off; it was impossible for anything to move once set in stone. Ruby uneasily flitted next to his ear, timidly complaining, "I...I don't like this place." He agreed, "I don't either." At last the stairs unfolded into a large stone cellar, as a copper glow poorly lit the space. The radiance curiously emerged from the cracks all over the stone floor, as the macabre of faces deviated into something even more frightening. Still the unsettling glow stretched ghostly shadows upwards, like dark specters guarding an ancient secret. Hadge gasped at the first site of the specters, until he realized they were merely harmless shadows. The light jarringly had toyed with ordinary objects, distorting the rustic furniture into something dark and ghastly.

Promptly he noted the thick layer of dust covering all the furnishings, the place had been unoccupied for a long time. The table and two chairs remained set in the midst of a last supper. However the meal could no longer be distinguished between dirt and dust. A ratty old bed still had the eerie convexity of a body warped upon the mattress, as the light and shadows of the covers messed with your mind. Even still the doors on the cupboard barely clung to their hinges, each shelf lined by countless bizarre vials and bottles. The grotesque vials were filled with what looked like eyeballs, and other dead animals parts.

Suddenly a sound shuffled from somewhere in the room, but from where he hadn't a clue, however feared they may not be alone. Ruby fretfully whispered, "Over here!" The tiny fairy was nearly halfway across the room, her chilling shadow disfigured athwart the floor and wall. She was fluttering nervously before a dark menacing entryway bench. The seat of the bench was made into a chest, with a high-framed back ornately twisted into withered old trees. A glimmer of a mirror was hidden between the trees frame, hidden beneath entwined carvings stretching the length of the object. The carvings started as entangled branches, and ended in a host of random patterns, surely telling a shadowy story within its peculiar timber.

The alarming sound could be heard once more, and it did come from this strange old bench. Hadge moved to take a closer look, discovering it was not made of wood, rather more like a shadow, yet still tangibly real. The shadowy wood reinforced his belief that all the stories were true, "Old lady Egdah really was a witch." Then he started to fear the witch may be making all the noises, and wasn't sure if he should proceed.

Ruby excitedly pointed out, "Hadge...here!" She was bobbing above two handprints etched into the shadowy chest, handprints just like in the stone exit. Hadge was quite curious, a trait much more suited for his grubb friend Uwee. "Well." Ruby restlessly asked, "Are you going to open it?" He took a deep thoughtful breath, answering her question, "Yes..." Then eased his hands gently into place. Ruby impatiently tweeted, "Open it!"

Hadge cautiously opened the strange chest, as something moved just under the lid. His heart instantly began to race, until he realized it was nothing more than loose clippings and photos. The pictures were astounding, clinging in layer after layer beneath the lid. All in various types of snapshots, paintings, sketches, metal photographs, as each appeared to be from a different century in time. He carefully set Reybe's limp figure on the ratty old rug next to him, wanting a closer look at the photos. Hadge removed a photo from the chest, and then detached another photo, and another, which were mostly males.

Ruby asked, "Who are they?" He breathed, "I don't know." Oddly every image revealed a different face, except for the striking resemblance in each of their eyes; mere windows into the soul, and their souls seemed to share a common secret. The eyes were almost heavenly, clearer than the darkest blue midnight. Within that veil of midnight a vast array of stars twinkled, like the clasp of the universe was hidden away, but not forgotten. Hadge was shocked, as he stared at the many faces, each one different, but was almost sure they all had to be the same person. "Maybe." He thought, "If they could somehow jump through time and space, and be everywhere at once." He rejected the silly idea, knowing it had to be impossible, besides he mocked, "They would have to have the ability to change sex also."

Then he noticed words scribbled on the pictures, the letters spelled out, H-A-D-G-E. There is nothing as strange as reading your own name, over and over. A bitter chill crawled up his spine seeing his name, and all these different people, wondering, "How could this be?" He had to know, "What's going on here?" Ruby fluttered around his mystified head, beseeching him to answer, "Is everything alright Hadge?" Still overwhelmed, he did not respond, as the bizarre idea surfaced, "I must be a part of whatever is going on." But the biggest question of them all was, "Why don't I remember about this Hadge?"

A cursory movement appeared in the mirror, only there for a moment, and gone. What was in the reflection of the mirror was really hard to say, because much of the mirror was laced behind the random carvings. Hadge swiftly searched the reflection, hoping to spot the wayward entity, but instead ferreted out something much more complicated. He couldn't see his reflection in the mirror, and in fact it was a whole different room. Ruby asked, "What is it?" He looked rather perplexed, unsure of how to answer, "I really don't know."

Hadge opened the carvings that set over the mirror, much like opening a cupboard, and took a closer look. The room inside the mirror was oddly marked with writing all over the walls, as any important details was blemished by darkness.

Eerily he could hear the raspy sound of a woman speaking, yet she never came into sight. "Hadge, I've searched so long for you." The voice was familiar, yet the identity was as elusive as the face. The only person it could be is Old lady Egdah, but she's supposed to be dead, and the years past are beyond her life expectancy. "How could this be?" He whispered. The voice continued to talk, telling her story, "I've journeyed to many lands, each place as fruitless as the next. You were either already dead or could not be found, until I came to Elysium. I implored you for your help. However you could not remember me since the first time we met. Was that to be my blessing or a curse? Our reunion was bittersweet as I discovered the Edge of Darkness in the caverns beneath the well. A place your military had been blasting. I charmed the book to mirror whomever it touched, and buried it deep in a pool beneath an old oak. The charm was to help you see what was right before your eyes, as surely as past, present, and future. Then you could see what your world would become; in hopes to stop Elysium on its path of suffering. But heed my warning. The end of days has come with a blast, a spreading evil as black as the plague. I no longer seek your help, but you may need mine."

Hadge was in utter confusion, wondering, "What the heck is she talking about?" Better yet, "What's really gong on?" But the charm would explain how Carrissa knew about the mushrooms.

Thereupon he noticed an odd wooden doll positioned on the floor of the strange room, and heard chanting words he couldn't define. He was quite puzzled, "What is the old crone really up to?" Without warning memories not his own filled his head once more, he was alone, timidly calling out to his mother, "Mom?" Hearing the strange chanting painfully bounce throughout his skull, and his thoughts continued to scatter like dust. Unexpectedly he could see a whatnot of dust in the palm of his hand, having no idea what it meant, or whose memory is had to be.

Then just as sudden he was himself again, and knew that damn book beneath the cemetery would have been found no matter what the consequences, it was inevitable. Gravely he had to be the grubb to discover it. He argued the notion, "No that wasn't me!" He hissed, "It was the dead man on Ennead Mountain." His thoughts had moved full circle by now, as he thought about the charm on the book, realizing it only served to confound the situation, because it had no effect on him at all. Still the chanting went on and on.

Hadge grabbed his head, shrieking, "Get out of my head witch!" Ruby had the look of concern, asking, "Hadge...Are you alright?" He slammed the carved doors shut, squealing, "Yesss..." Instantly the old woman's voice dissipated, and lucid thought returned, but there was only one question he wanted answered, "Could I really be the Hadge in all those pictures?" Ruby landed on his shoulder, trying to comfort him, however he couldn't feel her tiny hand.

His attention was drawn back to the photos, as the fuss had sent several pictures to the bottom of the chest, and strangely the base had mimicked the photos. "What is this?" He found the witch's chest relatively mysterious, looking deeper into the secrets she keeps. Reaching for the photos at the bottom, and oddly the base now had a flesh tone. Ruby flew close, laughing, "It looks like a hairy arm." Hadge ignored her comment, promptly feeling the bottom, as fabric eased under his fingertips. He was quite sure the chest was meant to hide all the witch's secrets, and he assumed Reybe would be safe here, at least if no one can see him.

Ruby whispered in his ear, "We should go back now." He despondently agreed, "Yeah." Sure the others may begin to worry. Then turned to Reybe at his side, carefully picking his friend up, and placed him in the bizarre chest. He watched the inside instantly turn black; satisfied he would be safe now. He brushed Reybe's backside, solemnly uttering, "I will miss you." Saying a little prayer, "May Yahveh always be with you."

Then he glanced one last time at the pictures hanging on the lid, still finding the Hadge thing hard to believe, as he shoved a handful of the pictures into his backpack, declaring, "For later reference." He at last closed the lid of the chest. Then he and Ruby exited the spectral chamber, watching the orange glow fade away underneath the linking stone puzzle pieces, and the secret space sealed shut yet again.

Soon Hadge was back down in the well. The deafening trickle of water could be heard all around him, but every so often an undertone of moans would join the sounds, like a choir of the dead. He stopped for a moment to listen; sure it wasn't just his imagination, "No." He thought, "I really do hear the sounds." While Ruby playfully flounced around him humming a sweet tune. He glanced from one end of the cave to the other; asking, "What is that?" Oddly she stopped in mid air, tilting her head waywardly, looking a bit confused, "What?" She inquired, "The water?" He clarified, "No." Flatly stating, "The moans." Giving her an example, "Like the dead from Harbinger." Her tiny face went blank, "Oh." She seemed rather unresponsive, until she flittered away, avoiding the topic. "Ruby!" Hadge called after her, but she was gone.

Hadge treaded through the water in the bottom of the well, entering a hole that had collapsed to one side of the wall. The watery hole led to a rocky crawl space, which unevenly moved through the small cavern. Gradually the descent of the passageway increased in size, as well as the rush of water, until he was able to walk upright. Finally the cavern ended at another hemispherical opening in the floor.

He looked down through the large crescent shaped opening, beyond the rushing waterfall, and onto the fairy hamlet. Pondering quite deeply, "One would imagine this place of being rather safe, but somehow he had his doubts that anyplace was safe in this dark world, and he could sense that even the fairies had their secrets." His ears perked to the strange undertone of moans, intermixed with a new founded sound, however faint the sound may have been; the sound of a breathing cave was creepy. He cupped his hand to one ear, and tried to distinguish what was truly out there, but it was no use.

Ruby had returned unnoticed, as she humorously placed a hand to her ear too, and stared at Hadge. He growled, "What are you doing?" She half giggled, saying, "Some believe the Mountains are alive." Hadge narrowed his eyes at the mischievous fairy, at odds with the remark, "Don't be silly." He rumbled as a matter of fact, "Mountains don't move." Then he left Ruby behind, and climbed down a vine into the fairy hamlet, however his doubting mind recalled all the bizarre things in this world, all of which had began since the opening of that damnable book. His mind probed all the possibilities, from swarm to hellhounds, wondering, "What other monsters has the Devil created?" He was quite sure the answer might be a frightening one.

The fairies blissful songs filled the city, as everyone distractedly laughed and danced. Hadge was glad to see everyone happy, as smiles became infectious, and the grief over the loss of Reybe seemed to lessen. However he knew it would never truly fade entirely away. Quietly he slipped to a faraway corner, removing the book from his backpack. Hadge was certain this book had the power to end the cruelty in this pitiful world, as he flipped it over and over in his hands, thinking, "It looks like a plain old book." Suddenly something whispered, or maybe it was just a thought in his head, calling his name, "Hadge." His name meant something, carrying the fate of mankind on his shoulders; all he had to do is read the book.

Hadge was literally beholden by the book, its leather binding alive to the touch, softly breathing in and out. He had to know, "What is so important about this book?" He rested it on his lap, as he gently rubbed its scarred flesh, almost afraid of what might be inside. Each raised scar and abrasion terrifyingly reminded him of the tomb, and how the starved animals were drawn to its warm outer flesh, sure the mysterious book had somehow killed them. Then he stopped to consider a much bigger mind grabber, "Why hadn't it killed me?" He reflected on the main important factor, "I touched it many times."

Ruby landed on his shoulder, wistfully watching him attempt to open the book.

Hadge didn't pay any mind to the tiny fairy, as he apprehensively opened the cover of the book, and its emanating blue light swiftly peeked from its fiery pages. Then a confusing mix of emotions and memories began to flood his psyche, and he urgently needed it to end. At once his hands released the book into his lap, as he gasped, and a semblance of normalcy returned to his head. However the book continued to shuffle randomly through its bright blue pages, as it dislodged a host of noises. Faint noises very much like gibberish, as sure as the sound of an in-depth conversation.

Right away he glanced over at Ruby asking, "What did you say?" She seriously gave him an odd look, as if he were nuts, and flatly retorted, "Nothing." Then she flew away, joining the merriment with all the others. Hadge stared after her several long minutes, having the suspicion he may have lost his mind, because no one else seemed to hear all the things that he did.

The book weighed heavy in his mind, as the pages mysteriously flipped by itself to the beginning. "What the..." He burst with surprise, as his hands sharply recoiled even further into the air, utterly bemused by this strange book.

Hadge looked down at the page that was left open to him, as if the book was trying to express that it's always good to start at the beginning. The black lettering filtered across the thin blue flames, waiting just for him to read. He tried to focus on the faultless black words skipping athwart each glowing page, as he fixedly stared at those written letters, and waited for just the right words to come to mind, all in an order he could understand. But still the words eluded him.

Oddly reading was more difficult than he remembered. Hadge strived even harder to read the words, ordering himself, "Focus!" He knew the words were on the tip of his tongue, making a peculiar noise in the effort to translate the letters, "Ah...a...." He took a breath, "Ah....ahhh..." The letters blurred across the page, as his shoulders slumped, and his eyes vacantly rolled up towards the vines next to the waterfall. He stared at the leaves moving back and forth, but it was as if he didn't see, and could only think one thing, "Its no use." He discouragingly acknowledged, "I can't read."

The words might as well have been a whole different language, because he would have never known the difference. Hadge shook his head remembering he could read once, in his nightmare, he read the headstones, and city signs. But sadly the Hadge from the past wasn't reading now. He despondently breathed, "I'm the one who's reading..."

Anger was building up inside of him, because he'd risked everything for a book he can't even read, and indignantly spat, "Stupid!" Wanting nothing more than to throw the book as far as he could, in hopes to never see it again. Yet his conscience swayed him otherwise, so he disgustedly shoved the book into his backpack. Then threw his backpack halfway across the room.

Hadge was gravely convinced that no one could ever read that damnable book, feebly mumbling, "We are all doomed...."

Chapter 6: Path to Nowhere.

Steady phantasmal breaths mysteriously persisted to whistle throughout the caverns. Hadge lay on a bed of vines listening to the creepy sounds, each draft waywardly performing over a calliope of windpipes. He was tensely magnetized to these unknown sounds, whatever it may be, alive or otherwise. The vantage point from where he slept next to the waterfall, he could see everything. He could see the flow of the waterfall gently sway amid each surrendering breath, giving away an eerily concealed breach in the cave wall, hidden behind the waterfall.

He stared for sometime at the hole behind the waterfall, bleakly musing over that damnable book, which he had no way of reading, and hopelessly no prospects of reading in the future. All he had was this shadowy world around him, and it was falling apart a piece at a time. He realized he couldn't just sit here and do nothing, and pray the world would resolve its issues, which would be counterproductive; he had to do something, and do it now.

Hadge felt a spark of life, no longer immersed in pity, and his first act in living was to find out what was behind that waterfall. He waded through the crystal clear water, to the hole in question. Then climbed into that proverbial rabbit hole, and into the crack behind the waterfall.

He stepped through the veil of water droplets, head first, into the unknown, having no idea what lain in wait of his arrival. At fist sight, it was a much larger cave, stretching further than the eye could see in the dark. The cave was an ominous dark complex of witch's fingers and columns, which gravely stretched up from the floor to the ceiling.

Hadge desperately tried to locate the floor on the other side, discovering only air All at once his hands slipped from the supporting hole, and he fell head first through the opening. Groggily he rubbed his forehead, groaning, "Ooooo....mmmyyy..." Then angrily berated his idiocy, "What a grubb." Unquestionably glad the fall was only about five feet from the opening, or he might not be alive to tell about it. He was sitting discomposed atop a naturally occurring rock formation, as it gently descended like an awkward flight stairs. Hadge could see no sense in whining over the mishap, since it wasn't his first accident, and certainly not the last.

Then he perilously arose upon the slick surface of the awkward stairs, no worse for wear. Completely drenched from the waterfall, and embarked upon the downward journey of the rounded steps. This was the top of the world; so to speak, you could see the entire cove. The walls were all carved in dentritic patterns, with the ceilings silvery crowns bursting amid a force of thin hollow mineral tubes, which constantly expelled obedient tears. Each clear straw tube deliberately distributing a drop at a time, as if it were an inharmonious choir singing every note out of tune. Fleetingly he realized that the breathing sounds had subsided, they had gotten misplaced along the way. He doubtfully reasoned, "Did I even hear them at all?"

Hadges thoughts disquietly returned to the book, as he pulled the backpack into sight, and couldn't help but to wonder, "What am I going to do now?" He aimlessly found a large rock in the shape of an open fist, settling his back against the groove of its thumb, and slide down its side. His body stopped once he reached the floor, as he sat arbitrarily next to this strange rock, with the object of his distress peeking from the edge of his backpack.

He bitterly mumbled to the book, as if he thought it was listening, "I should put you back where I found you." An otherworldly female voice responded, "Never give up." Then another voice joined, "There's always a way." He uneasily twisted upright, this way and that way, trying to discern the source of the sound, and was convinced it to be Ruby or one of the other fairies. He demanded to know, "Who's there?" He skirted the rock structure, still demanding the perpetrator, "Who's there?" At that moment his hand oddly fell into the palm of the fist, where the indent of a book used to lay. Hadge inspected the indentation closer, and it was unquestionably the same size as the book in his backpack. He was certain this had to be where the book came from, hearing the foreign sound of his own voice ask, "What is going on here?" Insured that he was alone, and he started to think, "I'm going crazy."

All at once he felt a tiny pat on his shoulder, and he almost jumped out of his skin. Ruby had cuddled into his exposed fur, she soothingly asked, "What's wrong?" He irritably yanked the book from his backpack, responding none too lightly, "This book can end the darkness, but there's no way to read it!" Ruby hovered over the book, as if in serious thought, "Hmmmm." She seemed to have the answer; "There's a village over the Mountain. An Elder lives there." This information had perked his interest, "An Elder?" Hadge hopefully urged. "Yes." Ruby acknowledged, landing wistfully on his nose. "Then that's where I'm going." He declared, confident the spooky voice was right, "There's always a way."

Then an unforeseen setback instantly came to mind, the spiders on Mount Ennead. The mountain tunnel is full of them, in fact they are everywhere on the mountain, and could make the trip impenetrable, perhaps deadly.

Hadge strained his eyes to look at the fairy upon his nose, her vague image hard to see, as he resolutely inquired, "Is there another way to get to the other side of the Mountain?" Ruby flippantly flew upwards, giving him little notice, and said, "Follow." He shoved the book back into his backpack, and did as he was told, trailing the tiny creature through the sand covered labyrinth. They weaved back and forth through the rock formations, many looking so much alike, and he started to fear they might be lost, until she informed him otherwise, "Almost there."

Suddenly the cave opened up into a cathedral styled space, as the gleam from the vaulted crystalline ceiling could be seen practically forever. Everywhere along this space majestic columns were perfectly placed, fading off into the distant darkness. The ocean was somewhere beyond the darkness, as wave after wave methodically crashed ashore, driving saltwater and silt into the cave.

Hadge spotted military supplies throughout this area, as Novena backpacks aimlessly floated about, some had spilled its contents. Even still large machinery set solid in place, and rusted over time. He had to wonder, "What were they doing down here?" He certainly had no idea, as the mystery grew much more mysterious, seeing holes riddled everywhere in the walls, some hidden by the increasing overgrowth of vines. He found his mind drifting to another lifetime, "Old Lady Egdah said she heard strange noises from her well." And all of this explained what she'd been hearing.

Ruby flittered towards a wall amassed in woodbine vines, saying, "Here." His first thought was, "Finally." Then he absorbed how odd it was that the vines grew so thickly in this small area, as he moved to take a closer look. Unaccountable moans seeped eerily through the wall of vines, rather like the zombies from the sewers, as he was taken aback for just a second. It was a fact that monsters were everywhere on Elysium, and not surprising that something was living down here. Bleakly danger was never really far away. Hadge balked the matter, "What is that..."

Unexpectedly the vines began to untwine. End after end unraveled, as the gap in the creeping plant widened, until it at last exposed an adjoining dark cavern.

Hadge adjusted his eyesight to this shocking new space that seemed to sharply drop at the boundary of the wall. It plunged deep into a much larger cavity bottled with a third of murky water, which concealed the true depth of the cavern.

Hadge moved his foot closer to the edge noticing that a catwalk at one time had been secured to the wall he was now standing, but it had long since fallen, leaving behind only a few rusted bolts and dangling cables.

Oddly he didn't have a good feeling about this place, watching as the ocean water still dribbled over the edge of the wall, and all sound seemed to amplify. Hadges principal complaint was the offal stench, a familiar overpowering smell that seemed to burn your sinus cavities.

Quickly he learned the reason why, thousands of barrels of Novena military toxic waste. Some were stacked; others floating on their side, and still there were those that released its noxious liquid into the cavern. He remembered the foul waste from the huge metal contraption atop Ennead Mountain, inquisitive to know, "What could the Military have wanted with all this stuff?" Nevertheless the ultimate question had to be, "Where did it come from?"

All at once the water rippled below, something huge had stirred just under the surface.

Hadge instantly gasped, searching the length of the murky water, asking, "What was that?" Ruby who was now sitting on a woodbine leaf just shrugged her shoulders in reaction. She was no help at all. Several barrels were floating in the general spot the ripple had occurred, and he merely concluded a barrel had broken free, and untimely popped to the surface.

The menacing barrels were not far from an old metal walkway, which traversed from one side of the cave to the other. The rickety looking walkway suspended only inches above the water, with sections missing here and there. It appeared to be the only secure path across the horrifying cavern.

Ruby pointed out an exit on the opposed side of the cavern, "That will take you to the other side of the mountain." She uneasily tweeted, "Through the Novena military base." Hadge moved even closer to the edge to look, stating, "It's a long walk to the other side."

Suddenly ravenous moans incited from somewhere within the overlooking cavern. It was the same moans he'd been hearing since he arrived in these caves. A multitude of moans, all of which came from a thick netting of vines that languished next to the ceiling. As that netting of vines was no more than a few feet from the top of his head.

At once emaciated fingers and arms crept through any gap in the net they could find, in hopes of making him into a meal. Hadge stumbled backwards, shouting, "What the...!" He was frighteningly aware of tangled bodies in the net, zombies to be exact, as his emotions wavered somewhere between terror and rage. Ruby giggled, informing him, "Your safe." He was still prickling over the incident, yelling, "What is wrong with you fairies?" His brain had to question, "How safe is safe?"

Hadge stared at the rotted monsters, all frantically wanting a piece of him; unsure safe would be a word he would use. Oddly the vines didn't seem to grow very far within this cave, he mulled over the reason why, at last inquiring, "Why do the vines only grow so far out?" Ruby somberly replied, "The stuff in the barrels make the vines sick and die." He was positive that the toxins were enough to make anyone sick and die.

Suddenly something very huge splashed in the water, a barrel, maybe two, as Hadge fretfully asked, "What was that?" Ruby whispered in his ear, "The scyphus." He confusedly raised a brow, pressing, "The what?" She repeated, "The scyphus." And went on to explain, "They were trapped here from the ocean. No one knows what they really look like." He was rather at a loss, "Why?" She laughed, "Because." She pointed out, "They are invisible." Hadge shook his head finding the mention of invisible hard to wrap his head around, asking, "Then how do you know they are real?" But his mind quarreled, "O great...A monster that wants to kill me...but I can't see it." Growling just below his breath, "My life just gets better and better..."

Then something frigid touched his leg, as he instinctively kicked at the culprit, and unwittingly blamed the undead. His head rotated from the zombies to his leg, realizing they weren't even close enough to reach him, but nor had he seen the object in question.

Abruptly something splashed in the water below, one of the invisible monster he would bet, as a scary notion turned over in his head, "Maybe those things can climb up here." Uneasily he glanced around, feeling a shiver curdle up his spine. The more he considered the situation, the more he had an odd feeling the splash coincided with the touch somehow. He peered down into the murky water, not sure what he would see, or if he would see anything at all, but he was interested to know what he was getting himself into.

A burst of noise thundered in his ear, straining his eardrum from the intensity, as someone yelled straight in his ear, "What are you doing!" Hadge instantly was thrown off balance, teetering on the edge of falling, as he squealed in the process, "Ahhhhh!" He could blatantly see Uwee standing there with a smirk on his face, as pure anger literally wanted to ring the idiot's neck. The only thing that kept him from falling was a vine that broke loose from the zombie netting, pushing him to safety before it returned to its rightful place. Although not before one of the zombies had slipped through the temporary gap, and fallen into the murky waters below.

A feeding frenzy quickly began, and the zombie vanished from sight. The waters still rippled everywhere from the invisible creatures, somewhat similar to ice cubes in a glass. Then one of the creatures eerily became noticeable, as the contents of its stomach marked its location, laden with pieces of decayed flesh.

Hadge furiously turned on Uwee, shoving him to the ground, yelling, "What the hell do you think you were doing?" While his mind couldn't stop cringing at the thought of being eaten alive, and how close he came to that painful demise. "I'm sorry." Uwee earnestly cried, "I didn't mean it." Hadge spat, "Just stay away from me!" Uwee submissively held up his hands, "Ok. Ok." Then the grubb walked slowly back to the waterfall, and spent from sight. Ruby anxiously asked, "Are you alright?" His answer was dryly curt, "Fine." Leaving him in the tenor of his thoughts, trying to calm down.

Hadge edgily revisited the scene of the crime, observing the inoculate creatures below. The nucleus of the creatures now darkened, by the zombie fare. This debacle in fact gave him a superbly wicked idea, as his eyes moved to the zombies, "I can feed all the scyphus." Then unconsciously murmured his thoughts aloud, " Yea, yea. Then they could be seen." But his plan was not without risk, a risk he was willing to take. He petitioned Ruby, "If I can get across." He inquired, "Can you show me the way?" She sat on his nose affirming, "Yes." and merrily declared, "I've been there many times." He nodded looking quite serious; hoping seeing his enemy would be enough.

Uwee's annoying voice abruptly chimed in, "I want to go too." Hadge narrowed his eyes, flatly countering "No. It will be faster and easier if I go alone." Uwee responded, "I can help." Hadge snapped, "No." Uwee now begged, "Really I can, Please Hadge." An infuriated breath escaped Hadges lips, as he grudgingly retorted, "I guess. Just shut your mouth." Hadge stopped for a second, listening to the songs of the fairies, which assured him the others would be safe.

Hadges unwavering glare turned to the zombies, commanding, "Release the zombies now!" Then prepared for the ensuing encounter, as he pulled the book out of his backpack, firmly gripping it in his hands.

The undead hit the water hard, moaning even louder now, as they drifted uncontrollably. Not long after the scyphus surfaced, and the feeding frenzy began. All they could do now is wait. Hadge directed Uwee, "Follow close behind and watch for any dark spots in the water." Uwee inquired, "What's in there?" Hadge simply said, "Scyphus." Then reiterated what he'd just said, "Follow close behind and watch for any dark spots in the water."

Then the murky waters started to calm, and the once invisible scyphus now appeared as dark spots, pinpointing their location with no trouble. Hadge motioned to the others, softly summoning, "Come." Each climbed down the vine onto the metal walkway, as it eerily creaked under Hadges weight, straining heavily under Uwee's additional weight. They carefully watched for the marked beasts, treading bit-by-bit across, certain the shrill of the walkway would alert the monsters.

A third of the way through Hadge whispered, "Keep quiet..." Something splashed nearby, followed by a wake in the water. The wake circled beneath the metal walkway, as if the scyphus wasn't sure they were there or not. Uwee panicked, shouting, "There!"

It all happened in the blink of an eye, the monster rose up out of the water, like a clear giant distorted piece of gelatinous goo, thrashing its tentacles in every direction. Ruby yelling as loud as she could, "Scyphus!" Uwee screamed louder than ten girls at once, alerting every scyphus alive. A tentacle knocked them down, dragging them several painful feet over the grid of the walkway, as the sting of the suckers hooked deep into their legs. Hadge at once struck the monster with the book; its dieing screeches swiftly alarmed the others, as it slowly sank to a watery grave. Soon the others that were circling started to cannibalize its remains. Hadge jumped to his feet, screaming, "Run!!!"

The walkway violently groaned beneath them, threatening to fall any second. Ruby kept shrieking, "Hurry! Hurry!" Everywhere the waters erratically exploded around them, the giant monsters mistaking each other as the prey, swiping invisible feelers this way and that way. Hadge continued to swing the mysterious book, clearing a path along the way, as they scrambled over the fallen bodies. While still more scyphus dragged away the dead, fighting noisily amongst themselves, and they no longer seemed to follow the sounds of the walkway.

Hadge and the others finally reached the opposite side. They yielded amid a mingle of barrels and twisted metal, which was the only method of escape. Uwee scurried precariously up the obstruction, saying, "We have to climb!" Hadge wasn't too fond of the idea, because the waste appeared to seep from the barrels, and no telling what kinds of ailments it would breed. Ruby prodded the back of his head, "Climb!"

Suddenly Uwee released the emergency ladder, sending barrels and other debris to the walkway, as Hadge dove to just barely escape. Hadge nervously looked around him, picking up a vial of the waste, wondering, "What were the military doing with this stuff?" Ruby shouted his name, "Hadge!" Then he realized the scyphus were following the sound of the debris, as he leapt for the ladder, and ascended out of the scyphus' watery den.

The creatures gathered in the waters below, attacking each other, as they splashed and screeched ear-splitting screams. Uwee helped Hadge to the ledge above, sighing in relief, saying, "I didn't think we would make it."

Ruby apprehensively flittered around them both, glancing towards the shady entrance to the Novena military base, saying, "Come on...lets get up." Hadge noticed her weird behavior, asking, "What's wrong?" She was insistent, "We need to keep moving." Uwee sneered at her, and said, "Pushy little thing, isn't she?"

They followed her about thirty feet through the cave entrance, hiking along the rocky terrain, as an odd substance stuck to the bottom of their feet. Hadge desperately wanted to know, "What is it Ruby?" The answer became abundantly clear, as numerous screeches echoed from ahead of them; something was festering in the dark. Hadge was left to wonder, "What the hell is going on?"

The screeches grew relentlessly louder, sounding like hundreds all at once. Ruby's teeny tiny voice anxiously screaming, "Scyphus!" Her tiny body instantly pushing on Hadges immoveable forehead, shrieking, "Go back!" She breathlessly shrieked again, "Go Back!" Hadge frantically demanded, "What are those things?" They promptly turned back, which was their only option, running back the way they came. Ruby's reply was none too favorable, "The scyphys' offspring..." Uwee started to howl, exactly the sentiments of them all, "We're gonna die!"

Suddenly something invisibly cold and slimy latched onto Hadges leg, just like the moment on the ledge, and instantly he knew the creatures could climb. The offspring bit hard into his flesh, a near debilitating sting. Hadge feverishly yelled, "Why yoooo!" Then he beat the invisible monster with the book, as the creature fell aside dieing. In death the offspring turned a smoky gray, having the appearance of a jellyfish, using tentacles as arms and legs.

Uwee shrieked his name, hobbling at his side, "Hadge!" A scyphus was clinging to the grubb's leg. Hadge quickly struck the creature with the book, realizing the book was strangely bleeding from several wounds gouged in its binding, so he wiped the slippery mess off with his hand. Then another creature proceeded to attack them, as he reached out to grab it with his bloodied hand, and it curiously fell over dead. Henceforth he just knew the blood is what was killing all those monsters, but strangely it didn't seem to affect him.

All of the sudden the sounds of the offspring grew tenfold, the odds in the deadly creatures favor. Abruptly they ended up back where they started, atop the ledge of the water filled room, standing between the scyphus and their offspring. Uwee screeching, "What are we going to do now?" Hadge hastily overturned a barrel of waste close to the exit, watching the footprints in the yellowish green fluid, at first just a few, until there were too many to count. Ruby screaming, "Jump!" Hadge eyed a cable suspended from the ceiling, and an idea tantalized his mind, with nary a chance to test his perilous theory.

He tucked the book beneath his shirt and pants, ordering Uwee, "Hang on to my back, no matter what happens." Uwee consented, and securely latched onto his friend's backside. Hadge leapt for a catwalk wire, which dangled several feet from the ledge. The wire was barbed and frayed from whatever chaos that had brought the catwalk down. Hadge could feel each strand like a briar, unbearably eating away at his palms, sliding precariously downward. Uwee shouted, "We're falling!" Hadge ignored him, trying to get a better grip on the cable, twisting arms and legs securely around the wire. Ruby nervously darted around them, yelling, "Hadge your book!" In fact he did feel the book shift beneath his clothes, and swiftly seized it in his free hand.

They watched from several feet away, as the prints of hundreds of offspring continued to file through the entrance, all leaping over the edge. A last ditch effort to snag the dangling prey. Eerily the sounds of each splash echoed in the chamber, drawing the full-grown scyphus to the noise. Shortly it was an all out war waging in the murky waters below, and the screeches were unbearable.

Suddenly Hadge realized the prints had stopped, and the individual splashes had ceased, sure that most of the creatures were now in the water. Uwee asked, "What are we going to do?" Hadge indecisively responded, "I'm not sure." His first thought was to jump back to the ledge, but knew the offspring could climb, and they would just follow. He had to ensure their safety, as he felt the weight of the book in his hand, and the moisture of blood in his palm.

Ruby cried, "Hadge you're bleeding." His attention drawn to the blood, saying, "No...it's the book." Transfixed on the book, he was convinced it was the way out of this nightmare, involuntarily reflecting his thoughts aloud, "The book..."

Hadge gouged at the bleeding book, as the blood gravitated down its fleshy binding, and dripped off the edge, as if in slow motion. The single drop made not a sound hitting the water, but a sonic wave resonated for miles in every direction, and the water churned pitch black. Instantly the lifeless carcasses of the scyphus floated to the surface, they were all dead. The water poisoned, however it was safe enough for them to move ahead.

"Oh my Yahveh!" Uwee started yelling, "How did you do that?"

Hadge ignored Uwee, as he swung the cable back and forth. He had to time the jump just right, until they at last leapt back to the safety of the waste covered ledge.

Hadge scrambled from the waste, still clinging to the book, even as he tried to wipe the waste from his body. Uwee was already standing, and questioning him, "What happened back there?" Hadge eyed the impressionable grubb, replying sarcastically, "If I tell you. I will have to kill you." The secret of the blood was much too dangerous for him to know. Uwee unbelievably retorted, "I can't believe you just said that." Hadge shrugged, "Why?" Uwee's expression looked disappointed, as he countered, "Man, you sound old."

Uwee looked half annoyed as he hurried through the exit, far ahead in the dark passageway. Hadge was trailing behind wanting to know, "What?" Uwee never once turned to look at him, still walking an eager pace, as he responded, "Old, like close to death." Ruby landed on Hadges shoulder, soothingly patting his tense muscles, and said, "I don't think your old." He dryly offset the crude banter, "Thanks..."

The disquieted darkness dubiously sported many dins and clangs, its origins unknown, nevertheless didn't seem to diminish the alarming outcome.

All of a sudden something crashed to his right. Hadge turned to look, catching the glimpse of something stirring behind them. He quickly twisted in that direction, determined to find out what was following them. Strangely a stunning white light was trailing behind, but far enough behind that its source was unidentifiable. Hadge mindlessly whispered, "What the heck is that?" Ruby confoundedly countered, "What?" He didn't answer; entranced by the unusual glow, like nothing he'd ever seen on this world.

Then a creepy thought came to mind, he had seen the glimpse of a light following him in various locations, starting on the mountain, and in the sewers. He disturbingly considered, "What could it be?" as his thoughts seemed to settle on one scenario, "Its one of those glowing spiders!" Hadge wasn't going to wait around to find out he was right, as he uneasily ordered, "We need to keep moving." Rushing Uwee from behind, "Move!"

They weaved in and out of the cave system for miles, trying to shake the glow, however the bright light moved treacherously closer. Uwee began to argue, "What's back there?" Hadge ignored him, and looked at the fairy, saying, "Ruby." He requested. "Can you find out what's behind us?" She nodded and flittered away. Uwee gave him a baffled look, stating, "I don't see anything." Hadge nastily replied, "Because fools can blindly look death in the eye."

A short time later Ruby returned maintaining, "I didn't see anything." Hadge noticed for the time being the light had oddly vanished, but its identity remained a mystery. Uwee exclaiming, "See...I told you there wasn't anything back there." Hadge crossly growled, daring anyone to argue the issue further, "Just shut up!" Not another words hence forth, as they kept walking.

They had walked for what seemed like hours, as the tint of the cave walls grew darker, and an unnatural opening was cut into its surface. Cautiously they stepped inside this new chamber, a cubicle of steel walls and glass, as strange spray devices protruded from everywhere. A massive decontamination area, most of the glass long since gone, as you could see directly into the adjoining room. This was the subterranean intersection into Novena military base. The chamber had one metal doorway between all the broken glass that lead into the base, and three presiding exits leading back into the complex of underlying caves. The door into the base had nearly been torn from its hinges, so that it creaked and maneuvered unwelcomingly up into the unknown remnants of Novena Military base.

Uwee headed straight for the mangled metal door, announcing, "This way." While Ruby squawked, "Wait! It could be dangerous!" Hadge silently sifted through the dust and debris, thinking the place was a virtual ghost town. It was all in light of that fact he had seen no bodies, or even left over clothing, as the nagging question remained, "What happened to all the soldiers?" He was sure there had to be some sign they were here, clothes, shoes or otherwise. Until his mind drifted to an unnatural explanation, he uttered, "Unless." Half fearing "They could be Zombies." This misguided fear ushered him to a place he truly did not wish to be, because the idea of zombies lurking in this base was frightening, they could be the next meal.

Then a startling choral of infamous screeches doled throughout the caverns. The screeches were a recognizably deafening sound, which seemed to generate from the cave behind them, and growing louder amid each passing second.

Uwee nervously crept to Hadges side, asking, "What is that?" Hadge indisputably believed it had to be an unknown number of scyphus offspring that had somehow escaped, anxiously finding only enough time to shout, "Run!" Uwee darted towards the nearest cave entrance, barking, "This way!" Hadge could hear Ruby's tiny distraught voice crying out, but the words were lost in the chaos.

They hurried through the cave orifice, a peculiar gap, as rocks were arbitrarily situated around the opening, quite similar to a crude set of dentures. It was a mad dash downward into this humid odorous passageway, as the ground had grown a bit slippery. The sounds of the scyphus grew alarmingly louder; they had to be in the same passageway by now. Ruby shouted as loud as she could in Hadges ear, "Wrong way!"

Suddenly the cave opened up to a sizeable room, devoid of any other exit, this is a dead end, and they were now trapped. Hadge now knew what the fairy had been crying out all along, not this way, because he edgily growled, "There's no way out!"

"Try to find an exit!" Hadge kept yelling. "I am!" Uwee retorted, "I am!" They restlessly turned circles in the middle of the grotto, urgently searching for a way out. The walls of the grotto were veined, and discolored, as a foul liquid seeped from the surface, draining into an anomalous boiling green lake. Hadge could periodically see the outline of a sinkhole under the putrid water, however the greenish water blocked most of the view. He stared at the green water; it wasn't really green at all, more like chartreuse, shockingly similar to the waste found in the barrels.

Uwee frantically shouted, "Hadge! Hadge!" Nearly hyperventilating, "They're coming!" Hadge focused on the entrance, unsure what to do next, since the key factor was how many scyphus were out there. Ruby anxiously darted back and forth, stressing the point, "We can't stay here!" Hadge cited the fact, "We don't have a choice." He believed the fairy's behavior quite odd, why was she so adamant about leaving this grotto? In the end it didn't matter, they were stuck here, like it or not.

Hadge fleetingly realized he could hear the odd breaths again; it was all around him now, relatively frequent. As the air effortlessly shifted back and forth, like a mild breeze, each sour breath reeking of death. Then he had the uneasy feeling something wasn't quite right about this place, but just couldn't put his finger on it. Ruby was near the exit squealing, "They're getting closer!" Uwee quickly scuttled to pick up a metal bucket, just as the last owners skeletal hand slipped from the handle, and onto the floor.

"Aaahhhhhhh!" He warily jumped; shaking the bucket rapidly in his hand, as if there might still be remains attached to it. Shockingly everywhere they looked were skeletal remains, here lies what's left of the Novena armed forces, perfectly hidden, resting in the same muck they had been collecting.

The piercing sound of the scyphus was now in the grotto with them, shrills so loud their eardrums nearly ruptured. "They're here!" Ruby alerted in a tiny voice, but the sounds of the beasts masked the words. They might as well have been blind, since the monsters were undetectable to the naked eye. Uwee wildly swung the bucket, daring the monsters to get close, "Come on!" Hearing the random screech of a scyphus getting nailed by Uwee's makeshift weapon. Hadge noticed the room oddly seemed somehow brighter, as he urgently searched the room once again for another way out, yet knew he was doomed to fail.

Strangely the room was even brighter than ever before, as he curiously twisted to see the source, and he was sure something was behind him. Unerringly a vaporous illumination penetrated the far wall, it slowly advanced, until the full aura of the anomalous white radiance had crept into the grotto, eerily moving in their direction.

Hadge could hardly believe his eyes, standing between the ghostly light and the scyphus; he had to ask, "Which was the lesser of two evils?" He was unaware how close they stood to the lake, as the acidic waters dangerously commenced to boil, and oddly began to rise. Uwee and Ruby shrieked his name; nonetheless Hadge's attention concentrated solely on the light. The otherworldly light whispered what he believed to be words, "Trussssssst meeeeeee..." Then the lights outward appearance benevolently attuned to the form of a human, for that peculiar reason Hadge gazed in utter captivation, and yes he wanted so much to trust this being.

He could barely hear the sound of Uwee's screams, "What's wrong with you?" Feeling the sensation of being pulled along, "Come on!" Uwee had grabbed a bucket of the green water, throwing it at the scyphus offspring, as their screeches grew louder, and the monsters were partly visible. Uwee maneuvered them throughout the horde of beasts, like an obstacle course, straight towards the lone exit.

Suddenly the inhalations rapidly increased, as the stagnant air brutally forced them backward, then forwards again, until they were scarcely moving at all. Uwee's muffled voice shouted, "Ruby!" Hadge surmised, "Something happened to Ruby?"

Erratically the green waters edged tensely closer and closer, soon it would reach the exit, and they were still stuck at the opening. One by one the scyphus slipped into the acidic liquid, sizzling like something in a fryer. Their terrible cries filled the room, and they at last vanished altogether. Uwee shouted, "What is that stuff!" Slowly the green liquid crept closer, saturating the room. They had nowhere left to run, as they uneasily drew their feet from its progressing track.

The strange humanly white radiance hovered within arms reach, as its frosted hands seemed to cup something that was not there, and the length of its long fingers uncurled, propelling the might of a storm in their direction.

The storm reeled them through the humid passageway, beyond the breath that held them in place. Hadge had lost sight of Uwee and Ruby in the turmoil, given that the whirlwinds carried skeletons and other debris from the grotto. The gale twisted them up the stairs of the military base, and roughly headed straight for the closed front doors. Hadge wrapped his arms around his head, helplessly screaming, "Noooooooooo!" They had struck hard against the Novena military base exit doors, as the din of metal had ringed soundly in their ears, and instant disorientation took over.

Sporadically the pain of white light spun like gossamer threads, each strand skipping haphazardly across the sensitive flesh, hauntingly drifting like a phantom in the night. The ordeal imparted them in such pain, yet they were safe for the most part. Hadge believed they were alive by sheer dumb luck, as he digested the details, "Uwee couldn't see the being." But more importantly, "What did the light want?"

Click.

Click. Click.

The distinct clicking seemed so unreal, curiously sounding off each time he dared to move. Hadge was sure he had heard the sound before, as he lay there contemplating exactly where.

Click.

Quick to move, Hadge tensely acknowledged the sound, jerking to find where it had originated. He now remembered the source of the noise, as a newfound fear shook his body, and his mind incessantly shouted, "Where are they?"

He focused on the deadly white threads, webbing that drifted eerily around him. This terrifyingly confirmed that spiders are here. Hastily he rolled over, his senses immediately on guard. The whole valley was canopied in spider webs, disfigured by cocoon's, which he disturbingly believed not all were eggs, some had to be the food.

Hadge was sickened by the thought of being eaten alive, but it seems the spiders are at the top of the food chain on this side of the mountain. He was almost positive there had to be no fungal ridge to block them, or it would have contained the beasts further up on Ennead Mountain, and their reign of terror would have been kept in check.

A chill crept up Hadge's spine, as he had the intense feeling of being watched, and he was positive what was watching him. Certain the spiders were waiting for that one vulnerable moment. Hadge knew they had to escape now, or it would be never, as he nervously shook Uwee's limpid body, whispering, "Wake up." Uwee groggily tried to groan, "Aa......" Promptly Hadge's hand covered the grubbs mouth, hushing any sounds, "Shhhhhhh."

Then he scoured the debris for the microscopic fairy, but somehow she'd gotten lost along the way, and he didn't have enough time to find her. Uwee's eyes converged onto the spooky webbing, growing twice their normal size, indicating he clearly understood the danger they now faced.

Hadge was frazzled over the dilemma, "What can we do?" He knew soama is the only thing to discourage these beasts, and the fungal ridge was currently out of reach. Then he recalled picking a handful of mushrooms on the mountain, as he cautiously hauled his backpack close enough to search, careful not to make any sudden movements.

He was conscious of every shift in the darkness, and every subtle noise that was made. At last he successfully removed the five small mushrooms, rolling them in his hand, thinking, "Its not enough." However he crumbled them between his palms, rubbing the dust in each of their clothes, hoping the scant amount would keep the spiders at bay.

They warily arose, getting a better view of the Mountain Military base, a set of nine large deteriorated buildings, and several hangers. The buildings were once protected by a twelve-foot high fence, which now lay in pieces. Abandoned vehicles, planes, and helicopters had been thrown haphazardly by the storms, rusted over the years. Everywhere were signs the military left in a hurry, as deserted turrets left guns and ammunition unchecked, through the open doors of the hanger tools still set out on the floor. Hadge glanced down at his uneven stance, realizing that lightning had scarred even the asphalt, as deep grooves were burned into the black surface. The metal doors from the base were only a few feet away, bent in an odd fashion, as skeleton pieces had landed fifty feet in every direction, some still rolling by the readily sloping downgrade.

Hadge eyed the winding road leading away from the gate; hopeful it could be a way out of here. His thoughts returned to the reason why he was here in the first place, the book, he needed someone who could read. His heart sinking by the brunt of this part of the world, which was twisted a lacey white. Twisted to the peak of magnificence, deathly linked by spiders, and the hope of finding someone alive gravely seemed slim.

Uwee skittishly mumbled, "What...what are we going to do now?" Hadge suggested the only thing they could do, "We walk." He directed, "Through that gate." There was nearly a quarter mile between them and the gate, as danger lurked from every corner, and the plan suddenly didn't seem so great, but there was nothing else they could do. Uwee nervously looked from side to side, saying, "I don't know about this." Hadge took a step forward, retorting, "You can just stay here." Uwee hurried to keep in step with Hadge, grumbling, "Nooooo..." He breathed, "Wait." Then slowly they attempted the walk to the roadway; quite sure they were being watched.

Oddly a memory shot like a bullet in Hadge's head, he couldn't move, his waning vision stopped on the distorted reflection within the bumper. All he could see was the face of a skeleton hauntingly staring back, and he knew the recollection was not his own. Hadge realized why that memory was significant, as he stared into the bumper of a nearby truck, seeing the reflection of a skull, one of the pieces of debris from the cavern.

Without any hesitation one spider moved out into the open, boldly another, and another, until the numbers had grown too many to count. Hadge's sight was still pinned on the metal structure, however was quite aware of his surroundings. He was certain they wouldn't last seconds head to head among the mass of spiders, they had to find a safe spot. The nearest shelter was the metal structure, how safe would it be is a different story, but they had no choice.

Hadge ordered, "Head for the truck." Uwee bickered, "But." He exclaimed, "We'll be trapped!" Hadge pulled Uwee in the designated direction, retorting crossly, "Its better than being dead." Uwee glanced at the spiders sniffing, "Good point..."

The clicking noises had completely encircled them, as the spiders had edged closer, and their movements propped for an attack. Hadge despairingly could see the spiders were more aggressive on this side of the Mountain, and the meager fungal dust did nothing to detour an imminent attack.

Hadge started yelling, "Get inside that thing!" Uwee anxiously countered, "I don't think we can make it!" Hadge irritably rumbled, "Run dammit!" Uwee ran headlong towards the rusted flatbed truck, as Hadge trailed close behind. An army of foot high spiders currently carpeted the asphalt, each and every creepy crawler terrifyingly moving in their direction. Hadge fearfully shouted, "Get that door open!" Uwee snapped, "I'm trying!" Hadge knew he had to do something now, or the outcome could be deadly.

He quickly extracted the book from his pack, slashing its leather binding with his dagger, until the blood ran free. Then shook the blood from the book onto the monstrous little beasts, as the shrill of their death echoed across the base, the sounds eerily contaminated by what he alleged to be screams. He stopped momentarily to listen, fearing they may have dragged Uwee off, however the larger spiders started to advance, and all he could do is crave for the grubb to answer, "Uwee?"

There were several seconds of silence, not a peep, or a sound. Hadge repeated himself, in hopes he would receive an answer this time, "Uwee?" Then a laborious noise soughed, "Gaaahhhhhhh!" The noise breathlessly muttering, "I don't know how!" It was a relief to hear the grubbs voice, and he knew the scream could not have been him.

The first wave of spiders began to drop dead, however were quickly replaced by twice as many, as they tauntingly lunged and intimidated their quarry. Hadge impatiently shrieked at the grubb, while trying to keep the beasts at bay, "Just do it!" He continued to sling blood at the beasts, however couldn't be sure how much longer he could keep them at arms length.

The spiders eerily crept over the mounds of the dead, black hairy bodies blending as one, making it difficult to differentiate those that were alive from the dead, nonetheless they were increasingly growing in size, and numbers. Spiders four and five times his size branched out their long jointed legs, black legs bristled in hooks. Each long black thrichobotria probed the asphalt around him, the land shuddering with each and every impact.

Hadge darted between the crushing blows, finding it increasingly growing harder, as more spiders kept joining the fray. Then a leg ripped down his left shoulder, as barbs cut a jagged gash into his soft tissue, like the teeth of a saw. Hadge was reduced to an agonizing standstill, shrieking, "AAAAAAAAAaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Throughout all the pain his mind could think of only one thing, "We are dead! We are dead!" A high-pitched screech pierced the air, and debris tumbled across the asphalt, sure the spiders had taken over the flatbed truck now.

Suddenly Uwee yelled, "I got it!" He had succeeded in opening the door, yanking Hadge roughly inside, just as several webs were shot in their direction, catching to theirs legs and backside, and being severed as the door slammed shut.

Uwee hysterically screamed, "Do something!" Hadge groaned in near blinding pain, wondering what would the grubb have him do. He felt like death was a moment away, recalling the man on Ennead Mountains last agonizing breaths. "Ennead Mountain..." He murmured through the pain, reflecting how he'd seen these metal contraptions move over the roads, thinking, "If I could get it to move." Hadge focused on his arms, forcing the weary limbs to shift, as they moved in slow motion. Uwee screamed more urgently, "Do something!" Hadges trembling arms were pushing every button he could see, as he snapped back, "I am!" Sadly he feared they would be stuck here, because nothing seemed to work, and the structural integrity of the truck doubtfully could withstand a beating from the monsters outside.

All at once a huge spider landed hard on the roof, indenting the contour of its body in the metal, reducing the space within the cab. That sudden weight exchange jolted everything forward, forcing Hadge hard against the shifter, as the shifter fell out of place, and the vehicle slowly began to roll.

Then several more spiders attacked the windshield, as the aged glass began to crack. Uwee madly screaming over again, "Do something!" Hadge could think of nothing else to do, this would surely be their tomb. Another jolt from the frenzied spiders propelled the vehicle into a faster pace, moving downhill. Moving towards the very gate they had tried to escape.

Along the potholed way spiders were abandoned, with each bump and jerk, even as the truck seemed to pick up speed. Hadge tried to steer down the Mountain road, still the vehicles momentum going faster and faster, making steering a rusted vehicle virtually impossible. Everything looked like a white blur, as trees, boulders, and the road were all covered in webs.

Unexpectedly something bright appeared beyond the dead pines, as if a giant snow globe had preserved an entire town. "What is that?" Hadge was downright befuddled, until the blinding bright lights had become too dazzling to see, and he had to protect his eyes.

The blundering vehicle was left to steer itself, leading a path directly into that light. On the moment of entry through that freakish sphere everything appeared whitewashed, and the outer shell of the truck was statically charged, popping and cracking as it crossed that archaic threshold, and the tiny sparks produced a diamond field about them. The vehicle came to rest within the dome, hitting hard against another vehicle, knocking Hadge and Uwee unconscious.

The brightness was beyond clarity, uniting the sounds of the universe, as voices were all speaking at once, all calling his name. The pale line of reality seemed hard to cross, believing he must have died and gone to heaven, hearing the Angels converse, "Canaan is about to enter its last seven days of Darkness." A woman's voice had stated. Then a man replied, "Do you think there's hope for a planet with no real life?" Then another new voice asked, "What do you think Hadge?" The male voice chuckled, "He can't hear you." The female voice countered, "Oh, I think he can." And she called out to him, "Hadge! If you're alive in there, remember this..." She eerily breathed even as her voice slipped away, "The book can mend you."

Suddenly a familiar voice interjected, "Ughhh..." It was Uwee moaning. "Shhhhhhhhhh." A female voice murmured, "He will hear us." Unable to see passed the searing bright light, Hadge deliriously asked, "Hear who?" There was no response, as he demanded to know, "Whose there?"

Hadge found the metamorphosis between sleep to wakefulness quite unattainable. His head was spinning, as the brightness seeped through his closed eyelids. He tried squinting through the fringe of his long lashes, and not looking directly at the light, all in an effort to find the source of the conversations, but all he discovered was agony. All movement left him cringing in pain. A pain apparently centering from his left shoulder, as he propped the book between him and the light, seeing a gash nearly a foot and a half athwart his chest. He spread the torn old fabric with his bloodied hands, oddly discovering the cable wounds across his palms were gone.

He was flabbergasted, wondering, "How can this be?" He inspected each hand, both were completely healed, as the voices unearthly advice tolled in his head, "The book can mend you." Hadge at first believed it could be true, looking at his hands, but a tiny voice of reason understated the evidence, you never had any wounds to heal. Even so he curiously considered the idea, "What could it hurt?" He found no reason not to try, as he rubbed the blood from his hand onto the wound, doubtfully watching, waiting for nothing to happen.

The blood morbidly began to hiss, and the wound filled with a clear sticky substance, slowly matching the color of his own skin, as he stared completely dumbfounded, still finding it all hard to believe.

Out of the brightness Uwee moaned, "Argggggghhhhh." Squealing, "Its so bright." Hadge's mind returned to the moments before the crash, seeing spiders, spiders everywhere. He nervously feared they may still be nearby, yet the strange static silence indicated they were gone, but he couldn't help wonder, "Where?" His mind instilled with dread that they may be ambushed if they leave the safety of the truck.

"Hadge." Uwee cried, "Hadge." Whining like a baby, "I can't seeeeee..." Hadge replied without notice, still fascinated by his shoulder's rapid healing, "Nor can I." Uwee continued to howl, "Hadge." Seeming to press that proverbial button, as Hadge snapped, "What?" Uwee's whining voice appealed for an answer, "What are we gonna do?" Hadge irritably barked back, "Shut up! So I can think." But truthfully all he could think, "I'm stuck here with an idiot."

Hadge knew he needed to search for something he could use to help shield their eyes, because without sight they were helpless. He peeked into the spaces of his entwined fingers, out through the cracked windshield, which was still too bright. Then he considered how light passed through fabric, such as the fabric covering his wound, however it was not viable, much too dense, and they would never be able to see objects suitably. At last the workings of a true idea came to head, he needed something clear, but tinted to protect the eyes, his mind conversing, "Like the blue pages from the book." Excitedly he muttered under his breath, "That's it."

Hadge eagerly opened the book, peering through the fiery blue pages. He could see the steering wheel, the windshield, and Uwee huddled into a little ball. It worked amazingly well, but the only setback was all the layers of black lettering marring a clear-cut view. He twisted to look for the spiders, as a shadowy figure walked passed the truck, and sat on a bench in a nearby park. Hadge had jerked, nearly dropping the book, as he readjusted it within his nervous hands, looking at that same bench, but nothing was there, just a distortion of the lettering.

Hadge quickly returned to his task at hand, he needed something easier to use, as one idea after the next failed for some reason or another. The cab of the truck was void of anything very useful, filled with military items, guns, knives, first aid kit, canteens, and several strange masks, which covered the entire head with a breathing apparatus.

He turned one of the masks in his hand, the dark lenses reminding him so much of a bug, as he imagined the finished product, and believed it could work. Hadge promptly set to work, as he cut away the unusable parts with his dagger, carving it into a strange set of goggles, rather proud of his accomplishments. He placed the finished goggles on his head, as the light tempered to a cool darkness, and straight away he could see.

Hadge looked out the windows at this wondrous town. Quickly his eyes returned to the mysterious park, with a giant stone foot set in the center. His eyes moving straight for the bench, and it was clear nothing was there, yet there was a human shadow on the ground below the bench. He noticed another out of the corner of the goggles, and then another. Learning in fact the strange shadows seemed to be throughout the whole town.

It was all rather odd he thought, "I wonder what happened here?" Hadge could see a cluster of shadows leading directly behind them, leading to a collection of spider's corpses, which eerily spread from the edge of the sphere to the point the vehicle came to rest. He found it all very curious, "I wonder what killed them?" He leaned to take a closer look, as his hand touched the truck, feeling a static shock, and realized the shock of the sphere entry probably electrocuted them all. "Yeah..." He believed, that is the answer.

"Hadggggggge." Uwee whined once again, "What are you doing?" Hadge knew Uwee couldn't shut up for too long, as he answered, "I'm making something so we can see." Uwee rushed, "Hurry." Hadge shook his head, reasonably frustrated, wanting nothing more than to choke that grubb at times, this being one of those times. He set to work on the second set of goggles, sure the grubb wouldn't be grateful in the end.

Uwee asked every few minutes, "Are you done yet?" Getting a grunt or a growl in response, until at last the finished goggles were thrown at Uwee, and Hadge flatly rumbled, "Here." Uwee rushed to put them on.

Shortly after they were warily stepping out of the vehicle, surprised they had survived the crash. Uwee looked at the buildings around them in astonishment, each as colorful as the day it was built, "What is this place?" The town was like stepping back in time, to a place simply untouched on that darkest of days. Every building and statue remained intact, as the neon lights still brightly advertised its wares. Hadge answered the grubb, as he stared at the strange shadows, "I don't know." But wondered, "What happened to all the people?" The only thing missing in this town were the people, as darkened shadows lingered everywhere, in front of a store, next to a car, sitting on the edge of the concrete, all in humanly poses, however those wraithlike images were scorched into the surface, marring the last place they had been, a phantasm of a life stolen by the hands of death.

Hadge found it unclear what truly had happened to this town, but the more he examined the images, the more unsettled he became. He felt every hair upon his body stand on end, he wrestled with the idea that the static was causing his unease, but the fact remained something was eerily wrong with those shadowy images, and it sent a shiver up his spine.

Suddenly the sounds of someone screaming ricocheted throughout the town. Hadge granted the notion, "Someone is alive." Instantly they pursued the distressed sounds into the park, around benches and trees. Hadge duly noted the shadow was no longer under the bench, nervously searching the ground along the way, having the frightening feeling the wraithlike images were somehow alive. He berated himself, "No! That's idiocy..." However he couldn't take a chance he could be wrong, as he yelled at Uwee, "Whatever you do. Don't get close to those shadows."

They ran around the giant stone foot, seeing a pair of large spiders attacking each other, in an all out tug-of-war over a strange looking girl. The dark haired girl was partially wrapped in webs, and unable to free herself. Hadge quickly dashed to her side cutting the webs with his dagger, saying, "It'll be alright!" She teetered upright, nearly twice his size, still reeling from the poison. He looked up into the tall girls oddly tanned face, asking, "Are you alright?" She quietly nodded, as he helped her from the mass of sticky webbing, pulling at her arm, and ordering her to follow, "This way!"

Uwee loudly warned, "Haaadgeeeeeee!" The spiders had turned towards the two, advancing very quickly. Then one of the spiders stepped into a shadow, and an intense crackling noise wickedly leapt to life. Up from the charred shadow a human wraithlike shape eerily appeared, shifting towards the beast that had disturbed its slumber, reaching out from the scorched black spot, and seizing the spider.

"Whoaaaaa!" Uwee shouted, "Did you see that?" Almost immediately a horrendous shriek escaped the spider, shuddering in the hands of the wraithlike image, until it rolled over to die. "Oh my Yahveh!" Hadge declared, hardly believing his eyes, but he had known something was strange about those shadows from the beginning. The dark haired girl fearfully screamed, "We need to run!" Hadge unsure why, but it sounded like the best bet at the time. Uwee yelled from behind, "More of those shadow things are waking up!"

They hurried inside the nearest building, an old-fashioned drug store. The young girl nervously looking around at all times, as fear plagued her hazel eyes, her eyes saying more than any words could ever say.

Hadge and Uwee barred the double doors, pushing a shelf against the frame. Hadge watchfully moved to the window, glaring beyond the stenciled lettering, as the eerie shadows roamed the streets. He had a hard time understanding if those creatures were good or bad. Then the memory of the shadow walking passed the truck resurfaced, certain he had seen one of them, but only through the pages of the book. He opened that ungodly book; sure it could help him understand what's happening here. He glanced through the fiery pages, not sure what to expect.

At that exact moment the shadow of a woman stopped to look in the store front, its sinister blue figure blazing with unsightly anger, and its distorted face lunged at the glass, as if it knew he were there. "Gaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Hadge stumbled backwards, seeing nothing, but a dirty old window.
Instantly Hadges attention targeted the shadows, questioning the girl, "What are those things?" Breathlessly she answered, "The townspeople." He turned to glare at the girl, finding her simplistic explanation unbelievable, "Townspeople?" He barked, "You expect me to believe that?" She narrowed a stare back at him, announcing, "I don't care what you believe." He closed the book, throwing his hands up in exasperation, claiming, "We're all going to die!" She shook her head, uttering, "No we're not." Hadge had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but the issue was rather clear to him, as deadly shadows still wandered the streets. He hopelessly stared out the window, darkly saying, "It don't look so good from here."

The girl walked up to stand beside him, looking out among the chaos in the park. She murmured mostly for her own benefit, "Bigfoot Park. The founders built this town around the Park." Then optimistically said, "Trust me." She breathed, "It'll be ok." Hadge thought that was a strange choice of words, he had heard trust me twice in one day. A dire chill crept up his spine, and trust was something he was finding difficult as of lately. The girl continued to ramble, "On the day of darkness everyone was vaporized. Leaving their shadows behind. They still live the life they remember. Purging the town of what doesn't belong."

Hadge glanced up at the strange girl from the corner of his eye, verifying, "We don't belong here." She sincerely looked down at Hadge, inquiring, "Where do you belong?" His eyes moved from the cover of the book to meet hers with a solemn look, speaking from his heart, "At one time I thought I knew, but now my life only leads to more questions." She suggested, "Maybe you should find the answers." His eyesight returned to the book he now stroked in his hands, stating, "That's why I'm here."

Surprisingly something squirts Hadge in the back of the head. "What the..." He angrily spat, hearing Uwee dying of laughter, even as he darted to the far side of the room. Hadge pursued the grubb; jerking the yellow water gun from his hands, snarling, "Give me that." Uwee pleaded, "I'm sorry." Hadge found him not even vaguely sincere, as Uwee continued to laugh, and he dismissed the grubb, "Off with you!" Then he realized the water gun had a leak, as water mixed with the dried blood on his hand, giving him a wonderfully evil idea, as he diabolically thought, "Monsters beware."

Uwee strode off to torment the young girl, bashfully shaking her hand, "Hi, my names Uwee." She smiled placing one hand on her chest, surrendering her own name, "Zaya." Uwee pointed out, "That's Hadge." Hadge turned just in time to see the strange expression on her face, as she whispered, "Hadge..." He noted her reaction was rather odd, first all the photos with his name on it, followed by her reaction, he mused, "Who is this Hadge?"

Hadge had to keep his mind focused on the book, as he threw the question out there, "Do you know anyone who can read?" She sadly stated, "My father, but you're a day too late." Zaya turned away so they couldn't see her tears, "Reavers took him." Hadge offered his condolences, "I'm sorry." She glanced at Hadge through the veil of her long dark hair, saying, "There's no time for sorry in this terrible world Hadge." Zaya reached out as if to touch the book in his hands, speaking, "You still need someone to read that book?" He guardedly flinched away, curious where this conversation was leading, "Yes."

She proposed loosely, "There is one possible way." Acknowledging, "It will be dangerous." There was a twinge of excitement in his voice, convinced the danger couldn't be any worse than what he's already experienced, "Tell me." Zaya began to explain, "In the lost woods, beyond Hells Gate. It is rumored that Elders roam the lands." Her tale ending badly, "No one really knows the truth, because everyone that has gone in the woods never returned."

Uwee's voice reverberated from inside a shelf, making it publicly known, "Well that counts me out." Hadge sneered at the grubb, proclaiming, "Then that's where I'm going." Uwee's expression appeared unwell as he whined, unbelievably shaking his head, "Oh man."

She added, "There's just one more thing." Hadge's mind already firmly set, asked, "What's that?" She gave him a last word of warning, "Remember not to look into the monsters eyes in Hells Gate."

Then Uwee strolled up eating a bug-infested candy bar, trying to talk, "By the way." Coughing on a few junks, asking, "What's the name of this place?" He mockingly muttered, "Burn your eyes out?" "Hadge revoltingly pointed at the candy bar. Uwee giving his stupid rationalization, "Well if I'm going to die, I might as well do it eating." Zaya couldn't help but giggle at Uwee's idiocy, as she at last answered, "No one really knows anymore. So we call this place Nowhere."

Uwee shoved the last bite of candy bar in his mouth scoffing, "I'm standing in the middle of Nowhere."

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 them 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 scarcely 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.

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?" Churl 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 gently 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 relentlessly 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 disgustingly 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.

Chapter 8: The Divined.

Elysium was hanging in the balance, teetering on the verge of extinction.

Hadge stared out into the reticent darkness, as he held the book tighter, praying for a miracle. However he sadly realized that every time he made that leap of faith for this book, something, or someone has stood in his way, as if it were meant for him to fail. He was emotionally shattered by Churls uninvited conception of betrayal, and the world around him turned bleak.

Uncannily the sinister darkness seemed bound and unbroken, eerily reaping its rigid heavy hands on time. Hadge had a sense something was not right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It was as if the very world froze around him, all kempt anomalously in mid-action, even as the gorgon goo bubbled up on the threshold of popping, yet never did.

Suddenly the dark buckled, giving way to an otherworldly halo of light. The vaporous illumination was much like a soft misty rain, sated with the aura of a ghostly white radiance. It was the same presence from the cave. Its indefinite gel like form resembling frosted glass, as the bright light emanated from somewhere deep inside the being. The unimaginable radiance of this creature was inspiring, as its sweet air of serenity could calm even the most savage of beasts. And Hadge found himself speechless.

The presence ethereally whispered unspoken words, "Hadgeeeeee." As it's outward appearance benevolently attuned to the form of a woman, which flowed in iridescent gossamer fabric, much like spun silk. She entreated Hadge to listen, "Trusssssst meeeeeeee."

Hadge gazed in utter captivation, because he did trust this being with all his heart. The beings whispered words played in his head like a melody, "Ask thy book to read for you, and it shall."

Exactly as the pages fell open, and the blue fire leapt from inside. Hadge did precisely as the being foretold, "Book can you read for me?"

Thrillingly the air filled with a choir of voices, all emanating from the book. One voice in particular stood out, saying, "I told you, all you had to do is ask." And he suddenly recognized the strange ghostly voices he'd been hearing all along. Then another clamored, "He asked us to read the book." At once hundreds of combined voices recited, "The Edge of Darkness born out of evil, concieved through sins of the Prince of the worlds, Prince of Darkness, foresaken all unbelievers to a fate worse than death. Satans 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 of judgement.Yahvehs angry voice roarth from the Heavens, as a shudder beset all the worlds. How dareth a chosen smite his favor, his thunderous voice uttered, let this be thy end, good will conquer evil, and the mystery of Yahveh will be finished, all shall standeth in my greatness, and the Devils book will be a testament unto your faith. As I cast the bearers of this book therein to seven days of darkness, a chance to repent thy sins, thus forth after seven years you will be given another chance, and another, until the darkness hath devoureth thine world, and all hope hath fled, but even in the darkest hour I shall always send thou hope.Our glorious Yahveh and Savior created a light, perfect in every way, picked from the Heavens above, beset with the purity of goodness, molded into the shape of a man, and Yahveh said, "He thenceforth will be named Hadge." Bestowed Yahvehs divine favor, calling upon his Angel of hope, saying "You are the vessel to smite all evils, protector of innocence, devoureth of darkness, the divine protector Hadge." As the mighty Angel was sent forth from the Heavens, upon his shining face was the sun, beheldth in his eyes liveth all the Heavens, beseting one foot on the land, another on the sea, seeking the Devils works therein the vast Heavens, upon which ever worlds he hath hidden them away. The divine protector taketh thine book in fiery hands, and the power thus to use the Edge of Darkness against its creator, casting the Prince of Darkness back to his rightful place, the pits of Hell."

"Wait a minute." Hadges confused voice interrupted, "Are you trying to tell me I'm this divined protector?" Soothingly the voice of the Angel confirmed this doubt, "Yessss." As all the voices clamored at once, "Don't you remember me? From Halcyon." Another chiming at the same time, "Its Rife your brother from Meridian." A young girls voice, "Its your step sister from Vertex." Then an older mans voice said, "Its your Uncle from Culmen." Followed by an older females voice, "Its your mother from Utopia. Don't you remember?"

Hadge closed the book, shaking his head, "No." He ordered, "Stop." It couldn't possibly be true. The confusion of reality seemed harder to bear than the fiction of this so-called life. He never dreamed the answers to all his questions would bore the weight of worlds on his shoulders.

Hadge looked at the Angel, solemnly asking, "Why me?" The Angels sweet dulcet tones played in his head, "You were the most brightest perfect star, promising light shall always dissolve all evils." Her tone altered, "The darkness could not defeat you, so instead he corrupted your mind. He used thy one weakness against you, your heart, and the love of life itself. That weakness exploded in Canaan, marring all worlds with its unnatural magics. The evil had succeded in shredding your once vast mind. Rendering you incapable of remembering the things you should, limiting your mind to the current life your living. Until all the dark magics have been eradicated your mind cannot be free."

The Angels hand slowly passed over his head, a warm and fuzzy sensation, and she said, "Our savior shall always send thou hope." Then asked, "Do you remember your plants Hadge?" Of course he did, as he answered, "Yes."

The memory felt happy and warm, all the plants growing in his room beneath the cemetary, but what did that have to do with the situation. The Angel inquired, "How do you think those plants grew in all this cold darkness?" Hadge had no idea,"I don't know." Feeling the Angels hand caress his face, reciting a line from the book, "Upon his shining face was the sun." He could feel the warmth of his inner being, and the yellow brightness cast a light all around him, melting the remainder of his doubt away.

After all this time living a paupers life, he suddenly felt strange, hearing his divine voice of knowledge question, "Tell me how do I stop the darkness on this world?" He thought of Churl as his mind crossly echoed, "They will pay for their sins." Intending to thwart the Devil one world at a time.

The Angel spoke, "The Devil created the book to smite our savior, but Yahveh allowed it to become a tool for the greater good. A tool for his divine protector, and the Devils downfall."

Hadge stared hopelessly at the book, wondering, "How can a book help me now?" He flipped through the pages scrutinizing each one, seeing tiny fragments of memories flash through his mind, of worlds he couldn't possibly ever have been.

Suddenly through one of the holes in the building he noticed a strange trace of light on the horizon, just over the southern Ennead Mountains. It prompted him to ask, "What's that?" The Angel responded, "It's the first key. The key to imprison darkness within the book. The second key, the key to Elysium will bind the pages solidly shut." Hadge knowingly breathed, "Carrissa." He was there when she opened that damnable book; she has to be the key.

The Angel softly continued, "The first key is always something personal to the key, and only they are bound to use it." Hadge growled, "Great." Seething bitterly, "So even if I find the random personal item it can't be used until I find Carrissa."

He was not sure where she even was, or if she were alive after all it had been thirty to fifty years ago. Hadge cracked, "What a load of reaver dung."

The Angel calmly soothed him once more, saying, "This is true, however Carrissa foreseen these coming events, and left part of herself with you." Hadge griped, "What are you talking about?" The Angel lightly placed a hand on his heart, "She left her soul in your safe keeping. You did promise to protect her." Hadge negatively shook his head, "No. That sounds crazy." However it was true, he did make that promise. The Angel went on to say, "She knew the moment she touched the book, at loves anticipated kiss. Trusting you with the one thing dearest to her that day, her soul."

He wasn't sure if he believed or disbelieved, but the biggest question now would be, "What could belong to Carrissa in the big city of Bedlam?" The Angel answering as if she could in turn read his thoughts, "Remember the book Hadge. The book is always personal to each world, and each key."

The still images involuntarily chronicled through his rapt brain, the stone book shifting in his hands, as the quartz transformed into a worn dark leather-bound book, pages gleaming a dazzling blue, which was bound tightly with pure silver vines from edge to bind. He impulsively murmured, "Silver vines." That had to be it, he was certain.

Thereon a memory not his own played in his head of a silvery vined bracelet, charmed with numerous swaying leaves, he'd given it to her as a present that day in Muezza's tower. He had bought it at the gift shop, which replicated the twisting vined tower, and she'd lost it somewhere inside.

Hadge declared, "I know where I have to go. Muezza's Miracle tower." The Angel solemnly cautioned, "The Devils guards will watch that place above all others on this planet. Try to remember who you really are Hadge."

Hadge glumly commented, "Well I'll have plenty of time to think about it on the thirty six mile walk there." The Angel slightly smiled, holding out her hands, as a wind stirred, moving them over Elysium. Through the intense gusts of wind wrapping his body he could hear the Angel's words as clear as could be, "I will take you as far as I can."

Gently Hadge and Uwee were set down in the rubble of a fallen city. East Bedlam, which had been parted from the west by mountains and collapsed skyscrapers, mere feet from a subway. The subway was now flooded, steps obscured within muddy water, as the water waked from something just beneath the surface.

Hadge looked thoroughly confused, as the Angel informed, "This is the only way into the heart of the city. I'm forbidden to enter the Devils lair. His darkness binds me no further. However the waterway is guarded by swarms and serpentine creatures called sarpa." Hadge argued, "How am I supposed to get passed swarms and sarpas?"

The Angel held out a hand full of woodbine vine berries, soothingly inviting, "Eat...They are devastating to the swarm." His mind shouting, "Wait a minute!" Furiously recalling the swarm under Nibbs skin, all his pain and agony, and all he had to do was eat some woodbine berries. Irately the simple truth was steadfast in his thoughts, "Nibbs didn't have to die!"

Then the Angel opened her other hand, and said, "Ruby wanted you to have them." Ruby lain weakly in the Angels palm, barely whispering, "Hadge..." He was elated to see her again, crying, "Ruby your ok." The Angel reminded him, "Time is not on your side dear Hadge. The days of repent have grown short." He agreed, "Yeah, your right." He lovingly rubbed Ruby's wild hair, saying, "Take care of her will you." Because he couldn't take her where he was going. The Angel nodded, answering, "Of course."

Then the Angel drifted into the particles of light, going back from whence she came, and time returned to normal.

Uwee fell to the ground complaining, "Hey! Where's the lift thingy?" He got to his feet looking around them, sounding even more confused than before, "Where are we?" Hadge ignored him; he had greater things on his mind other than Uwee's stupidity.

Hadge gathered his backpack and water guns, trying to surmise what can this so-called Hadge really do. Curiously did the Hadge have extraordinary powers; maybe strength, stamina, or maybe he can fly or change the weather.

Then his thoughts rasped, "Grubb. You're the Hadge. Stop thinking as if it were someone else." However this divine knowledge of who he was didn't make him feel any different, he felt as ordinary as the day before, and the day before that. Although the part about growing plants with the sun was kind of unnatural.

Disruptively he heard his name, "Hadge!" Uwee was infuriatingly yelling an inch from his face, inquiring, "Are you alright?" Hadge quietly responded, "Yeah. I was thinking." His thoughts grated, "Something Uwee obviously had never tried to do."

Then his eyes moved to the hazardous subway entrance, which was completely submerged in murky water, wondering, "How on Elysium can I walk five miles to central Bedlam without air?" He hadn't a clue, but maybe, he considered the book could help.

Hadge said a witty little rhyme, even as he opened the book, "When in doubt. I pull my book out." The bluish fire leapt from the opened pages, as he asked, "Book can you tell me how I can breathe under water?" The voices clamored, a female saying, "It was all water on Utopia." A male argued, "He's talking about here and now." At last one stated, "Your Hadge. Do you really need air?" Hadge questioned, "What do you mean?" The voice retorted, "The fear of living makes you believe you need air. Yet you are divine in every way."

Hadge needed to test this theory, holding his breath, and counting. After several minutes he began to panic, sensing the need for air, and believed it was a dumb idea, but had to keep trying. He tried to calm his mind, feeling it eventually ease into a state of limbo, and air was no longer a priority, but rather a useless function he did not require. Hadge was giddy with laughter, bursting out loud at this newfound ability.

Uwee seriously searched Hadges face, requesting to know, "Have you lost your mind?" The question was rather ironic, as Hadge mockingly countered, "Yeah, but its coming back to me a piece at a time." Uwee rolled his eyes, "Ok." And said, "That's good to know."

Hadge put his book away, moving closer to the subway entrance, stating, "We're going to big city." Uwee ridiculed the idea, "Not sure if you noticed, but the subway is filled with water." Hadge informed, "Oh I noticed." And went on to say, "The only way to save this world is through this subway." Uwee gave him a look of disbelief, and flatly said, "Ok. Whatever you say."

Then he reclined at the top of the stairs, relaxing against a metal railing. Hadge stepped within the spectrum of Uwee's legs, preparing his mind for this long journey. He could hear the grubb's distant cries slowly fade, "Hey! Get off my legs."

The cold murky water grafted around his legs, as thick as month old soup, as he entered one foot at a time. Hadge watched the devilish Swarm scatter, leaving wakes in the surface of the water. He was very aware of the dangers he now faced, wading deeper into the subway, until the water finally covered his head.

Every convoluted step he tried to make wrenched him backwards and forwards, so that he was half walking, half floating. At last he got the hang of simply walking, even with nearly a foot of sediment on the bottom. His movements lifted the silt from the floor, as a cloud of debris inhibited his vision, a vision already strained by darkness. A humorous thought flitted through his mind, "Too bad I don't have one of those spider buttocks. Then maybe I could see."

Uwee's annoying voice could be heard not far behind, "I'm telling you. This is crazy." The vibration of sounds dominated an echo trail behind him, and his glow eerily revealed the contents around them, visual distance all but nine feet.

The filthy life the humans once lived became quite evident. Uwee picked up an old soda can, and stated, "This makes me hungry." Hadge could only roll his eyes at the idiocy, and walk onward. Everywhere the residue of cans, water bottles, and food wrappers spookily shifted back and forth amid this haunting subway.

Suddenly Hadge picked out the echo trail of a number of large beasts ahead, most likely sarpa. Uwee vagrantly added his two cents, "Something's out there."

Hadge had no doubt it had to be the sarpa that the Angel had warned him about. The scary part was the sarpa knew he was in the subway too, and their reaction could be deadly. He was convinced they would be drawn to Uwee's incessant talking, leading them directly to himself. "If only." Hadge irritably thought, "Uwee could keep his big mouth shut!" Angrily he glanced at the grubb through the murky water, and couldn't help but imagine wrapping Uwee's blabbering mouth in rags, something he had always dreamed about. However the sarpa was his biggest problem at the moment.

Hadge knew he could solve the problem of the sarpa by using the blood, yet oddly felt guilty of even considering it, now that he is the protector after all, not a killer. He realized the creatures wouldn't have a second thought about killing him; still the blood would have to be a last resort. He prayed that Yahveh would let them pass without a confrontation, leaving it all in the hands of fate.

The subway was like every other subway, dark, dirty, and graffiti everywhere. Skeletons swayed in the murky water, drifting in their watery graves.

Then something large disrupted the water four feet to his left. Hadge caught only a glimpse of its black scaly skin; it had to be a sarpa. Uwee shrieking, "Watch out!"

Suddenly a huge metal sign came tumbling down off the wall towards him, as the woman's white teeth were marred with the graffiti of three monkeys. Hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil. The sign came terrifyingly close, as he barely made it out of the way, with the grate of his backside the only thing worse for wear. Uwee grimacing, "Ouch, that's got to hurt."

Quickly blood seeped from the abrasion, turning the water a cloudy red. Uwee sorely reminded him, "I told you coming here was crazy." Furiously what Hadge really wanted to say to the grubb was, "SHUT UP!" However the pain overrode all other motor skills, talking was the least of his worries, and the blood was leading a trail directly to him.

Hadge trudged onward, because it was too dangerous to stand still for too long. Gradually he became aware the monkeys were painted everywhere, on the floors, on the walls, on the benches, and throughout the mangled remains of a train nearly blocking the railway tunnel.

The train eerily creaked and moaned under its weight, bellied with the underlying sounds of what Hadge could only define as being speech. The Sarpa were communicating, and his best guess would be they were talking about him.

The further they moved through the tunnels, the braver the blackened serpentine creatures became. Uwee tartly announced, "They look friendly enough." The daring beasts darted within a few feet of arms and legs, like hungry sharks encircling their prey. Hadge's heartbeat anxiously thumped faster and faster, positive the sarpa would attack at anytime.

Then one of the lizard-like men swam straight for him, its black tail like a sharks thresher, never deviating from its path. Hadge could feel he was losing his concentration, as panic started to set in, and the need for oxygen becoming urgent. Uwee shouting, "Watch out!"

Instantly the large sarpa took a swipe at his mid-section, its razor like claws leaving four gashes in his skin, as blood turned the murky waters a deep scarlet, and he could do nothing but fight for air.

Hadge desperately swam to the ceiling, where a pocket of stale air was trapped, sharply drawing in a breath. However there is no rest for the weary, even as the beasts pulled him down, down to the bottom.

Uwee screamed from somewhere out of sight, "Nooooooooo!"

Then a larger sarpa snatched him from the others, swiftly swimming nearly a mile through the tunnel in a matter of seconds, and all he could do is drift helplessly along. Several more sarpa's joined the fray, all traumatically pulling him in different directions, like animals fighting over food. Hadge painfully could see death closing in upon him, as the cold water seemed to warm, and the darkness was scarcely a problem.

The odd light eerily played across one of the sarpa's gruesome visage, seeing that he stared into its black eyes, as the glint of its pointed teeth made a beeline straight towards his face.

Unexpectedly a blinding bright white light completely occupied the subway, what once was dark, was brighter than the hottest midday desert afternoon. The white hue mellowed to yellow, then buttercup orange, growing hotter and hotter, hotter than the sun. The murky waters instantly began to boil, and in a matter of minutes the water had completely evaporated. Uwee shrieked from beyond the glare, "Hadge!"

Abruptly the light was gone just as quickly as it appeared. Hadge laid on the subway floor amid a dozen dead sarpa's, everyone charred to a crisp. Uwee was instantly at his side, shaking his scorched remains, wailing, "Hadge...Oh...Hadge, don't leave me..." Hadge could hear the grubbs willowy voice, he sounded so very far away that he started to panic, wanting to scream for his friend, but he had no air to do so.

Suddenly Hadge sat bolt upright, frantically gasping for air, as the sharp intake seemed to mouth something similar to a word, "Uw...eee..." Uwee hugged him tighter crying, "Hadge..." Oddly Hadge's skin color slowly began to change, as the black faded to red, and the red back to his natural shade. Even so his body had countless gashes, some deep enough to put a finger inside. Hadge tried to move, wincing in pain. Uwee disproved, "No...you're still bleeding."
Hadge nervously looked at the water pouring in through all the loose bricks, arguing, "Its not safe here." The water was surely from the Gehemma River, at the rate it was gushing in it would take no time at all for the subway to refill. And it was a good possibility not all the sarpa had died. He was sure he couldn't make it through a second round with the sarpa's. Uwee strictly announced, "You're not going anywhere." Hadge knew the book would be his only way out of here, since he could barely move, let alone walk, and ordered the grubb, "Give me the book."

Uwee's ghostly image moved from sight, after a second or so he squealed, "The backpacks gone!" Hadge howled, "No! It can't be!" Uwee squealed again revealing, "Everything's gone Hadge! Even your clothes!" Hadge painfully moved to look at himself, he was naked, and backpack and all had been burned away. All that heat had to have something to do with the divine protector, possibly a defense mechanism, but that was just a guess.

Hadge anxiously instructed the grubb, "Search the sediment, and under the sarpa if you have to." He too tried to roll over in the rising waters and search, finding his warped dagger wrapped in the golden thread, and the two gorgon eyes.

Suddenly Uwee exclaimed, "I've got it!" Then handed the book to Hadge. Hadge quickly stabbed the book, and smeared the blood over the direst of gashes, feeling the wounds begin to heal. Uwee looked utterly baffled, asking, "What happened here?" As he breathlessly watched the blood on Hadges skin, and continued to question, "What's going on with the blood thing?" Hadge sighed, because he didn't even have all the answers, and started to say, "I don't..."

The brick wall took them by surprise, as brick after brick began to fall from the wall, and the wall proceeded to collapse, with water rushing in faster than ever before.

Hadge hobbled to his feet, yelling, "Run!" Thusly launching his nude limping figure into action, as fast as he could move. Hadge believed they couldn't be more than a mile from the subway exit. All around them they could hear the dieing beasts, screeching, and making ungodly moans. Uwee commenting as he passed them by, "They sure are ugly." Hadge laboriously puffed as he ran, 'I...agree..."

Out of the darkness the exit appeared, as the wan blush of a night sky signified the exit was close, and what a wonderful sight it was. Hadge exited the subway, leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind him. They were now standing in downtown Bedlam.

Downtown the tall buildings seemed generally intact, but tarnished by age and the red rains. Here and there old fashioned street lamps still lit up the town, which reminded him so much of the little town of Nowhere. Uwee was amazed, "Wow." Hadge too was amazed, but a nagging voice in the back of his mind kept telling him Bedlam and Nowhere is exactly the same, right down to the eerie shadows. He had to know for sure, as he slowly walked out into the middle of the street, and scanned every nook and cranny. In every direction human images were scorched into the surface, indelibly burned into the last place they had stood.

All at once Hadge became aware of Uwee's dim-witted ramblings from behind, "Just like the cave crawler jelly Uma makes." Hadge heatedly turned, knowing the grubb was making remarks, and hissed, "What did you say?" Uwee was taken aback, averting his eyes, saying, "Whoa. You need to cover up." Hadge spat, "With what?" He angrily waved the only items in his possession. Uwee raised one eyebrow, and said, "I see your point." Then instructed the naked man, "Wait here." Hadge tried to bicker with the grubb, because it was better to stay together, "Uwee...no...wait..." But it was already too late Uwee was gone.

Hadge stood there several long minutes calling after the silly grubb, "Uwee...Uwee...Uwee!" He howled, "Where the heck are you?" Until he realized it was insanely useless to do so.

Suddenly he noticed various pains all over his body, dropping to the pavement where he now stood. The rush of adrenaline had faded leaving him extenuatingly sore. He needed to heal or he couldn't possibly go on. Hadge used the blood from the book once more, but this time made sure he covered his entire body. Oddly even his singed hair returned to normal. He was rather sure Uwee wouldn't want to be near him for a while. His mind swiftly wondering, "Where is Uwee anyway? It's been a while."

Hadge glanced uneasily down the long street, seeing neither hide nor hair of the ghostly grubb. It was an ordinary city street, tall business buildings, with a few curio shops, a drug store, sidewalk cafe, and some kind of animal shelter off in the distance. The sign in front of the animal shelter was obvious, with various outlines of animals between all the lettering.

Uncannily Hadge got the feeling that something wasn't quite right about that place, as it oddly seemed familiar somehow. Believing it had to be a fluke, because he had never been here before.

Rising up and beyond the shelter was a forest of dead tree's, and Muezza'a miracle tower. The tower majestically was the focal point of Bedlam, merely a few blocks away. Hadges heart quickened, just to know he was almost there, and soon this nightmare would be over.

Hadge was caught completely unaware by the sound of something falling, just as something tall and skinny tumbled from a large dark aperture in the façade of a stone building. The long skinny object tumbled over and over, booming to a standstill in the middle of the street. His initial thoughts were of reavers, until he'd seen the object, and knew it was a ladder. Then the darkness from whence the ladder had came eerily rippled before his eyes, however what was in the darkness remained a mystery.

All at once the clamor of many things falling at the same time echoed from the darkness, followed by Uwee's doltish voice. He was eagerly shouting, "Look what I found!" Uwee's ghostly figure inched into view, tugging on something big and heavy. Hadge quite surprised asked, "What on Elysium are you doing?" He dashed to help the grubb. Uwee sounded rather proud of himself, "You needed some clothes."

Uwee released the corners of the strange silvery tarp, as a skeleton rolled from inside, wearing a uniform of some sort. The uniform was a bright shade of red, with white and yellow reflective stripes. Uwee quickly began to undress the skeleton. That's when the identity of the skeleton became clear; it was the skeleton of a large dog.

Straightaway Hadge objected, "I'm not wearing that." Uwee a bit put out, asked, "Why not?" Hadge looked rather disgusted, "Its on a dead dog." Uwee burst out laughing, pitching the jacket in his direction, uttering, "The dog don't need it anymore." Hadge flat out said, "No..." Sourly the grubb stated, "Well save the world naked. I don't really care." Hadge quite displeased knew the grubb was right. He couldn't go naked, as he disturbingly made a grumbling noise.

Then grudgingly put on one arm at a time, looking as if he would vomit any second, making a Yahveh awful revolted sound. While Uwee babbled nearby, "Found the dog under several of these shiny blankets. It must have been hiding." He went on to say, "Thought you could make some pants with the blanket and some of this strange sticky stuff." Uwee held out a roll of gray tape that had surprisingly survived the extreme temperatures. Hadge took the offering, and said, "Thanks."

Then proceeded to make a pair of pants from the cloth and tape. Uwee was still rambling, "I wonder who would dress a dog like that?" Uwee laughed even harder, as he pointed at Hadge, "It even has the dogs name on it." Hadge glanced at the nametag; its name was HOSER, however neither could read it.

Hadge bent over to retrieve his meager possessions, shoving them into a large pocket in the jacket. Oddly one of the gorgon eyes was glowing, and felt faintly warm to the touch. He hadn't any idea why, but knew where he may find that information, the book.

Hadge gently opened the pages and asked, "Can you tell me about the gorgons eyes?" Uwee looked at him confused, "What?" Hadge snapped, "I wasn't talking to you." Then the book chimed, a woman's voice, "The gorgon is a demon from Hell. In its true form another immortal can only kill it. But if it manifests into any kind of human form, it can be killed. Concentrating its powers of immortality within its lasting flesh." Hadge whispered, "Immortality."

Suddenly knowing one eye had to give life, while the other death. He looked at the jumbled mess of the skeleton, and was sure it was the reason the eye was glowing. Hadge pondered the notion, "Immortality, that's what Churl really wanted."

Uwee irritably breathed, "Don't worry. I don't want to talk to you either." He must've been talking all along Hadge thought. The grubb mumbled under his breath, "He's crazy." Hadge argued, "No, I'm not crazy. Crazy would be the easy way out." Uwee looked perplexed, inquiring, "Then tell me what happened back in the subway?" Hadge wasn't exactly clear on what happened, so how could he answer, simply speaking, "Trust me. It's complicated." Uwee barked, "Complicated!!!" However Hadge just walked away. Uwee still steaming behind, "What do you mean complicated?"

The street was richly steeped in history, strange cobblestone roadway, lined on either side by old-fashioned street lamps, with stone buildings of various sizes and shapes. The blast had destroyed most of the glass, flammable objects, while oddly leaving others untouched. Dismally all the tree's had been burned, left charcoal and ashy, like gnarled phantoms along the road. The storm that damaged Bedlam had to have been worse than Nowhere, because Bedlam was virtually ravaged. As far as the eye could see bodies were burnt into the ground, all shapes and sizes, standing on the sidewalk or in the road watching the edge of darkness roll terrifyingly in.

The wraithlike shadows ambled about, not even knowing they were dead, in their eyes they were still waiting for the storm. This place was the embodiment of a ghost town. Uwee complained, "I don't like those people. They keep staring at me." Hadge never said a word, but bit his tongue from saying something awful to the grubb.

Hadge sidestepped a shadow of a man, who was standing out front of a business called Bedlam Madhouse Bar, knock em down, sock em down, and leave em drunk. Although he could not read the sign, a pungent smell of alcohols still lingered, giving him an idea of what the place may have been. He peered into the building through a small section of colored glass, which oddly was left undamaged by the high temperatures.

Instantly he recognized the weird graffiti from the subway, which had been painted on the inside of the glass. Straightaway he was sure this was no coincidence. "Ahem." Uwee interrupted, "That man doesn't want you to touch the glass." Hadge turned around asking, "What man?" Uwee pointed to the shadow he had sidestepped earlier, stating, "That man." Hadge breathed, "Oooo..."

Then backed away from the glass, holding out his hands, saying, "I'm sorry." Uwee walked past Hadge looking rather appalled, and said, "I can't believe how ill-mannered you are." Hadge snapped, eyeing the grubb severely, "Me!?!" He was quite agitated, exhaling heavily before following the annoying little twit down the sidewalk. Hadge could hardly remember what he was doing before he was so rudely interrupted, until he noticed the monkeys painted on the sidewalk beneath his feet.

Quickly he probed the street from side to side, finding the strange monkeys were painted everywhere, painted on walls, the walkway, windows, again and again. He had to wonder, "What on Elysium is the significance of those creatures?"

Insanely several of the shadows hastened ahead of Hadge. For the life of him he couldn't figure out what they were doing. They were all gathering behind a bizarre spectacle no more than twenty feet ahead. It was Uwee staring foolishly at the graffiti, moving his hands from ears, to eyes, to mouth. Hadge couldn't help but chuckle; half supposing the shadows were amused as well.

He asked the silly grubb, "What are you doing?" Uwee continued to act out each part of the monkeys, stating, "It's a game. Don't you remember?" Hadge negatively shook his head, and said, "Not really." Uwee sarcastically sucked his lips over his teeth, announcing in an old mans voice, "Oh well, its because your old. The mind is the first thing to go." Hadge snarled, "Grubb just tell me about the game." Uwee mimed the game, "See no evil. Speak no evil. Hear no evil." Hadge frowned and spat, "What kind of stupid game is that?" Uwee expressively appeared disappointed, dropping his head; "Mum played it all the time with me and Uma." Hadge held out a halting hand announcing, "Heard enough."

Then he continued down the street, with an eye on the tower, and his mind on the stupid game, wondering, "What could it mean?"

They passed an intersection on the way towards the tower, all the different colored cobblestones had merged making a star form directly in the center, as a number of shadows stood there as if they were watching them pass by. Hadge hardly noticed them at all; he was too busy eyeing the tower off and on through the pages of the book. Uwee muttered from behind, "They say we're going the wrong way." Hadge made a disagreeable sound, "Pffffft..." He was positive the shadows were wrong, because he could see the unusual magnetic light drawing him closer to the tower, and it surely wasn't that far from here.

They walked nearly a half a dozen blocks, another, and another, with Muezza's tower no closer than when they began. Hadge halted in the middle of the roadway rather irritable, growling, "We're not getting anywhere." Uwee gave him a ghostly look of I told you so, and sighed.

Hadge turned circles in the middle of the road, seeing the distant intersection in front of him, and the one behind, each looking very much the same. He angrily spat, "What is going on around here?"

Uwee had drifted off, and started to exclaim, "Look at this!" There was a skeleton on the side of the road. Hadge instantly went to inspect the body, eerily it was the dog he'd borrowed clothes from earlier. Shocked and confused by Yahveh he couldn't understand what was happening, and all he could say is, "How?" This is exactly the same street where they had begun, and they had been walking in circles.

Hadge seethed, "I get it! This is some kind of trick..." Uwee was overly baffled, "Get what Hadge?" Hadge furiously replied, "The Devil doesn't want the book locked. So he is preventing us from reaching the key." Uwee indicated at the book in Hadge hand, asking, "That book?" Hadge hissed, "Yesssss..."

Hadge swung his arms, and started to rant and rave, "I don't know why I expected to just walk in and out." He crossly thought, "How will I find the key now?" Even so he angrily kicked a rock, and swore out loud, "This will not stop me!"

Suddenly the glass shattered in the Bedlam Madhouse Bar window, and he was certain it had to be because of the rock he'd just kicked. Uwee unexpectedly shoved Hadge into motion, rather nervously speaking, "Oh, he's mad!" The shadow started slinging broken glass in their direction, as pieces of the monkeys fell around them as they ran. Hadge hopped and jumped, begging for forgiveness, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Something throughout the nerve-racking ordeal made Hadge see the graffiti in a new way. He ducked another piece, see no evil, and was sure the graffiti had to be a clue, or else why would it be everywhere.

Finally the shadow stopped throwing glass, either they had run far enough away, or he ran out of glass. Hadge was just glad it was over, but all he could really think of was checking out the graffiti.

Quickly he spotted the monkeys painted on a nearby stonewall, sprinting in that direction, as he called out to Uwee, "Check out this graffiti!" Uwee gave him a stupid look, saying, "It looks like the rest." "No." Hadge was firm on the notion, "This is our way out of here." Uwee eyed it a bit closer, stating, "I don't see it." Hadge exhaled heavily ignoring the grubb, and stared at the bizarre depiction of monkeys. He in fact had no idea what he was looking for, yet was sure he would know it when he'd seen it.

Uwee started playing the game with his hands again, inquiring, "What are we looking for?" It was obvious to Hadge that Uwee wasn't looking for anything, but retorted anyway, "Don't know yet." Each picture was the same, reminiscent of a child scribbling on the walls over and over in florescent orange paint.

Hadge anxiously looked at Uwee, and asked, "Can you explain this game again?" Uwee still offended from earlier huffed, "Why?" Hadge spat, "Because its our way out of here."

Uwee exhaled, "See no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil." Hadge thoughtfully murmured, "See, speak, hear." Hadges mind carefully thinking, "See no evil..." Then it suddenly dawned on him that they couldn't see the evil, and was convinced the graffiti was the directions on how to find it.

Immediately Hadge set into motion, trailing the graffiti down the street. He was irritated that he hadn't realized the meaning of the graffiti before now.

Queerly the graffiti ended outside the animal shelter, or maybe it was the beginning, depending on how you looked at it.

The façade of the animal shelter had three massive tree shaped stone archways, as the bows intertwined with one another. Atop each bow was adorned with a monkey, see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil. It was plain to see this is what they'd been looking for. Hadge exclaimed, "This is it!"

Then he anxiously skirted the van parked out front, as his head began to buzz, and he had an uncanny sense of familiarity, although he'd never been here before. All at once he had a vision through the other Hadge's eyes, of another place, and another lifetime. Seeing that same van slowly driving past the corner with all the missing animal flyers in Harbinger. Eerily the scraggily old mans words rang in his ears, "Animals go missing all the time." Hadge was quite certain there was more to that van than met the eye.

Uwee rushed around Hadge towards the building, proudly announcing, "I found what you're looking for!" Hadge rolled his eyes, feebly responding, "Gee, thanks." He stopped to study the van much more closely.

The rear doors were left ajar, as if someone had been in a hurry. The cages inside all looked warped from the heat, as dog tags aimlessly were littered on the floor. Hadge was quite surprised they had survived. He picked up a tag, but couldn't read the name; its letters spelled out POGO. Hadge sifted through the tags, until at last he found a homemade tag, made from a flattened penny, and with a hole still burred from a drill. The letters on the tag were Reybe.

Shockingly he knew what had happened to Reybe so long ago, But how did he end up in Harbinger to help him. It was surreal, as he questioned, "How did he escape?"

Abruptly Uwee shouted, "Here!" Instantly Hadge feared something had happened, as he rapidly rounded the van. He half expected to see some kind of unsightly sight, whether it be corpse or monstrosity, he couldn't fathom a guess.

Uwee stood unscathed in front of the Animal shelter. Hadge slowed to a walk, seeing that there was nothing wrong with the infuriating grubb. Uwee was shaking his hands in the direction of the etched monkeys, see no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil. Hadge irritably began to growl, "I thought s..."

Forthwith a flash of memory crept through his mind, he'd seen the same street, the same building, nevertheless the building in his memory was not polluted by evil, and the building had only one door. The distortion of doors had to be the exit out of this maze; even so he had to wonder, "How did it work?"

Vaguely he heard someone speaking. "Thought what?" Uwee impatiently asked yet again, "Thought what?" Hadge shook his so-called divine head, and responded dryly, "Nothing."

Chapter 9: The Darkest Hours.

"That's Creepy..." Hadge pointed out the doors, as a chill crept up his spine, and the feeling of being watched was all consuming. Each door was carved in an intricate pattern of vines, as wrought iron branched hinges extended from the frame holding it in place, and peeking through the vines were animalistic eyes. The eyes within the door imparted a look of realism, each glassy and reflective, seeming to move and watch you. A sinister black fog seeped eerily from the frame around all of the doors, staining the edges black, as if the evil could hardly contain itself.

Uwee poked at one of the eyes quite curious, "Are they real?"

Instantly he withdrew his hand, complaining, "Ewwwww...they feel real." Hadge could hardly hold back the laughter, nevertheless he had to ask, "You're a ghost, so how can you even tell?" Uwee didn't think it was at all funny, seriously inquiring, "Why would a door need eyes?" That was a good question, and Hadge would've liked the answer too, but all he could do is surmise a guess, "Maybe it has something to do with the see no evil thing." Uwee leaned closer, inches from a pair of eyes, uttering, "I don't think so." Hadge was quite certain that game had some importance, or why would it be plastered all over Bedlam. And why were there three doors clad in those same monkeys, where there should only be one plain door.

Hadge tried to remember the silly game, however it was no use, as he questioned the grubb, "Uwee how did that game go again?" Uwee mocked, "Thought you didn't care." Hadge impatiently barked, "Just answer!" Uwee replied, "See no evil, hear no evil, and I think speak no evil." The grubb blundered, "No it's hear no evil, speak no evil, ah dang. I never remember the order." Conversely Hadge recalled that every sign along the way had placed the monkeys in the order of see, speak, and hear.

Thereafter the fact remained undisclosed, what kinds of evils hid behind each of those doors? Hadges anxiety festered deep inside, quite reluctant to take the next step forward, and not reasonably sure what the next step should be. "I know!" Uwee blurted out, his hand reaching for the see no evils vine door handle. Then his thumb released the lever holding it in place, assuredly proclaiming, "We've got to start here."

Hadge utterly aghast attempted to stop him, yelling at the thoughtless grubb, "No!...Wait!..."

Almost instantly the sinister black fog forced its way through the tiny gap, sucking the grubb inside. Uwee's last word still eerily echoing from the rolling black fog within, "Here...here...here...here...here..."

In the next instance the fog had overtaken Hadge, and he too was sucked inside the darkened doorway. Into the unforgiving obscurity of the unknown, a sad impenetrable darkness clinching deep to the root of your soul, as the sensation of loss and limbo weightlessly dragged you through space as well as time. Hadge could not see nor hear the grubb anymore, but that was the least of his worries, because he desperately believed there was no escape.

Then the despondent resonance of a door slammed shut behind him, until he at last realized he and Uwee were standing outside the Animal shelter once more, and oddly nothing had seemed to change.

Uwee protested, "That had to be the right door." Hadge gave the grubb a look of contempt, wanting nothing more than to strangle his impertinent lifeless neck, and rigidly growled, "Obviously not!"

Hadge uneasily noticed the wraithlike shadows bit-by-bit gathering around them. He couldn't help but wonder, "What are they up to?" Then one of the shadows opened the last door, hear no evil, as if waiting for something to happen. The black fog from within quickly stained everything within arms length, its dangerous reach spreading fast.

Almost immediately the other shadows enclosed tightly around Hadge and Uwee, compelling them to edge towards the opened doorway. Uwee screeching, "What's going on?" Hadge was forthrightly bewildered, uttering, "I don't know." He tried to reason with the shadows, "You don't have to do this." However that approach didn't seem to alter the course of the shadows, as they pressed the two unwilling victims into a proverbial corner, and right into the evil hands of the black fog. Uwee desperately howled, "Why are they doing this?" Hadge was at a loss for any kind of answer, unsure if these wraithlike shadows were good or evil. He was certain if it were the latter choice then what was within the doorway would ultimately be the death of them.

Thereon the clinching darkness dragged them from where they stood, pulling them to the entrance. They barely clung to the frame with their lives, as inch by inch the rolling black fog was sucking them inside. Both frantically screaming, "Nooooooooo!" Their hold on the frame rapidly began to fail, as each finger painfully straightened, until the last finger slipped away. Uwee yelped the second he was drawn inside, but his cry was in vein, lost in the haunting obscurity of blackness, which roared louder than a waterfall. Hadge feverishly shouted for the grubb, "Uwee!" Again and again, "Uwee!" He could feel his body being twisted and hurled throughout the murky geometrical planes of the multi-verse, the turbulent unforgiving membrane colliding and crashing to a sickening point, until the sound of the slamming door made itself known.

Still the quickening sensation of moving continued to shudder through their motionless bodies, finding their feet planted firmly in one spot, however disoriented to the point of falling to their knees. Hadge instantly had to wretch. Uwee patted him on the back, as if to ask are you all right? He could barely answer through the heaves, "Ye..." And just as quickly realized he didn't hear the sound of his own voice.

The strangest thing was what had once been dark was now a bright blue, just as blue as his dream. They had to be standing in another dimension of time, before there was darkness.

Uwee pointed to the sky, his head bobbed and moved as if he were talking. Hadge too had been amazed the first time he'd seen the strange blue sky, and could understand the grubb being speechless. Although he had to admit being speechless would be the first time in Uwee's life.

The dazzling city of Bedlam appeared to have never been touched by the edge of darkness, as shimmers of sunlight cascaded over the tall glass covered buildings. Hadge shockingly whispered its name, "Bedlam..." The whisper was so low even he never heard a sound. Hadges vision followed the astounding buildings downward, each unmarred by the graffiti. Nevertheless the most amazing spectacle was all the people. The shadowy faces of Bedlam were actually alive and breathing walking this way, and that way.

Then an unusual green vehicle pulled to a halt along a nearby curb. The paneled van clearly associated to the Animal shelter, seeing that the decal matched the same letters.

A tall older man exited the vehicle, his body thin beneath the loose layers of his green coveralls. The man silently strides to the rear of the van, opening the doors, his expression rather cross. Hadge couldn't help but wonder what was his problem, as he took a few steps to get a better look.

Abruptly he collided with a short stout middle-aged woman, carrying a small fluffy white dog. Uwee had been following close enough behind he could feel his icy dead breath on his shoulder as he stopped.

Hadge started to say excuse me, until he noticed the sneer exuding from the wrinkles in her manly high and mighty face, and he really wasn't sorry at all. The woman irritably stared at him, as he continued to move towards the van. Her lips parted as if going to say something, but never did. Uwee was instantly in her face, staring her down. Then Uwee angrily bumped into the woman on purpose, as her little dog fell from her hands, and darted across the lawn.

Quickly her stout body chased after the dog, running awkwardly. Oddly she had never seemed to notice Uwee at all; after all he is a ghost. Hadge could see Uwee rolling in laughter, as his focus returned to the van ahead.

All at once the green van started to sway, as the tall older mans backside stiffened, and his arms began to flail. Hadge knew curiosity could kill the cat, but he had to know what was going on inside the van. The rear doors were wide open, exactly how he remembered the doors from the dark times of Bedlam. He restlessly edged around the suspicious van, stepping off the curb to peer into the open doors. The cages were all filled with animals, cats, and dogs, a little worse for wear, but were all still alive.

Without warning the lanky fingers of the man seized the leg of a honey colored pug through the bars of its cage, and in one quick motion injected the thrashing animal with an odd yellowish liquid.

Hadge straight away recognized the substance; it had come from the caves beneath Novena military base, and they were experimenting on these helpless animals. Horrifyingly the man was injecting the animals one at a time. Hadge knew he had to stop this, and now.

Unexpectedly the small honey colored pug named POGO started to convulse, then another dog, and another. The terrible man didn't seem to take any notice, or he just didn't care.

Hadge took a step to stop the man, just as the man turned on him, jabbing him with a bony finger in the chest, as his lips snarled, "Get outta here!" Not a sound could be heard, however the meaning abundantly clear. Hadge tried to argue, "What are you doing to these animals?" Yet even the sound of his own voice was lost in this place, and he was sure it had something to do with the hear no evil portal.

The man vehemently shoved him against one of the van doors, hissing words without a sound, "I told you to get outta here..."

Then the tall man turned back to the animals, yanking a long black leg from another cage, as the whole cage began to violently jerk. Hadge recognized Reybe at once, and could not let this happen to him. Nimbly he pulled at the mans arm, yelling the unheard words, "That's my dog!"

Instantly the man elbowed him hard to the side of his head. It reeled him towards the van door once more, just as a burst of energy resounded from the core of his being, rather like the sound of a sudden gust of air, and left his ears ringing with an unusual buzz. A buzz filled with the sounds of suffering animals.

Then he astoundingly realized he could hear the man as plain as seeing daylight. The man shouted, "Hold still you mutt!" The cage violently rattled, as Reybe was growling, and at last let out a loud yelp.

"Noooooooooooo!" Hadge roared, lunging at the detestable man, not knowing his own strength. The man bounced off the opposite van door, rolling nine feet away on the pavement, with a serious case of road rash.

Then wildly Hadge ripped the door from Reybe's cage, even as Reybe had already began to have seizures, and his breath had grown shallow. Without delay he yanked the offensive collar from Reybe's neck, in hopes he would be able to breathe more easily. Hadge could do nothing but tearfully cradle Reybe close, and beseech his dieing friend, "Please be ok."

Uwee rushed up behind him, anxiously pointing at the sky yelling, "Hadge something's happening!"

The darkness-unfolded eerily overhead, and a storm started to brew. Distantly the rumble of thunder easily battered the silence, as jagged rails of lightning streaked the turbulent sky. He recognized right away this was the day the Edge of darkness had been set free, and the habitants of Bedlam would soon be incinerated.

Hadge fearfully knew they hadn't much time, as the horrors of that day replayed in his head, and he muttered, "We have to get out of here..."

Hadge threw Reybe over his shoulder, dashing for the Animal shelter doors. Uwee was in a panic, screeching all the way, "How do we get out of here?" Hadge could hardly think over Uwee's ranting, as they at last stood before the three doors, "These doors wont help..." He raved onward, "Hadge...Hadge do something." Hadge slowly and meticulously rolled his head in the grubbs direction, hissing through gritted teeth, "Sssssshut up!"

Then turned back to the evil doors, as all the unusual eyes hidden among the vines met his unwavering gaze, and all he could think of was, "Which one?"

Oddly the book obliged to help, as a young girl spoke, "I know the tales of your adventures, and assured that one day I would tell the tale to you..." She orated in such a way you would believe she was reading from a work of fiction, "A young girls voice echoed from the strange book, "The only way out is speak no evil." Hadge had no choice but to believe the girl, because he didn't know the way out. He hesitantly moved closer to the door, as all eyes were upon him. His heart pounding with the fear of what this door may bring, as he released the darkness within, and he and Uwee were once again sucked inside." Hadge found the tale rather eerie, however was grateful for the help, "Thank you." The girl kindly reciprocated, "Your welcome."

Uwee somewhere nearby grumbling, "We don't have time for you to talk to yourself."

Hadge disregarded the grubb as always, moving to the center door, knowingly whispering, "This is the door..." Uwee's voice sounded annoyed; as both ghostly hands jerked in mid-air, "How do you kn..." Strangely his voice and all others sounds had faded away once more. Surely Hadge's divine power was interrupted by the overwhelming influence of the sinister doors.

Hadge could feel his hand on the cold metal of the lever, as it slowly clicked to open, unleashing tendrils of darkness. His heart pounding just like the girl had said, and fervently wanted to know how this tale ended.

Dangerously the black fog rapt Uwee and Hadge within the darkness, as the distortion of time bent around them, and the unbearable churn of sounds was beyond all human comprehension. Time had spent, minutes, hours, and days, each irrelevant in the hours of darkness. Then the mire of blackness began to abate, as even more darkness took its place, and their surroundings became abundantly clear. Hadge had seen it before, as the rush of sickness invaded his vulnerable senses.

Uwee couldn't believe they had arrived back into their own world of darkness yet again, as a glint of dismay crossed his brow and lip, which gradually defined his all out rage, "We're back where we started!"

Hadge stared at the hilarious screaming grubb, his flailing arms whipping in the wind, however not a sound passed over his active lips. Hadge was certain that all speech was affected in this speak no evil world.

Without warning something crawled through the hairs of his scalp, and over his cheek. Promptly Hadge slapped the side of his head, sliding the hand hard over his face, and looked into the palm for the tiny culprit.

Oddly there was only moisture in the palm of his hand it was sweat. Sweating was something they didn't do much of in the cold dark climate of Elysium, so this couldn't possibly be home. Hadge held out his hand as a secondary response, but he had already established the unusual heat and humidity clinging to the very air, surely as if something had recently happened.

Then he realized the people of Bedlam were now gone, as calcium dust marked the last place they had stood. He was convinced this was the resulting storm from the edge of darkness, scorching the victims forever in place, just like the town of Unknown.

All of a sudden Reybe started to convulse harder on his shoulder, as Hadge cradled the poor dog back in his arms, giving him room to thrash. Sadly he had no idea how to help his friend, even with all this so-called divine power, and still he was as useless as the day he was born.

Forthwith Reybe fell limp in Hadges arms, and what was left of the life in his eyes faded, he had passed away. Hadge hugged his dear old friend, weeping openly in despair, his distraught howls left unheard, "Noooooooooooo!!!" He frantically screamed, "You're not going to die on me this time!" Then shook the poor animal like a rag doll, tearfully ordering, "Wake up I tell you!" However Reybe didn't respond, and he fell despondently to his knees.

A cold reassuring hand patted his back, as Uwee tried to console him. Hadge could see the grubb speaking, yet there was no sound. Instantly Hadge was livid, glaring at Uwee with a look to kill, his mind shrieking, "How dare him to concede to Reybe's death!" When he knew Reybe couldn't die just yet, crying out, "Not now!" His eyes blurry and stained red, his face knotted into a madman, repeating, "He's not gonna die! He's not gonna die!"

Oddly he felt a shift in his pocket, recalling he had the gorgon's eyes, and was quite convinced he had found them for a reason. Hadge retrieved the gorgons eyes from his pocket, remembering what they could do, "One will bring life, the other death." All the same Reybe was beyond the death part, rambling onward, "He's not gonna die!"

Hadge could feel the subtle difference in the gorgon's eyes, the death bringer remained icy cold, while the life giver was warm to the touch, one drop of vitreous fluid from the eye into the mouth of the victim was all that was needed. Then all he could do is wait.

Uwee stooped before Hadge, meeting eye to eye, as his unspoken voice gently advised, "Its too late." Then his cold hand pulled at Hadge's arm, assuring his friend this was the end. Hadge jerked from Uwee's hand, cradling the dog's corpse even tighter, snapping soundlessly back, "No! Its not!"

The yielding corpse of Reybe languished with a twitch in his arms. Hadge stared at a loss at his loyal friend; positive the gorgon's eye didn't work.

Queerly the body twitched, as Reybe's head fell aside, his tongue hanging from the part in his mouth, and twitched again. The wonderment of it all was feeling the shallow breaths of the dog just beneath his fingertips, and how elated he was that it had worked. However even in his elations he had to wonder, "Would the gorgons gift have unpleasant side effects?" Hadge hadn't a clue one way or another; just happy his friend was alive.

Reybe grew livelier with each passing second, as his legs began to thrash, and he tried to bite his capture.

Then nervously the dog bolted from Hadges arms, running unsteadily through the streets, and never looking back. Hadge ran to the curb, shouting after him, "Reybeeeee!" Yet he was sure Reybe didn't hear him because of this Yahveh forsaken place, speak no evil. When it was all said and done the dog had vanished into the darkness, while he and Uwee could do nothing other than watch.

Hadge now understood how Reybe had survived the arrival of the Edge of darkness, and escaped the extreme heat that odious day. It was all in the hands of fate, he had to save him.

Recklessly a truck came from out of nowhere, at least what was left of the truck. It had no driver, most of it burned away, with the momentum of speed keeping it in motion, as it sideswiped everything in its path. The huge object barreled straight towards Hadge and Uwee, with only a metal utility pole standing between them. Uwee tried to jerk Hadge out of the way. However it all happened so fast, as the vehicle rammed into the nearby pole, knocking the pole off kilter, and sparks rained everywhere.

Something had struck the scar on the side of Hadge's head, as a surge of energy vibrated to life. It was the same unusual energy buzzing in his ears from the hear no evil realm. He astoundingly could hear Uwee raging, "How the Yahveh did that happen?" He went on and on, "It came from out of nowhere!" He berated, "Who was the idiot that was moving that thing?" Hadge was certain they would never know since everyone had been turned to dust.

Then a menacing shadow shifted over them, turning the dark darker. A darkness as thick as pea soup, defiling all onlookers into prevailing blindness, with only two senses left at their disposal, touch and hearing.

Uwee uneasily called out, "Hadge!" Hadge nervously responded, "Stay calm, and head for the building..." Although he too was uneasy about the darkness, and quite unsure which direction the building was now placed. Uwee challenged, "Calm?" Hadge was right back at him, "In case you haven't noticed, your dead already." Adding with a measure of irritation, "I'm the one who should be worried." Uwee huffed in the darkness, as they edged their way across the sidewalk, but for the most part remained quiet. All that was left for them to do is wait, and see what happens next.

Abruptly the stillness of the dark was shattered, as if the land was being torn open, and its immeasurable voice were crying out in pain. The cadence in the air was earmarked by an insanity of unimaginable agony and suffering. Hot on its heels were the acclivity of destruction as the distant sounds of buildings came tumbling down, and the ground endlessly rumbled and quaked. Soon the rumbling became more defined, as thousands upon thousands of footsteps plagued Bedlam.

Uwee fearfully whispered, "Something's out there." Hadge agreed, "I can hear them." He was alarmingly convinced the footsteps could not be human, as his foreboding belief were in creatures of a much more sinister kind, henceforth from Hell.

Out from the darkness the odd looking streetlamps illuminated a bluish glow, as the sickly lights could barely cut through the thick of night. Nonetheless they could somewhat see now, as countless figures of all shapes and sizes lurked every inch of Bedlam. Hadge horrifyingly realized there were hordes of demons all around them, reavers, hellhounds, undead, creatures of unknown origin, and even more demons reined over the sky.

Uwee was in a near panic, pleading for some kind of answer, "What are we going to do?" Hadge was concerned that the demons may hear them, hissing at the grubb, "Hussssssssh up..." And softly expressed his only plan, "Just let me think things through." Uwee mumbled a scarcely audible reply, "We could be dead by then." Hadge gave him a look to kill, and turned his attention back towards the demons. The demons all seemed to be headed straight for the first key, straight to Muezza's tower, and hardly seemed to notice anything else.

Chillingly a low growl came from behind them, and both knew at once it had to be one of those demons. Hadge felt an icy chill creep up his spine, and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Demons indubitably meant your death. However he planned to go down fighting, as he carefully removed his dagger, and swiftly twisted in the direction of the growl.

To his surprise there was no demon, only the wraith of a small fluffy white dog. The same white dog from the hear no evil realm. Then he absorbed the fact that wraithlike shadows were everywhere, shadows of the townspeople, all looking just as shocked as himself. Uwee asked, "Do you see them?" Hadge uncertain how the townspeople were now visible without the help of the book, yet he could see them, as he automatically answered, "Yes..."

The hazy outlines of all the townspeople were frightfully running from what was in the dark, as they were just as afraid as he was of the demons.

Without warning the specter of a short stout middle-aged woman collided into him, and snatched up her growling dog. Hadge recognized that familiar face; it was the woman that had been so disrespectfully foul to him in the past. Uwee had recognized her also, instantly ruffled, "I know who she is!" He snarled, "That's that crazy woman!" Hadge snapped, "Calm down grubb." In any case the woman now gaped uncommonly at Hadge, as if she recognized his face too.

Suddenly the blustering clamor of flapping wings grew steadily louder, even as a horrible beast landed close to the green van, and the ground shook from its weight. The hideous beast was four times larger than any man, with the unsightly malformed body of an upright frog, bearing thick upper limbs, and spindly tail and legs, rather like an insects.

Then the beast shockingly transformed before their very eyes, as the grotesque was replaced by the most beautiful female he'd ever seen, milky white flesh, and hair of spun gold. The female gracefully glided over the sidewalk, turning her golden head from side to side, as if in search for something, or someone. Hadge nervously fearing she may be searching for him.

All at once the man in the green overalls ran headlong into the ungodly female, as his wails resonated throughout Bedlam, and sure to bring others. The females shifting appearance revealed in the deep lines of its frog-like face, as her lips curled over the giant fangs in her mouth, and her long claws had dug into her quarry's shoulder. A trap living or dead could not escape.

The man's face was contorted in fright, with his shrieks severing all other sounds. In one fell swoop the hideous beast had seized the man's shaking form, viciously ripping a chunk from his throat, and sucking the energy from his body. Thereafter the man's ghostly image began to flicker, until he faded away, as if he didn't exist at all. Then even more harrowing screams ensued, as the vampiric demons everywhere collected the shadows souls, and the surviving townspeople were trying to hide.

Uwee tensely grasped Hadges arm, whispering, "Did you see that?" Of course he had seen it, so brutally shocking, as he found himself next to speechless, simply uttering, "Yes..." Then a reaver appeared, followed by another, each heading in their direction. Hadge stiffened, not sure if the reavers had seen them or not.

Without warning the stout ghostly woman manipulated Hadge and Uwee towards the three doors. Uwee objecting, "What are you doing?" Her pudgy hand unerringly pressed them in the direction of the see no evil door, as the animalistic eyes followed their every movement, and Hadge wasn't convinced this was the right door. By then the reavers had seen them, as Uwee squawked, "Reavers!" Hadge knew their choices were slim, stay and die here, or die in there. He decided to take a chance, without nary a second thought, as he grabbed the grubbs cold arm and darted inside. He had left the old woman behind.

The black fog dragged them inside, as the vapors kneaded and pulled them apart, and the sanctity of the black reprised the horrifying death of the man. Hadge screaming through the mind of madness, "Go away!" He couldn't bear to see it anymore, howling, "Leave me alone!" However the subsisting blackness wrenched him this way and that way, as it emulated the man's lasting cries. Hadge was sure it was a testament onto his faith, a challenge of sorts, as he pleaded, "Please Yahveh give me strength."

Then voices clamored from the book, "Don't listen..." They said, "Its not real..." A young girl declared, "This is not how your story ends..." He pulled the book in his hand, responding to the young girl, "Your right." He couldn't give up, not now, because Carrissa was counting on him to survive.

Sound and sensation hammered through his body, as the blows began to decline, and the secure feel of ground was notably beneath his very feet. At last the door slammed shut with a solid thud, they had arrived.

Oddly the blackness did not fade within this sinister dimension, even as land was unquestionably below his feet, and he could feel the shelter wall with his hand. Hadge couldn't help but lean against the wall thankful he made it this far, yet shuddered to think of what the rest of this journey may bring. That is if he can get beyond the blackness, and being blind as a bat.

Abruptly Hadge thought he had heard something growling nearby, and was instantly alert. He took one-step from the wall to listen, just as he stubbed his big toe, and really had no idea how on Elysium he could get anywhere without his eyes.

Then Uwee started to whine, "I can't see." Hadge grumbled back, "Nor can I." He stopped to listen for the growls once more, but they were gone. He wondered if they existed at all, or maybe it was a figment of his imagination. Uwee held out his hand, asking, "Where are you Hadge?" The cold hand slapped Hadge in the face, as he gnarled back at the grubb, "Right here!" Hadge was quite rankled they couldn't see, still feeling the sting of Uwee's hand on his face. It was obvious they were useless without eyesight.

He solemnly leaned back against the wall wondering what good is a divine being that is worthless, recalling all the things the Angel had told him about Yahveh who would always send him help, and the book that was a tool to help against darkness. Hadge involuntarily muttered, "The book..."

He was quite sensitive to the book still in his hands; bearing in mind it is a tool to help defeat the darkness. However wondered how to use it, and if it would really work.

Hadge held the book outward, and commanded it, "Light the way." A clamor of voices began to laugh from the book, all saying, "It doesn't work that way." The helpful young girls voice chimed, "This is what you want."

Suddenly the book flew open, as the pages fluttered before him like a blue flame, its fiery blue light leapt forth, and easily cut through the shroud of blackness around him. Bedlam was bathed an eerie blue, as the haunting depths of light continued to spread, penetrating the myriad of Hells pitch black, forming shapes before his very eyes.

Unexpectedly the growling started again. As something small ran for his ankles, tugging at his silvery makeshift pants. Hadge was flabbergasted at first, but quickly realized it had to be the woman's little white fluffy dog. He searched the shadows for the woman, however thought it was doubtful she had escaped the terrible beast.

Taken by surprise a figure moved slowly in their direction, as the blue light defined its curvaceous form, it was the stout woman from the other dimension. She had miraculously survived. Shockingly she rushed straight for Hadge, looking as if she'd been waiting for him all along, and screeched, "I know youuuu...." Conceptually he didn't know if that was good or bad, as he repressed the urge to run. Uwee moaned somewhere in the background, "She's crazy."

The woman screeched again, as she scooped up her little white biter, "It was told you would return." She exhaled his name, "Hadge..." He was instantly mystified by her behavior, and soundly wanted to know, "How did you know my name?"

At that time another specter appeared, and another, and another, until nearly a dozen were standing around him, all echoing his name, "Hadge, Hadge, Hadge..." Uwee exclaiming over the drone of voices, "Well, the gangs all here!"

A red headed man wearing a worn green hat, and shirt responded, "Hadge built the tower here in Bedlam, and...." A different voice interjected, "Our souls were bound in Bedlam. Instead of going straight to Hell." Then a thin woman asked, "Have you come to save us?" Hadge would've liked very much to say yes, but how could he save those that are already dead, and their bodies lost in the wind, as he found himself stammering, "I,i,i..." Then mustered up enough nerve to reply, "I'll try to save everyone."

The man with the green hat picked up the metal Hadge had stubbed his toe on, seeming rather regretful, "Sorry about that." Hadge wasn't sure why the man was sorry, until an echo of the past engaged his mind. The man's name was Jason; he'd been rushing home from work when the Edge of Darkness struck. It was his truck that had nearly ran Hadge over, stopping short of the act by a mere pole.

Without warning the shadow of Jason threw the piece of metal, as it bounced off the green van landing near the curb, next to the scorched mark of the van driver.

Right away Hadge eyed the darkened spot on the ground, it no longer moved, and the man was gone. Then the sordid memories of that hideous vampiric beast came rushing back, each and every detail, up till it drained the man's soul away.

Quickly his eyes shot to the sky, as the hairs along his neck began to bristle, seeing that there were countless numbers of those same vampiric flying beasts. Jason spoke up, offering what little information he had, "Those things are vampires. Fallen Angels from Hell." Hadges thoughts reasoned, "This is where the stories of vampires truly began. The beautiful enthralling Angels that shape shifted into hideous bat like creatures, capable of flying away after they've sucked out your soul."

Voices from the book anxiously whispered a reminder, "Time is growing short."

"Yes, of course." Hadge answered the book, as he glanced towards the tower, knowing he had to find a way there as quickly as possible. He was certain the townspeople could direct him to the fastest route; after all they still lived here.

Hadge turned back towards the shadowy group, and solicited any help they were willing to give, "I need to get to Muezza's tower fast." The specters talked among themselves, but neither head nor tail could be made out of the conversation. Then one spoke up, and said, "You built two tunnels to the tower, one here in Bedlam, and the other in Morte." Morte he was sure had to be the town of Unknown.

Instantly Hadge berated his lamebrain for not realizing it sooner, "How could I have not known." His thoughts muddled onward, "Oh great, something else that could have made my life a whole lot easier."

Then the stout older woman that he now knew as Viola took a step forward, controlling her evil little dog named Mr. jangles and said, "We can show you the way." Hadge started to thankfully pat the woman on the arm, as the dog nipped at his fingers. He pulled back in the nick of time, and the only knowledgeable word to come out of his mouth was, "Yeow!" Viola was quickly apologetic, begging for his forgiveness, "I am so sorry." He dryly responded to all of the above, "Thanks..."

Then another female stated, "You do know there are many more demons out there?" Spot on Uwee began to object, "Oh no. I have had enough of this monster thing." He was negatively shaking his ghostly head and heading back to the doors; exhaling his final decree, "Count me out." Hadge wasn't going to fight the grubb over the issue, since he was in accordance, "Alright you stay here." He took several steps to move in the direction of the shadowy townspeople saying, "You're much safer here anyways."

Instantly Uwee was at his side, as he pulled at his arm whining, "Your not really going to leave me here alone are you?" Hadge stating as a matter of fact, "Well, you can't possibly deal with anymore monsters." Uwee revised his declaration, "What I said wassss...almost enough." Hadge could only shake his head at the exasperating grubb.

Abruptly Viola's little dog leapt from her arms, as he jumped up and down barking skyward. Promptly she went after the dog, ordering Mr. Jangles, "Shut up!" Even Hadge realized all the noise could draw unwanted attention, as he too nervously looked to the sky.

Eerily the sky deviated overhead, as the black shifted with masses of vampires, and a staggering amount had already began circling the Animal shelter. The shadow of Jason at once began to yell, "Run!" It was too late they had already been spotted.

Feverishly the streets of Bedlam were plagued with nefarious demons. At once everyone was in an all out panic, shadowy townspeople running this way and that. Uwee shrieking, "What do we do?" Hadge had no idea what to do, or which way to run, as his head twisted in every direction, and hideous monsters blocked each way.

Immediately Viola took charge, sounding more like a drill sergeant than a woman, "No matter what happens protect the Hadge!" She reminded the shadows, "He left us here for a reason!" A female voice shouted from somewhere out of sight, "If he dies, we die!"

The people of Bedlam surged into action, as they seemed to appear out of nowhere, until the handful turned into thousands. Each of the shadowy beings fighting the demons with their electrically charged touch.

In the midst of it all a female pulled Hadge and Uwee out of harms way. Hadge arguing, "What are you doing?" The female quietly directed them towards the rear of the Animal shelter, but never quite answered his question, "This way." Uwee gave Hadge a hesitant glance, squabbling, "Can we trust her?" Hadge shushed, "Do we have a choice?" Uwee looked uneasily around at all the fighting, seeing no point in opposing the matter any further, "Guess not."

Woods thickly clustered behind the Animal shelter, and it was thoroughly incredible that they had advanced beyond the monkey maze. Uwee asked, "What is this place?" The female never answered, as she continued to usher them through the woods. However Hadge summoned a memory from a previous Hadge, moreover he knew exactly where they were now, and simply said. "Bedlam Glory Park."

The park originated behind the Animal shelter, as the trees went on for blocks, and blocks. Even here in the park the townspeople were fighting the demons, as if they waited for this war until the Hadges arrival. Hadge continued to follow the female he now knew as Cristina, she was fighting to return to her two young children. He glanced at a man fighting a reaver, his name was Allen, and another man electrifying a hellhound, his name was Erik, and another's name was Joseph. Oddly Hadge didn't know how, but he knew everyone in Bedlam.

"This way." Cristina hastily led them down the networking concrete path, trying so very hard to avoid the battles. Uwee promptly complained, "I don't like this."

Suddenly a hellhound leapt on Hadge, as he grabbed the creature by a leg, and threw it at a dead tree with the strength of a hundred men. He stumbled to keep his balance, as he breathlessly replied to the grubb, "I don't either..." Cristina hastened, "We need to keep moving."

The path branched off in various directions, as sculptures and fountains filled the park. The war of Bedlam was taking its toll, as bodies lain everywhere, mostly the townspeople, yet still the battles raged onward. They shoved their way through the worst of it, heading straight for the center of the park.

Off in the distance Hadge could see what looked like a stone foot. Uwee exclaimed, "That's the foot from Unknown!" It amazingly did match the foot from Morte, seeing that Hadge agreed with the grubb, "I think your right." However he wondered if the foot was really just another mountain troll. The identity of the foot didn't matter, it only mattered that the tunnel beneath led to Muezza's tower.

Cristina spanned the space between them and the giant foot in the blink of an eye, and shouted, "Here!" Then she tugged at the plaque, and revealed a darkened tunnel beneath, advising them, "It leads to the tower."

Hadge breathed a sigh of relief; hopeful this would be over soon, praising Yahveh, "Oh, thank you. Thank you." Uwee bent his ghostly head downward to look at his friend, rather worried about Hadge, and sincerely asked, "You do realize that tunnel goes to a tower full of demons?" Hadge was quite annoyed with Uwee by now, as he pushed passed the grubb and grumbled, "Ah, shut up..."

From out of left field a demonic creature lunged at Hadge, so unlike anything he had ever seen before, at least that he knew about. It looked like a bloody bag of bones, as it tried to seize him by the neck. Hadge howled, "Nooooo..." And dove towards the ground.

Within the blur of the fast approaching ground Hadge could hear Cristina shouting nearby, "Be gone vistaria!" Then there was a crackling of noise, something reasonably familiar, as he twisted his head just in time to see the source of the sound. Cristina had sent a charge of electricity into the demon, stunning it into submission. Then she shoved the demon straight into a riot of bodies. Uwee anxiously helped Hadge to his feet, glancing from one side of the park to the next, sounding urgent, "Hurry."

In one moment Hadge was getting to his feet, and the next was being dragged towards the stone foot. Even as Uwee was wildly bellowing, "Their here! Their here!" At first Hadge could not tell what was going on, but the panic in Uwee's voice spoke volumes, and was certain it had to be the demons.

Hadge could clearly see the beasts sieving all around them, as he ungainly got to his feet, and stumbled the final distance to the foot. The shadow people were no match for all the hellish demons; there were just too many aberrations from the crevasse of Hell, given that Hell was eternal as sin and death.

Cristina stood protectively between Hadge and the demons, holding them at bay with her electricity, demanding Hadge, "You have to awake the troll!" Hadges mind frantically went blank, "How?" Uwee began to object, "Oh no, that last troll nearly killed us!" Cristina gave the grubb a waspish response, "That's not a problem for you now, is it?"

Hadge would've laughed if he hadn't been so busy trying to remember the last moments in Unknown, rather Morte, and just how he awoke the mountain troll. He had been shooting the spiders with the watered down blood, as some had struck the foot, and the giant troll was set into action. It had to be the blood. The troll destroyed everything in its wake; nothing stood a chance against its power.

Cristina's voice was now dire, as she shouted, "Hadge!" Everywhere the sound of death reaped, as one after another the townspeople exhaled their last breath, and if he didn't act soon no one would make it out of here alive.

Hadge extracted his deformed dagger in one hand, with the book still in his other hand, and nicked the cover. At that precise second a hellhound savagely pounced on Hadge, as its teeth sunk into his arm that held the book, and his back roughly slammed into the ball of the stone foot.

Uwee mysteriously started to wail and shrink away, as if he were afraid, "Hadge!" All Hadge had time to do is fight the beast on top of him, as it oddly stopped resisting at some point in time, and crumpled to the ground. Uwee's hysterical voice kept screaming, "Hadge!" That is when Hadge realized that the blood from the book had splattered on the stone foot during the struggle, as well as the hellhound.

Hadge took a step in Uwee's direction saying, "Everything's fine!" Uwee shrunk away from him, away from the blood that terrified him. Strangely even the demons were reluctant to get close. All at once Hadge remembered the female that had led them to the park, where was she, as he searched the horde that encircled them. Nonetheless Cristina was gone.

Suddenly the ground commenced to rumble, and the nightmarish trees began to sway and shake, surely as if they were alive. The gradation of this nightmare were no mere delusion, as the hordes of demons were downed one by one, and the vampires quickly tried to take their place. Neither man nor beast could stand against the restless giant beneath their feet.

Uwee instantly seized Hadge around the neck with an iron grip, forgetting all about the blood, as the pitch of his voice shrilled, "Hadge!" In a total panic, "Hadge!" Hadge fought to stay upright, as he tried prying the grubb's fingers from around his neck, and ended up on the ground demanding, "Get off me..."

Then the mountain trolls foot ripped from the ground, followed closely by the other, as dead trees began to fall, and huge chunks of concrete and dirt broke free.

Hadge did his best to avoid the massive rocks showering down around him, riding or leaping from chunk to chunk in an effort to escape ground zero, certain there wouldn't be much left of the park very soon. A tree tore from the ground and Hadge catapulted from its side, landing a fair distance away, as he raggedly turned to see if he was far enough from the troll yet. Uwee was howling somewhere behind, "Hadge! Hadge watch out!"

Out of the chaos a hellhound leapt on Hadge's backside, knocking him to the ground face first, as the book slid several feet away. Hadge could feel his tender flesh rip, even as he tried to twist and stab the beast, and an ungodly scream parted his lips, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Uwee was there in a flash, with more strength than any normal ghost should ever have, he'd angrily picked up a chunk of concrete and struck the hound athwart the head, maniacally shouting, "Take that!" Hitting it again, "And that!" Uwee continued to rant, "And that!" Hadge blared his friends name, as he halted the bloody rock in mid-action, "Uweeeeee!"

Uwee stared blankly at him, as if he couldn't remember the experience at all, "Yes Hadge?" Hadge threw the rock aside, yanking the grubb into motion, snatching the book up as they hobbled into somewhat of a run. He knew that they needed to get as far away as possible, positive the tunnel was rendered useless by now.

The troll had already maneuvered from the gaping hole left in the park, on its craggy hands and knees, as it discharged a beastly sound. It was a heavy trumpeting pitch, which eerily resonated through all of Bedlam, surely a warning to all things unholy that judgment was coming.

Then the trolls mighty hand swept across the park, as it knocked down trees, rocks, beasts, and demons, crushing everything in its path like mere playthings. However its wrath had just begun, as it rose to its feet, stomping everything beneath it, while it proceeded to pick the vampires out of the sky. One by one the captured vampires were squeezed between the trolls fat fingers, as their broken bodies were quickly discarded for another.

Uwee started to wail, "That things dangerous!" Hadge soundly agreed, opting for the only logical course of action, to stay out of the troll's way. He glanced around them for a way out of here, noticing that all the demons could care less about the Hadge's presence anymore. They were thinking solely of self-preservation, as they fearfully fled the mountain troll.

Unexpectedly something hit the ground hard several feet from where they stood, its dark mass crumpled, and bloody. Shockingly the thing was still alive, as its fingers twitched, and its hands pushed against the ground, peeling its flattened face from the concrete.

Uwee nervously began to stammer, "It...its...st...still...alive..." Hadge could see that for himself, as the vampire slowly began to regain its strength, and he was certain that this wasn't the way to slay a vampire.

The weakened vampire attempted to stand, still dazed and confused. It staggered in Hadge's direction, as its twisted wings spread in an effort to escape. Hadge initially considered killing the beast, however a better idea beguiled his thoughts, "Wings could get me to Muezza's Miracle tower much faster." His mind strategizing an outcome, "If I could just get that key, I can end all this fighting right now."

Without further thought Hadge promptly jumped on the beast's backside, wrapping his legs around its waist, and secured his bright warm hands over its eyes.

Uwee at once shouted, "What are you doing?" Hadge countered, "I'm taking a shortcut to the tower!" The vampire made several attempts to get off the ground, as Uwee anxiously leapt for the beast as well, yelling between each loud flap of the demons wings, "Wait...for me!"

Abruptly the creature broke into an all out run, as it shrieked mindlessly, bucking and kicking as it went. It was uncertain if the vampire realized they were tagging along, or not. Within due course it stopped struggling, and took flight off into the wild black sky. In essence they were flying blind, with only the steady brilliance of Hadges hands keeping the shrieking creature under control. While the beast precariously weaved over Bedlam, being guided straight for Muezza's tower.

Unforeseen branches whipped and battered them from the reticent darkness of the park, as if they were trying to pick them out of the very sky. Nonetheless that was the least of their worries, seeing that a labyrinth of buildings stood directly in their path. Uwee fearfully slapped Hadge on the back yelling, "Higher!" Hadge was already pulling the demons head back with the intentions of going higher, as he expressed the fact, "I'm trying."

Suddenly the steeple of a church appeared from out of nowhere, and they were flying dangerously straight for it. Uwee panicked, sure that any second they would hit the side of the building, and yelled even louder, "Do something!" Nevertheless the structure was coming up fast, as Hadge pulled even harder on the demon, and leaned hard to the right. Swiftly Uwee's icy hands beat Hadge's backside like a drum, screaming, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Swooooosh! They just missed the building by inches. Hadge laughed excitedly, and yelled back at the grubb, "I've got this!" They careened from one street to the next, daringly around building after building. The resisting vampire gradually flew higher, until they were far above Bedlam, and far above the tops of the buildings, capable of seeing the whole town.

Muezza's Miracle tower loomed no more than a few blocks away, like an enchanting vine, wistfully twisting upwards into the darkness, with wayward leaves clinging along the creeping plant-like structure.

Unexpectedly a mental picture of the tower just after a lightning strike went off in Hadge's head, as the strange fiber optic cords that meshed around the tower were aglow to lovely shades of blue, red's, green's, and yellow's. Much like a rainbow. Hadge blinked, and the memory was gone, lost in the darkness that now surrounded the mysterious structure.

The biggest problem now was finding a way inside the tower, because even from here he could see how infested it was with demons, as the darkness eerily stirred from every inch of the impossible construction.

"Ahem..." Uwee tapped Hadge's shoulder, and again trying to get his attention, "Ahem!" Hadge irritably snapped, "What!" He had forgotten all about his budding plans to get in the tower, as his eyesight followed Uwee's ghostly fingertip, which was pointing out all the vampires around them. And Uwee said, "We have company." It wasn't any kind of company Hadge wanted to see, as his voice breathlessly quivered, "Dear Yahveh..."

The sky was packed with vampires, more than he had even realized. He could only hope the monsters had not seen them. Uwee nervously insisted, "We need to fly somewhere else..." Hadge was not going to waste precious time on safety when he could see the tower from here, and said just as much, "We're almost there."

So he forged ahead without a plan in mind, in the direction of the tower, praying all difficulties would just effortlessly unfurl as they had in the past, and show him exactly where he needed to go. Besides the largest part of the demons seemed to be fleeing the mountain troll, shrieking as they went, and was totally oblivious to everything around them. Though the reality of the situation was things could change in an instance.

Uwee still contested his sensibility, "What is wrong with you. Have you gone mad?" Hadge never answered, however had a grin that could be interpreted that he had in fact gone mad.

With each passing second the vampire's strength returned, since the sunlight did less to confuse it, and it once again began to struggle. Hadge could feel the creature attempt to gnaw at his hands, even as it twisted and turned to reach for his tender flesh. Uwee uneasily shouted, "We're not going to make it!" Hadge disagreed, "Oh, yes we will."

Then his hands burned even hotter, even as the heat distributed throughout his body, and a faint orange glow flushed his skin. Abruptly flames randomly erupted all over his flesh, like flares bursting from the sun, as it began to char holes in his clothes. The vampire didn't seem to fight against him any longer, steadily moving towards the tower, yet commenced to screech an ungodly sound.

Muezza's tower was nearly in his grasp, as Hadge realized the brilliance from his body had progressively started to dry the monsters skin, turning the face and backside an ashy white.

Suddenly they began to lose altitude, as the vampire no longer responded, and all Hadge could do is aim for the top of the tower, praying they would make it. Uwee screaming, "What's going on?"

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, as the vampire had miraculously hit the plateau of the tower first, which created a pillow of dust, and Hadge landed shortly after. Eerily the vampire dust billowed upwards, like the hand of the Devil reaching up from the depths of Hell, encompassing its trophy.

Uwee screamed amid the cloud of remains, "Hadge!" He waved at the thick dust, desperately trying to see, and find his friend, as he continued to call out his name, "Hadge!" Then darted directly into the noxious cloud, "Hadge!"

Hadge was stunned, but still alive. He laid flat across the metallic structure of the tower, with the book spread open beneath him, its fiery pages keeping him from the brunt of the fall. Hadge slowly opened his eyes, grinning, and simply said, "That was fun. I'll have to do it again."

Uwee angrily slapped him up aside his head, claiming, "You idiot! You scared me." Hadge sat up laughing, brushing off what was left of his clothes, as well as the vampire, scoffing at the grubb, "Now you know how I felt all those times." Uwee hissed, turning his back, "Pfffffttttttt."

All at once a multitude of sounds shrieked around them. Uwee shouted, "They've seen us!" Hundreds of vampires were diving in their direction. Uwee howled, "There's no place to hide!" Hadge pulled the ghostly grubb down beside him, as a shield of sunlight protectively bubbled over them.

One by one the vampires dove into the bubble, and turned to dust, and still they relentlessly kept coming. Hadge had no idea how long he could continue holding the bubble in place, even as he felt the wearisome drain upon his body, and the events around him start to whirl. Uwee's worried voice clamored, "Are you alright? Hadge?" He indistinctly said, "Hadge?"

"Hadge?" A startling new voice joined. "Hadge?" It was the young girl from the book. Her sweet-sounding voice spoke once again, as if she were reading from the very pages, "In his moment of need, the book told of a plaque placed just beneath his feet. All he had to do is touch it." Hadge exhaustively collapsed upon the tower; nonetheless his hand fell to the plaque. He prayed that it had worked before the strange blackness invaded his overall senses.

Hadge unexpectedly felt the odd sensation of falling, as the tower flickered before him, like the darkness shifting into daylight. He wondered if he had died. "No..." He was certain he couldn't be dead; this was a memory, because it felt as if he were watching a movie. He was standing outside the tower, and could hear Carrissa's sweet voice as clearly as if it were happening at that very moment, "Thank you Hady. I love it." She lovingly touched the silvery bracelet, as the leaves dangled back and forth. Instantly Hadge knew that was what he was looking for, the first key of Elysium. Then the couple climbed the winding stairs to the top, to a platform overlooking Bedlam. Thereupon another group was leaving, several families, two young lovers, and an oddly out of place tall older man. The older man nervously kept looking around, and would oddly never look directly at you. Hadge was positive the identity of the man had to be Churl. At which point the movie skipped to the final scene, as that same odd old man awkwardly bumped into Carrissa, and they exchanged an apologetic moment. All at once Carrissa began to cry out, "My bracelet!" Just as quickly as the memory started, it now had faded to black.

Hadge awoke just as he had fallen through the plaque atop the tower, sharply tumbling down a narrow staircase. Through a web of stray fiber optics, and hit each and every step along the way. He, the book, and Uwee all lain crumpled at the base of the blackened stairwell, but all he could angrily think about was the memory of Churl, wanting to know, "Why was Churl there?" Better yet, he called into question, "Why was he there at that precise moment Carrissa lost the bracelet?" Hadge could hear the sound of his own bitter voice rumble; "Churl was in on the conspiracy to hide the key even before the evil book had even been opened." Curious to the reasons, "Why?"

Abruptly the din of metal thundered throughout the tower, as the vampires were surely trying to batter their way inside. Uwee was immediately hovering above Hadge looking quite worried, "Hadge?" He asked, "Hadge, are you alright?" Hadge painfully tried to sit upright, as he barely uttered, "Yea..." BANG! BANG! They both looked nervously up the dark stairwell, and all Hadge could say was, "That don't sound good."

At that moment the fiber optics lining the staircase crackled to life, sparking thick webs of electricity all through the space, creating a barrier between them and anything that may enter the tower. Even so Hadge was still worried, unsure if the electricity could even stop the amount of demons waiting to get inside. It was like all of the demons of Hell were crammed into one tiny place. BANG! Hadge nervously told Uwee, "We need to keep moving." There was no response.

Hadge tensely turned to look for the grubb, saying, "Uwee? The grubb was nowhere in sight. Hadge uneasily arose, snatching the book as he went, as it was unclear if demons had taken Uwee, or not. He cautiously inquired once more, holding the book like a machete, and ready to cut down anything in his way, "Uwee, where are you?"

Right away Hadge noticed the strange passage was scarcely taller than himself, much too small for people living in the past. There were dark intersecting passageways about every twelve feet along the downward sloping conduit, as he slowly inched his way to the first intersection, warily whispering for the grubb, "Uwee?"

Without warning something small darted from the first darkened opening, running straight into Hadges foot.

Suddenly a life size mummy appeared before Hadge, lunging towards him as it made a noise, and just as quickly faded away. Hadge only had a moment of fright, until he realized the monsters holographic head was stretched across the ceiling, and the culprit was a purple ball resting at his feet.

Uwee busted out laughing, saying, "You should've seen your face." Hadge picked up the bogy ball, and almost instantly remembered the tower sold a set of six monsters. Then he threw the offensive item at the grubb, snarling, "We could die at any moment, and you think it's a joke."

Hadge started off down the passageway rather annoyed, wanting nothing more than to strangle Uwee yet again, but what good would it do, the grubb won't die. "No wait!" Uwee was genuinely insistent, "You have to hear this." Hadge grumbled, "Hear what?" Uwee pointed down the dark passage he was hiding, expressing, "I heard someone talking down this way." Hadge jerked towards the opening, stopping for a second to hiss, "Thisssss better not be another joke..."

Then he angrily walked through Uwee's image, mumbling just beneath his breath, "Maybe the vampires are still hungry..." However another sound prattled within the space, growing clearer as he made his way deeper inside the passage, until a man's voice echoed inside the chamber, and he knew Uwee wasn't lying.

The chamber came to an unexpected halt, as a metal grate set in the floor, which overlooked the platform that Hady and Carrissa had stood upon so long ago. This was the tower's venting system. Mockingly the voice laughed, "This world will die soon." Promptly Hadge recognized Churls traitorous voice, and it seemed so did Uwee, even as he asked, "He's one of them?" Hadge overly dismayed, answered, "It would seem so." And mentally vowed Churl would pay for all he has done, or will ever do.

Hadge hadn't forgotten the real reason why he was here, in search of an elusive key. Quickly he opened the infamous book, looking through the fiery blue pages, trying to locate Carrissa's lost bracelet. The platform had numerous columns across its expanse, as the benches and urns were all destroyed, and the room was filled with demons. He was mortified to find nothing on the platform, and knew the bracelet could be anywhere in the tower, like finding a needle in a haystack.

Unexpectedly Churl's voice moved closer, but his body remained concealed, "The sun of Yahveh doesn't stand a chance." Then he stepped into sight, not as a former ghost of himself, but the Sheol from Hells gate. Uwee a bit confused had to ask, "That's not that thing you killed, or is it?" Hadge sadly whispered, "Yea it is."

Hadge was quite assured Churl had made a deal with the Devil; all for his selfish wants and needs. He had ultimately set Canaan on a silver platter, serving all the powerless souls into eternal damnation. However Hadge couldn't figure out why Churl was on Elysium, and had to wonder, "What else did the Devil want in return?"

Hadge looked at Churl through the book in hopes he may discover some weakness to use against the traitor, even as the monster walked to the edge of the platform, and nearly out of sight.

Out of the darkness something glimmered beyond Churls shoulder, as hundreds of bracelets clung to the fiber optic cords on the exterior of the building, but only one belonged to Carrissa. The shiny silver surface of her bracelet reflected a blue light, much like a star in the sky.

Hadge was overly excited, stating, "There it is." Uwee looked just as confused as ever, asking, "What is?" He answered the grubb, "The key to send all these demons back to Hell," Uwee made an incredulous sound, "Humph." And said, "Good luck with that." Hadge knew the grubb was right, it was virtually impossible to reach that bracelet, not with all those demons standing guard.

Uwee leaned in real close to the vent, just enough where the tip of his head vanished through the vent, making a sound as if in thought, "Hmmmm..." Hadge fearfully tried to pull on his ghostly arm, but found nothing but air as he said, "They'll see you."

Uwee eagerly extracted his head from the vent, and said, "I have an idea." He offered, "I can distract them until you get the bracelet." Hadge objected, "No. Absolutely not." Uwee frowned, "Why not?" And declared, "I'm already dead. What else can they do to me?" Hadge hum hollered around, "I don't know about this Uwee." Uwee scoffed, "What's to know?" Then reluctantly Hadge agreed, "Ok." But ordered the grubb, "Run if you see any of those vampires."

Uwee stood upright saluting Hadge, and stated something to the effect, "I have to go get myself an army." Hadge hadn't a clue what the grubb was talking about, as he watched him vanish back down the passageway from which they had arrived.

Soon thereafter Uwee returned with a box of bogy balls, and his fictitious army was becoming abundantly clear. Uwee was in charge this time around, telling Hadge, "The second the bogy balls go off, head for the necklace." Hadge nodded accordingly.

Without further ado Uwee kicked open the square vent below their feet, as it clung loosely to one side, dumping the box of bogy balls into the horde of demons. Then he jumped into the mass, running for the stairs shouting, "This way you ugly pieces of crap!"

Everywhere the bogies went off, as all sorts of monsters flickered before the bewildered demons. It had gone just as he had planned, some tried to attack the holograms, while others followed the sound of Uwee's voice. The chaos gave Hadge the liberty to make a run for the coveted bracelet.

Hadge closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and murmured, "Here goes nothing." He took that leap of faith through the open vent, as the sense of falling reeled all other existing thoughts.

Suddenly something seized his ankle in mid-air, as his mind intensely shouted, "Oh my Yahveh, not now!" With a single constant thought demanding his attention, "The bracelet!"

His body slammed face first into the platform surface, as he hastily kicked free, and twisted to see his so called captor through the blood streaming from his forehead. It was the sinister Churl, his leathery skin hideously stretched over his sharp teeth, as he mocked, "Not so sure of yourself, are you Hadge?" Hadge glowered at the monster before him; sure only Churls death would set everyone free.

Keenly Uwee's shriek boomed through the tower, "Run!" He ordered, "Hadge run!"

Without further thought Hadge leapt from the spot on the floor, running headlong for the railing, and aimed for the bracelet clinging to the mesh of fiber optics. A blood-curdling screech escaped Churl, as he desperately slashed at the Hadge, "Nooooooooo!" Hadge perilously leapt into the wire webbing, as bracelets dangled all around him. However the bracelet he'd come to collect rested in the palm of his hand.

Instantly the wire began to give way, swinging back and forth. Hadge notably had the book in one hand, and the bracelet in the other. Churl beseeching, "Don't do this." Hadge glared at the evil man, and placed the bracelet upon the book. Churl shrieked once again, a sound that could be heard throughout nearly all of Elysium, "Noooooooooooooo!"

The silver vines wrapped around the book once more, sealing the book firmly shut, as a sonic vibration could be felt across the planet, and all grew astoundingly silent.

At once the demons painfully began to contort, as the twisted toilsome sounds echoed all over the land. Then in restitution every demon was turned to dust, as the blackened soot spun like a whirlwind, being sucked back into the cracks of Hell. All evil had finally vacated this world, as the tangible sense of harmony could be felt, and the atmosphere grew uncommonly lighter.

"Hadge!" Uwee started shouting, "We did it!" Hadge excitedly concurred, "Yes, we did!" Uwee hurried towards the railing through all the annoying bogy balls, and held out a helping hand, stating, "We make a good team." Hadge lurched forward to take the ghostly hand, soundly agreeing, "Yes we do..."

Unpredictably the fiber optics cable within which Hadge clung to broke, and he was plummeted off the top of the tower. He could see the lasting horror on Uwee's face, as he screamed his name, "Haaaaaaaaaaaaadge!" The enduring scream resounded into thousands of terror-stricken cries, as his life began to flash before his eyes, and he knew at least Elysium had a fighting chance now.

Hadge could hear the melodic whipper of the winds about his body, like the muffled whispers of all that had passed, even as the freedom of death fast approached, and he accepted his fate.

Suddenly an onslaught of teeny tiny noises engrossed every inch of his body, as the harsh fall pre-empted a soothing floating consciousness, and he wondered, "Could this be death?" Then the sweet noises softly turned into a melody, a beautiful song he had nearly forgotten, until a teeny tiny voice whispered in his ear, "Open your eyes."

Hadge did as he was told, seeing Ruby gently land on his nose, like the petal of a rose. She started to giggle, even as thousands of tiny voices laughed around him, and he knew he was floating on a variable pillow of fairies. Ruby breathed, "Your safe." All he could do is breathlessly whisper his overwhelming gratitude, "Thank you...All of you."

At last his feet touched the ground, and Ruby adjusted herself upon his nose and said, "The Angel believed that you would need help." Hadge thought how odd it was that she would know this, however he had known things he couldn't possibly have known either, so the point of understanding was still beyond his reach, and simply stated, "She was right."

Hadge turned to look at the darkness around Bedlam, as Ruby flitted through the air around him. The darkness didn't seem so dark anymore, as the stars shone brighter than ever before, and he was kindly enlightened to the fact, "Evil can no longer dictate on Elysium." Ruby cooed in his ear, "I'm glad you're alright." Sadly he knew that not everyone was alright, as he forlornly thought of Carrissa, and dryly said, "Yeah, I am..."

Out of the darkness Uwee arrived like a marching band, ecstatically making every noise possible, and shouted at his friend, "Your alive!" Then he gave Hadge a big icy hug, and started to cry, "I thought you were dead." Hadge patted the grubb on the back, and jested, "Don't you know by now, they cant kill me?" Uwee hardily laughed, "No they cant."

Something seemed to fall from the sky, a falling star, a meteorite; it was impossible to tell, as Hadge turned to take notice. However the mystifying light in the sky wasn't falling, but rather gliding, or maybe afloat. At last the vaporous illumination descended upon Bedlam, as it attuned to the form of a woman, and settled before Hadge.

It was the Angel that guided them here, as her sweet dulcet tone reflected, "Well done Hadge." He looked a bit confused as he asked, "I thought you couldn't come to Bedlam?" Her sweet soft words rang of certainty, "The darkness was defeated, and sent to its rightful place."

"That's right!" Uwee bayed, jumping for joy, "Everyone's safe now!"

Hadge's thoughts drifted to the girl he once had loved, in all probability still loved, and sadly stated, "Not yet. I have one more thing to do." The Angel spoke, as if she knew his every thought, and made it perfectly clear, "Going into Hell to save Carrissa is extremely dangerous. I beg you to reconsider in your present state."

However Hadge's mind was already set, and nothing or no one could change it now, as he fast declared, "I'm going to Hell."

Chapter 10: To Hell in a Hand basket.

The besmirching sounds of horror railed amid the winds, harking one and all, an invariable token that the Devil will not give up so painlessly. Elysium was not beyond his horrific reach. Denoted within the means of his maniacal laughter, ratifying irrationally in the due course of the resonating current.

Uwee howled, "Sounds like Hell is not done with us yet."

Hadge was quite accepting of this ill-fated challenge, and made it abundantly clear, "One way or another, it ends today." His understanding was that this is why Yahveh had created him, as a cushion against all the worlds' evils. Now is the time for Elysium to be liberated from the Devils deadly embrace.

The Angel's dulcet tones sieved inside Hadge's mind, enlightening him to the fact, "Your journey from here is yours alone. Only Hadge can walk through the shadowy boundaries of dark and light." Images of world after world skipped through his mind, no matter which world, or whom he may have met on his travels; in the end he was alone.

Then her heavenly iridescent hand fondly stroked his cheek, magically extracting the golden thread from out of his pocket, and into thin air. Her words barely above a whisper, "But I will bestow you this." The thread uncannily shifted in her palm, weaving into a golden fabric, and said, "Ember from Heaven."

All at once the remains of his charred clothing was gone, replaced by an extraordinary form fitting fabric that changed like a chameleon. Hadge automatically knew the cloth was sewn from the three fates, the moirai, whose properties were intangible, but no less real. The actual thought of fate wickedly played in his teeming brain, surmising, "The book is no longer useful to me." Having misgivings, "How can I walk into Hell with this awesome divine power I know nothing about?"

Then Ruby flittered onto his nose once more, in that teeny tiny voice of hers, saying, "Be careful Hadge." Any and all misgivings he may have had seemed to have all melted away in her child-like face, reminding him that the adversity he fights against is for all those innocents that cannot save themselves. He gave her a weak smile, and whispered a reply, "You know I will." She giggled and fluttered away, finding his words just as hard to believe as he did.

Brashly Uwee established, "I'm going with you."

Hadge fleetingly glanced towards the Angel's solemn expression, countering the offer, "No." He affirmed, "Not this time." The Angel softly whispered, "You made the right decision." However Uwee screeched, "You can't just leave me here!"

Hadge ignored the grubb, as he shoved his belongings into his pocket. A pocket so astounding that when he reached inside it was large enough to store his entire room from under Grendlocke Cemetery, as he anxiously withdrew his hand fearing he may never find the belongings ever again. Then he firmly patted the outside for any feel of the objects within, nonetheless discovered even the bulk of the book nary left a trace.

Uwee grabbed his arm, testily barking, "Will you listen to me?"

Hadge snapped back, "There's nothing to listen to. You're not going." Then looked the grubb straight in his ghostly eyes, and breathed, "That's that." And walked away. Uwee threw up his frigid arms arguing, "That's it then?" There was only silence in return.

Hadge walked in the direction where the scar of a reaver factory pot marked the ground, as a deep dark chasm was left in the middle of Bedlam, and the humanly debris around the sight was a testament onto its destructive force. Brick from buildings, cars, trees, and asphalt had all settled in the wary hole, as a reminder that evil has a price.

Despite it all there were some scars that could never heal, deeper than a mortal wound, which echoed from the shadows of your soul, and buried deep enough that you'd hope to never see it again. Those buried scars terrifyingly plagued Hadges mind, as the horrendous images of Hell burned over and over. The suffocating smells of flesh burning of the damned, overwhelming sorrow, and the ungodly screams. He knew he'd been there before.

Hadge feebly uttered, as he eased closer to inspect the deep dark rift, "Looks like I will need a bit of luck." However he doubted that luck would have anything to do with it, or could even help.

Ruby nervously flitted about Hadges head, asking, "You're not really going to go down there are you?" Hadge sighed as he looked down into the dark hole, and responded, "I really don't have a choice, do I?"

The endless descending darkness burrowed deep into the facade of the land, where the reaver's unsightly boil had ravaged its malleable crust, and the wielding stench of sulfur and burning flesh grew so horrible it unbearably took your breath away. Hadge swiftly held his hand to his nose, yet smell was not the only senses being attacked. Gravely the devastating cries and wails of millions of tormented souls transcended the very depths of Hell, each suffering unimaginable pain and agony, and begging for a merciful end. Horrifyingly he could nearly picture each and every one of them.

Hadge warily took a step back feeling rather sick to his stomach, sick of the atrocities of life and death. Hearing each individual cry, "Help me." Then another, "I don't belong here." Followed by another, "Eidolon I'm sorry." And another, "Oh God please help me..." Every cry a punishment for their sins against humanity, sins against Yahveh, and indebted for an eternity in Hell. Hellishly damned and deservingly so, even as the heavy weight of despair burdened their sense of no hope, no escape, no way out, and the punishment is without end.

Hadge felt wholly overcome by this great fear and emptiness, as the profound sadness welled up in his eyes, hopelessly wondering, "Why do so many have to suffer?" The Angel answered his unspoken words, "They did not believe in the word of Yahveh. Sinning freely among their kind, and their judgment has been set." He pleaded, "Surely some have repented." The Angel's expression appeared bleak, and the answer not very promising, "Only those never born have a possibility to escape these evils. Time being the master of chance. You are their sole hope for such a chance. They should pray to be one of the lucky few."

He turned back to the intimidating darkness, as a sense of evil stared back, and the pith of all tales of horror struck uncommonly true. Yes there is a Yahveh. Yes evil exists, however fear, hate and loathing belong to the Devil. And the question remains, do you really want to hold his hand?

A shiver inched up Hadge's spine, as he assuredly realized how could he not fear knowing all that he knew, and how could he really stand a chance in the Devils domain. He had no book, no means of protection, and the so-called divine powers only worked sporadically. Hadge had no idea what he was going to do, as a fleeting sense of alarm for his own safety come to head, and he seriously wanted to know, "How will I make it in and out of Hell alive?"

All at once the anguished cries reached a deafening magnitude, which disabled any selfish thoughts Hadge may have had for his own life. The cries distorted into faces, and from those faces he could make out the people that he knew, such as Uwee, Nibbs, Uma, Reybe, Zaya, Ruby, and Carrissa. He grievously weighed the sorry reality, "How can I let them down?" As he selflessly whispered Carrissa's name, "Carrissa..." And remembered why he was here, because he made a promise so long ago.

"Never fear..." The words whispered softly in his head, but rang powerfully through his thoughts, as the Angel's reassuring tone was as warm as a comforting blanket, "All will tremble in the true face of your power. Never be afraid." Hadge still had his misgivings, "That's easier said than done."

Hadge could no longer delay the unavoidable, as he began to explore the dangerous debris for a way into the chasm, minus plummeting to his death. He wandered around the hole, as he kicked a few bricks, and appeared completely involved as he did so, rambling on to himself, "No... no...that wont do." He sighed, "I need a way down the hole...not fill it up."

Uwee was floating nearby, curiously asking, "Like what?" Hadge rumbled at the grubb, "I don't know until I see it." Uwee rolled his eyes, poking fun at Hadge, "Well...that was helpful." Then Ruby emerged holding some of the fiber optic from Muezza's tower, and asked, "Something like this?" Hadge briefly glanced her way, seeing the same wire that couldn't even support him upon the tower, and all he could do is crow, "If I were a fairy..."

"That's it!" Hadge shouted, his feet kicking dirt up everywhere, as he'd found exactly what he'd been looking for. Numerous mucous like stringers wound athwart the waste quite similar to elastic rope, leftover from the reaver factory. Hadge tugged on one particularly long stringer, which still remained secured somewhere deep in the hellhole, as he nodded his head, "Yesssssss..." Smirking at the folly of leaving him a way inside.

Uwee eagerly rushed up with a sharp piece of metal in his hands, a long spike he'd found in the debris, shouting, "We can use this as a weapon!" Hadge snorted debatably, "We?" Then informed the grubb one last time, "You're not going." Uwee smugly responded, "I don't see how you can stop me." He chuckled sarcastically, "I'm a ghost." And reappeared behind Hadge, making an incredibly stupid sound, "Woooooo...I can go anywhere I please."

Hadge had rather enough of Uwee's games, as he turned seizing the grubbs face between his fingers, and gave a low steady growl, "Your staying..." Instantly Uwee stopped laughing, realizing Hadge meant business.

In the brief moments that Hadge held Uwee in place something bizarre happened, as his spine oddly began to tingle, with the sensation traveling from his arm, and out his fingertips that led to Uwee's face. Then he realized the bothersome ghost had done more than just stop laughing, as he looked oddly at the grubb, and tried to get a response, "Uwee?" However there was no answer, Uwee was literally frozen in place.

Hadge neurotically jerked his hand away, blaring, "What have I done!" Almost immediately the Angels soothing voice hummed in his head, "Uwee is fine." She lulled, "He is only resting." Hadge still unsure what happened, asked, "He's asleep?" The Angel acknowledged, "Yessss..." Then informed him, "Your powers can be accessed by need or emotions." Hadge asked over, "So he's alive? I mean dead?" She tenderly settled, "At this moment in time." He wanted to know what she'd meant by the remark, questioning, "This moment?" Then her sweet voice reminded him, "Although time doesn't really exist, it can be devastating when it runs out." At that moment he conceived that she was talking about the time left to seal the book, his time was running out, and nodded that he understood.

Hadge started to ask how do I escape Hell, with his mouth in mid-action. Almost at once he received the answer, as it ringed in his head. "There are many ways out of Hell. The path will find you at the right time." The Angel's breathy voice enlightened, just before she and the others had vanished amid a bright white light. Hadges thoughts crossly rumbling, "How does that help?" But all he could do is stare at the spot where the Angel had been, retaining that no matter how unprepared he was at this time, he had to go to Hell.

Hadge retrieved the lengthy strand of mucous, took a deep breath, and tensely lowered himself into the dark void. Quickly he surpassed the dirt and rock, bouncing from wall to wall, even as dirt rained down around him. Eerily the minerals in the walls began to change, as the roughened surface was now nearly smooth, and the cinereal flesh of the walls heaved and buckled around him. His feet sprung off the flexible surface, and he uneasily breathed to himself, "Oh Yahveh, what is this place?" It was no rocky surface he'd ever felt before. It was spidered with veins, and scarred much like living tissue.

Out of the soupy blackness beneath his dangling feet something ominously stirred, one or maybe thousands it was really hard to tell. Whatever the case one or thousands he was being watched. As a shiver coursed throughout his body, and he was certain something was out there. Hadge indomitably would not turn back now, as he forged ahead, moving deeper and deeper into the pitch black.

Again the blackness eerily rippled around him, this time mottled in the shapes of demons. The terrorizing figures agitated by his presence, all screeching out at him the deeper he advanced, and he knew without a doubt that they were malevolent beings.

The wicked creatures all started to cackle, mischievously shoving Hadge back and forth in the course of the dark, hissing such things as, "Die!" Or taunting, "Stupid ape!" Abruptly the shoves become vicious, feeling his flesh be torn and bitten, as he fearfully struck out at the darkness, and never seeming to come in contact with the perpetrators.

All at once his fears subsided, replaced by rage, as he exchanged blows and shouted wrathfully at the demons, "You don't know whom your dealing with." During which his temperature radically elevated from within, and sunlight seeped through every pore of his body. The sunlight bleached the darkened space, as the brilliant void was inundated with the demons cries of pain. Hadge wickedly felt delight in this power, moreover vengeance, yet was momentarily overshadowed by the affliction of guilt. He swiftly bottled his rage, and morally bayed, "I'm not evil..."

Suddenly the walls and stringer were all drying out, crumbling under his grip. He frantically clawed at anything and everything within reach, all to keep from falling. His grisly screams echoed through the caverns, even as he spun into a freefall throughout the abyssal darkness. Falling deeper and deeper within the prevailing inky black pool, hastily forcing his inner sun to glow once more, but this time at a much dimmer version.

The sallow light lit the uneven gray walls, which were chillingly embedded with those evil beings. Every demon clung to the veined surface of the walls. Nonetheless they didn't care about his state of being, nor did they attack him again, merely hissing and growling from a distance, as he would pass.

The gravity of his situation dire, as his physical sensitivity was off the charts. All six of Hadges senses were in overtime, seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, an unquenchable thirst, and even taste. Evil had a flavor of putrid death and charred flesh that was beyond the point of sickening. Desperately throughout his plummet to his death he searched for anything he might cling to, with the frightening sense he was still being watched. From every which way sounds assaulted his eardrums, unbearable screams of the damned, yet still the sounds intensified the deeper he fell.

Strangely the once vertical tunnel benignly began to angle, steadily moving one wall closer and closer. Hadge knew it was now or never, as his quick hands tried to latch onto any of the elastic membrane venules hanging along the wall. He apprehensively felt the mucous covered matter slip between his fingers endlessly, however the effort slowed his descent. Fiercely he impacted the sloping wall, which slightly gave way beneath his weight, and sprung him back into motion.

Then he found himself being helplessly moved along its disgusting mucous surface. He slid ever so deeply, as the deafening rumble of rushing water now invaded his keen sense of hearing, but he couldn't see any water. In fact he wasn't sure about anything going on around him anymore. Unexpectedly the mucous filled tunnel he was in merged with a second tunnel, and third tunnel. He was now being carried along the watery canal at a high rate of speed, as he soon discovered the current was not water, but rather blood.

Rapidly he started to put it all together, fleshy walls, veins, and blood, which all eerily comprised the characteristics of something, "Alive."

Hadge fought the motility absorption of the thick murky current, blindly being dragged this way and that. He had a tremendous fear he would never escape, as his so called life flashed before his eyes, seeing clips of each of his lives on this planet. Each life altering something to prepare him for this reckless passage inside the bowels of Hell, but it was obviously not enough. All he could do is inconsolably question, "How could I have let myself down?"

Soon his misery turned to anger, as he forcefully shouted, "No!" He was not giving up so easily, just as he found the inner strength to swim, fighting the current, and debris that got in his way. Thereon he figured out it was not debris filling the blood, but rather people, each and every one being transported straight into Hell.

Suddenly the passageway abruptly ended, as blood and all rained down into a river of blood. The impact drove you straight to the bottom, as you fought through the thick red substance to break the surface, and gasp soundly for air. Hadge horrifyingly glimpsed thousands of tunnels everywhere, like a massive scarlet waterfall. The waterfall churning souls endlessly into the river, one on top of the other, each one fighting to stay afloat, as struggling hands push you under time and again.

Hadge turned circles in the river hardly knowing which way to go, just as he caught a glimpse of a massive dark obstruction, an island. But he had to wonder why an island rested in the middle of the river. However he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, as he headed towards the mysterious land mass.

Urgently an unnatural sound reaped from over the waves, somewhat sounding like words, "Grab...my hand." Hadge could sense something grasp his hand, even as people frantically screamed around him, "Help me!" They cried, "Help me..." Before he knew it he was being hauled up onto the black crusty island, coughing and choking on the vile scarlet clots.

Hadge weakly set on all fours, attempting to say thank you, however all he could do is retch. At last he looked up at his savior, as a hideously deformed hellhound stood over him, grossly emaciated, and its feet were being slowly eaten away by disease.

Hadge gasped and choked, as he finally stood upright, demanding to know between coughs, "What. (Hack)..Do you want?" Even as he already took a position of defense, and swiftly had his warped dagger in hand, pointing it at the beast. He impatiently shouted, "Talk!" The yielding beast held up its extraordinary hands, surprisingly it could talk, in an animalistic kind of way, as it declared, "I don't want anything."

Then it unfolded an old metal picture in its hand, a picture of Hadge in another lifetime, beseeching the man before him, "Don't you remember me?" Hadge quite confused could only concentrate on the burning sensation of his feet, unmindfully growling, "Why should I remember you?" The beast kindly brought him up to date, "Because its me, Reybe." Shocked, Hadge could only stare in disbelief.

Reybe rambled on, "I knew you would come." Hadge could hardly believe this was his old friend, first of all he looked like a hellhound, and secondly he could talk. Moreover fearing it could be some kind of trick. Suspiciously Hadge said, "Reybe?" Reybe continued to ramble, "Some kid let me out of the box. I hope he's alright." Hadge inquired, "The box?" But he was sure he was talking about the box in old lady Egdah's secret room, where else could he get the photo with the same strange handwriting written across it. He started to relax; certain it had to be Reybe, but wondered, "Who was the kid?" And more importantly, "How did he survive?"

Suddenly he thought of the gorgon's eye, remembering saving Reybe in Bedlam from dieing, as he randomly mumbled, "Gorgons eye." Yet he seriously had to call the eye into question, "Could the gorgons eye give eternal life, or did the Devil bring him back?" Although the answer didn't really matter one way or another for the simple reason that Reybe was Reybe.

Aversely Hadge could no longer endure the burning of his feet, as if standing upon white-hot pins and needles. Urgently he started to howl, as he evasively danced on his toes, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Idly Reybe advised, "This Island is a cancer." He pointed out the crusty mass, "It eats away at all who clings to it." Reybe's odd fingers continued to follow the land mass, as it carried on right up a grotesque tree in the center of the island, and he stated, "The cancer grows everywhere down here." Hadge's eyes continued to follow the crusty old tree upwards, as its cancerous branches seemed to reach topside, and in fact did seem to grow everywhere.

At which point he noticed that vampires sullied the space beyond, even as other hideous demons strayed about the islands, most likely to keep the river running smoothly. Then strangely Hadge felt somehow taller, as he observed the spot where he stood, seeing that the cancer had fitfully grown wild, and was certain it had to be from the warmth of his body.

Reybe anxiously looked towards the vampires, and stressed, "We have to get out of here now." Hadge still a bit doubtful of the hellhound, wondered, "Is the Devil using Reybe?" He studied the dog before him supposing, "Maybe..." He thought, "It's a trap." He at last come to reason, "No...why would he offer to help?" Then Hadge too glanced towards the vampires, and uneasily replied, "I think your right." His eyes drawn to the force of the waterfall, which made it an impossibility to escape, with only one other option to persist further into Hell.

Hadges eyes fell to the reddened river, as heads bobbed here and there, and hands allover would push people under. He didn't know how one could actually swim the river without being drowned, even as he made a sound of disgust, and said, "The true face of human nature." Then he glanced back at the maddening disease beneath his feet, as a wonderfully crazy idea came to mind.

He scooped up a handful of the crusty soil, letting the warmth of his inner sun allow it to grow, until it was the vague size of a small raft. He stopped helping the matter grow, as he told himself, "That should be enough." Reybe leaned closer looking confused, "What?" Hadge shook his head, pushing the cancerous matter out upon the river to see how well it floated, and answered, "Oh, nothing."

Hadge held the raft in place, sure it was seaworthy, and ordered Reybe, "Jump on." Reybe glanced from the raft, and how it would journey back to the center of Hell, instantly arguing, "Oh no." He begged, "I don't want to go back." Hadge squabbled, "You don't have a choice." Pointing at the power of the waterfall, the only way in, and said, "The only way out, is the darkest depths of Hell." Seeing that they both carefully boarded the dubious raft, setting sail upon the atrocious red river.

They merely made it nine feet from shore, as flailing arms tipped the raft back and forth, and everywhere a multitude of voices all screamed, "Help me!" Others wheezing, "Help...me..." All frantically trying to board the tiny dinghy, as the grasping hands tore the craft apart bit by bit. Reybe gruffing, "We're sinking!" Hadge desperately tried to keep them afloat, wildly shouting, "Don't you think I can see that!" But the crazed behavior was more than he could handle, it was utter chaos, as the people swarmed the boat, and they only had seconds before their feet touched the bloody river.

The ruckus alerted the demons, which patrolled the deadly river. Reybe frantically shouted, "What are we going to do?" Hadge simply said, "Pray..." His mind was a blank, and he hadn't a clue how to fix this mess.

At that moment a roguish notion entered Hadges mind, boring his fingers into what was left of the raft, and yelling at Reybe, "Hang on for your life!" It was not unlike the charge of a battery, as he concentrated sunlight into the cancerous matter. The raft rapidly grew, buckling and spreading athwart the river, as bodies tumbled in every direction, until the disease had completely dammed the waterway. Everything beyond the dam drained down to meager puddles, as people frantically ran in all direction within the ruddy river bottom, yet still had no chance of escaping.

Hadge leapt to the river bottom, running as soon as his feet hit the ground, instructing all who may be listening, "Run!" Reybe quickly following his master, as a few terrified souls got to their feet around him crying, "How do we get out of here?" Hadge hadn't the heart to explain, "Their judgment had already been set. There is no way out." Instead he suggested, "The way you got here."

Nervously Hadge and Reybe both kept glancing back at the demons, as they weaved through all the bewildered people. The demons had gathered along the cancerous dam, tearing the crusty tissue asunder, as it surely couldn't last much longer. Hadge shouted more urgently, "Run faster!" He could see the end was nearly insight, as the riverbed faded off into a pulsating black abyss, and a strange rhythmic sound grew profoundly louder. Hadge faithfully thinking, "We're going to make it."

Suddenly the sounds of screams echoed all around them, as one by one the people started to vanish. Reybe's head twisted from side to side, growling, "What's going on?" Hadge turned just in time to see that the vampires had advanced, and were clearing a path to their main objective, namely himself.

Swiftly one vampire swooped up behind him, while another aimed for Reybe, as they extended their deadly claws. Hadge turning just in time to see his friend picked from the riverbed, as the vampire rumbled in a low voice, "Traitorous dog!" At once Reybe yelped, and his body was propelled through the stagnant air, while the demon dementedly cackled. At wits end, Hadge screamed like a man possessed, "Noooooooooooo!" The darkness just beneath his eyes rolled from the vampire to Reybe, as he helplessly watched his friend vanish somewhere within the pulsating black abyss, beyond the end of the river.

Hadge wholly enraged had forgotten his own plight, as another vampire was hot on his heels. All the same he pivoted in the direction of Reybe's attacker, yelling like a madman, "Who's the traitor now!" A blast of sunlight discharged from his hands, striking the sinister beast. Briefly the chamber was aglow, as tiny particles of vampire dust sprinkled athwart the riverbed. The light had temporarily stopped each and every demon in their tracks, as they shielded their eyes from the excruciating brightness, and waited for it to end.

Unanticipated the radiance had generated the cancer into a frenzy, as it wildly began to grow, and sealed the entire cavity of the river. Still the cancer kept growing, as the blood from the building river filtered through the enlarged cancerous pores, and it all headed in the direction of the black abyss.

It was all moving headlong in Hadge's direction, as he sprinted over the ruddy river bottom to escape the oncoming mass, and realized how foolish he had been to let anger get the better of him. He was utterly oblivious to his present surroundings, until he acknowledged the riverbed was no longer beneath his feet, and he too had arrived at the end of the river.

He was plummeting downward into the concave of Hell, as the once unattainable bottom rapidly came into focus. Everything was imbued with blackened rock, like thousands of black craggily fingers trying to reach out and touch you, or even worse to impale its victims. A swirling red lake amassed at the heart of the deadly skewers, as the blackened rocks gradually faded from view beneath the depths of its crimson surface, but surely as life and death the dangerous rocks were still there lurking below the blood. Hadge was positive that if he didn't die of a heart attack, the fall would definitely kill him.

Out of the pulsating blackness something seized his leg, and the feeling of falling subsided. Hadge had an uncanny sense this could be a fate worse than death, as his heart pounded like a drum, bizarrely keeping in time with the deafening sounds of the abyssal rhythm. He wrenched and twisted his dangling body, all in an effort to see his captor.

At last seeing the diabolical smirk of a vampire glaring back at him, its painful intentions fairly obvious, and finding the part of knowing just as unpleasant as not knowing. Hadge refused to have any part of the beast's monstrous plan, angrily shouting, "No you don't!" Then aimed his deadly sunlight at the fiend, and just as quickly reduced the monster to ashes.

Abruptly he was aware of falling once more, however the thought of death didn't seem so terrifying any longer.

Expeditiously something had awakened in the shadows of the blackened crags, crackling and shifting in his direction, and all he could think, "Oh Yahveh, what now?" The declivitous branches of a cancerous tree reached out of the darkness, assaulting him in every way possible. It was drawn to his light. Suddenly a hand caught his arm on the way down, and an animalistic voice said, "I've got you!"

He turned in time to see Reybe's hellish face, just before the branch broke and they both fell into a grove of the malignant trees.

Hadge knotted painfully in the undergrowth of the trees, coddled within millions of tiny saplings much like small plants. He was in and out of consciousness, listening to the steady thump of the black carrel, or maybe it was the sound of his own heart. He really couldn't tell anymore, as he lain stiffly on his backside, staring up into the black void of Hell.

All at once the distant rumble of the dam breaking dissipated all else, followed closely by the violent rush of the river churning over the falls. Hadge tenderly rolled onto his stomach, peering out between the crusty life forms, as the unending sights and sounds of people that were swept along the bloods vicious path. The near lifeless souls ended up swirling around and around in the bloody lake below, as some unfortunately met a dire end upon the deadly crags.

The bloody lake by all accounts was like a colander, which sifted souls deeper into Hell. Sadly Hadge could only look away; there was no way to help them now.

Reybe fearfully called out his name, "Hadge!" He pointed out the masses of demons all searching for them, by land and air, and exclaimed, "We have to hide." Then promptly suggested, "The city of Xilbalba is near." He urged, "We can hide there." Hadge winced from the overall pain, but soundly agreed, "Yesss..."

Reybe Helped Hadge to his feet, and just as quickly shoved him against a cancerous tree, hushing him into silence, "Shhhhhhhh..."

Straight away the crunch of nearby saplings resounded through the grove, most assuredly a sign that something was close. Then a ghostly vision sifted from tree to tree, as its long gauzy raiment trailed eerily behind, and it appeared merely to float from one place to the next.

Hadge was instantly awestruck by this beautiful female spirit, even more beautiful than an Angel, until its lurid name recoiled from the depths of his mind, "Vistaria...among the darkest fallen Angels." The vistaria's punishment had twisted them inside out, for all to see how evil they truly were, forcing them to hide behind a glimmer, which allowed them to walk among the living without being noticed. Once among people they would pass disease and plagues to those unlucky to meet them, not unlike other demons that fed on the living, other than their choice of dining were the donors various organs.

Intensely the saplings crunched ever so closer, as the prowling demon's glimmer had now faded, and the vile bloody bag of bones beneath was visible for all to see.

Hastily Reybe plucked a chunk of bark from the tree, which oddly started to ooze blood. Hadge looked from the wound left on the tree to the bark in Reybe's hand, as the foot long piece began to thrash, and squeal like a hungry young child.

Immediately Reybe threw the black encrusted parasite a fair distance away, as the hideous creature extracted its legs, and scampered off through the crusty saplings. The deluge of sound the creature made had caught the interest of the vistaria, as the demon followed the noise of the nearly invisible parasite off into the distance.

Without delay Reybe jerked Hadge in the opposite direction, slinking through the trees, which grew all the way up to the city. Hadge was awestricken by the wonder of Xilbalba, which was carved from the nine monolithic crags of Nonagon Mountain, the blackened heart of Hell. Reybe cited, "Xilbalba is separated into nine different cities." Indicating, "This is South Xilbalba. Where all the newcomers arrive." Hadge expressed, "Hopefully their helpful." Reybe didn't sound optimistic, "Don't count on it." And continued to guide them through the forest of crags and crusty trees.

The shadowy crag lands extended further than the eye could see, gathering densely about the swirling lake in the center of Xilbalba, as each quadrant of the city was in full view of all the sinners downfall and punishments that were served.

Eerily they walked below crags that had impaled several unfortunate souls, as the people were still screaming for help. Reybe ordered, "Ignore them." Hadge started to object, "But..." Reybe growled, "It's a trap." Hadge knew he was right, no need to draw any more attention to themselves than has already been done.

Reybe burst out, "Xilbalba, the city of the dead." Hadge hadn't realized they were so close, as his eyes surveyed the shiny black metropolis, like something from out of Greek mythology, stretching higher than the limits of the murky brume lingering above all the cities. And even still the sounds of construction carried onward, surely making room for new souls.

Handfuls of the citizens flogged to the edge of the city, all curiously wanting to catch a glimpse of the disturbance. They kept asking again, and again, "What's going on?" Seeming hopeful as they asked, "Has someone escaped?" Time and again the reavers would send them back from whence they came, as they jabbed the spectators with spears. Hadge and Reybe swiftly blended into one of the crowds, inching their way unseen, and deeper into the city.

Most of the inhabitants of Xilbalba appeared to be children. They were all dressed in dirty rags, peculiarly wearing deteriorated masks that the white paint and smiles had long since faded, making gender an impossibility to guess. The children frolicked through the long antiquated streets, some playing tag, as their haunting laughter resounded eerily in every direction. While agitated voices around them hushed, "Shhhhhhhh..." Someone saying, "Don't let them catch you playing."

Then Hadge started to notice the hum of his name, which was randomly being whispered Here and there, "Hadge." They said, "Its Hadge." Some seemed in disbelief, "Is that really Hadge?" Still others said, "Its him." Awkwardly his name was renowned among the damned, some condemning, "They're looking for him." Reybe nervously tugged at Hadge's arm, asserting the fact, "I think we should get out of here." Hadge agreed, "I think your right."

Suddenly the residents of Xilbalba began to uneasily scatter, being in his presence was similar to committing a crime. All the words had now shockingly exchanged into sounds, people gasping at his presence, others screaming in fear. The sounds escalated to the point they were no longer hiding.

Not long in coming were the demons, which pursued the alarming screams. The demons had generated even greater discord among the citizens, thrashing their weapons this way and that. Residents panicked, running every which way, amid this utter turmoil a young girl was trampled, her mask broken in half.

Hadge was quickly at her side offering a helping hand, and asking, "Are you alright?" The girl cowered from his touch, as her mask fell away, and revealed the real person beneath. She had large black round eyes, eyelashes and brows gone, with two oddly mismatched holes where the nose used to be, and the remainder of her dried skin and mouth stitched into place, as if it were the lasting remnants of humanity.

Reybe interrupted, "Lets go. They don't want our help." The girl had quickly picked up the pieces of her mask, and dashed off into the crowds. Hadge realized Reybe was right, these people were conditioned in fear, so the only help they actually needed was for him to leave, and repeated the only sane idea, "Lets go."

Everywhere the din of the demons grew increasingly louder, as more and more arrived every second, and it was plainly not safe to be here. Reybe gruffed at Hadge, "This way." Then the two briskly started to make their way through the crowds, heading back in the direction of the forest.

A oddly familiar male voice radiated from somewhere amid the chaos, "Hadge!" Hadge momentarily stopped, and searched the faces in the crowd, but all he could see were those damnable masks.

Suddenly a heavy hand weighed down upon his shoulder, and his thoughts instantly imagined some kind of demon. At once Reybe began to growl at the perpetrator. Hadge turned on the unknown creature, only to discover one of the masked citizens standing before him. Uneasily the masked figure notified him, "You shouldn't be here." The words were like a light going off in Hadge's head, and he knew who was behind that mask. "Come..." The mask figure leads them to a nearby alley, as the shadows quickly engulfed them, and the man removed his mask. Visibility in the alley was next to nothing, but the identity of the man was clear for all to see, it was Nibbs.

Nibbs straight away began to scold Hadge, "What are you doing here?" But nary waited for a reply, as he continued the verbal assault, "I gave up my life to save you, and you repay me by walking right into Hell!" Hadge tried to speak over the ranting little man, however he got nowhere until he screamed his name, "Nibbs!" Reybe gave Hadge a discerning look, remarking, "I think he's crazy." Nibbs sounded quite confused, "Huh?" He asked, "What?" Hadge chuckled, and said, "Just calm down." Nibbs let out a sigh, saying, "Yea, your right."

Then Nibbs began raving about something else, "Oh, Normie is going to be looking for me." Hadge questioned, "Normie?" Nibbs responded, "Yea, Normie is my friend. She's been here close to fifty years." Hadge was quite surprised, saying something on the order of, "If this is all the new arrivals, I wonder how old the rest of them are?" Reybe had thought the same thing.

Without warning Nibbs grabs a handful of sludge from the ground, moving in Hadges direction, telling him, "Lets get you covered up." Hadge tried to hold him back, arguing, "What are you doing?" Nibbs declaring, "You're too bright." He said, "Your like a light bulb." Reybe held his hands up laughing, and settled to the same opinion, "He's right." Hadge started to argue once more, but ended up with a mouth full of sludge.

Now it was two against one, as Nibbs and Reybe slung mud at Hadge. "Stop!" Hadge shouted, as he unsteadily teetered against the shiny stonewall of a building, and oddly his clothes mimicked the black shine of the rock. Reybe and Nibbs did stop, looking at the clothes as if in shock, asking each other, "Did you see that?"

Suddenly a tall dark menacing shadow appeared from out of nowhere, one of the demons had found them. Hadge realized they were cornered, with nowhere to run. Nibbs turned around gasping at the tall dark figure, even as Reybe was instantly on all fours growling at the intruder. Hadge tried to reason with the beast, as he could sense his divine power coursing through his veins, "You know what the Hadge can do. Leave now, and I wont hurt you."

The shadowy figure had no intentions of leaving, as its movements were faster than the eye could see. One by one the trio was rendered unconscious, as Hadge desperately struggled to flee from the expanding darkness, until he could no longer fight the hold it had on his head. All that was left was darkness.

Chapter 11: The Bowels of Hell.

Deep within the consuming blackness, he couldn't move, he couldn't speak, as the incredible fear gripped his heart, and the strumming palpitations were the only things functioning in this fragile plane. A steady hum began to vibrate between each palpitation, as the inaudible sound slowly grew louder, until the blustering hum could at last be heard. The rasping, roaring voice of the wind was now making sense, as the gusts collectively formed, and called out his name, Hadge...Hadge recognized his name, but couldn't be sure if he'd even heard a voice at all.

"Carrissa is imprisoned with Lillith." It was a confirmation that there really was a voice, which echoed from somewhere beyond his reach. Hadge in turn tried to speak, however thinking the words were as far as he got, "Who's there?" Uncannily the voice amended a more personal level, calling him by his name, "Hadge."

He desperately wanted to answer them, because it could be one of his friends, until a darker thought came to mind, "The Devil knows my name." The voice felt closer than ever before, as it continued to speak, "You can't save her now." Hadge would not give up on Carrissa, as he wanted so much to scream to the top of his lungs, and the agonizing word buzzed in his head, "Noooooooooooo!" He could only believe the voice was the doctrine of the dark, the insanity into nothingness, with the darkness trying to prevail in the end, but the end will be of his own making.

"Noooooooooooo!" Hadge sat up screaming, as he looked in all directions trying to find the origin of the voice, however there was no sound other than his own voice, and the steady pulsating of the burgeoning city. High and low the shiny blackness that amalgamated all of Xilbalba was erected around him, as the semblance of the alley was now gone, and a strange new enclosure had taken its place.

The ceiling appeared to go on evermore, as landing upon landing stretched as far as the eye could see, amassed with rows of brimming bookshelves, with each landing supported by artfully carved columns, all encased in a circular room.

Then Nibbs crawled from behind a nearby bookshelf. He was rubbing his head, groaning, "What happened?" Reybe trailed close behind, letting out a low growl at something in the room. "I don't...." Hadge started to respond, however faltered when he remembered the tall shadowy figure from the alley.

At once he followed the sound of Reybe's growls, sure something wasn't quite right, as his gaze fell upon an oddly lit column, and he knew someone was in the room with them. He jumped to his feet, with his dagger in hand, forcefully demanding the unknown assailant, "Who are you?"

The menacing figure stood stock still, with its back to them all, a sign who ever it may be, it was not afraid. After several long seconds the cloaked figure slightly moved its head in Hadges direction, titillating the encounter with a question, for a question, "The more important question is who are you?" Hadge didn't want to play games; angrily growling, "Why did you bring us here?" The strange figure scoffed, as if it were apparent, "To save your lives." Reybe grumbled at the idea, "Don't believe him!" Hadge was now even more confused, and simply asked, "Why?"

All of a sudden the shadowy figure turned to face them, man or beast you couldn't tell, since every inch of the figure was covered in a long dark cloak. The creatures tone assertive, "Because." It proclaimed, "I heard you were the Hadge."

Protectively Reybe began to lunge at the figure, still growling, "Demon!" Hadge yelled at the dog to stop, "Reybe!" He ordered, "No!" However Hadge had a creepy feeling there was more to this figure than met the eye, as he moved ever so cautiously around the room in hopes to glimpse what was beneath the cloak, and said, "Tell me about this so called Hadge."

Nibbs abruptly shouted from across the room, which had absolutely nothing to do with what was happening at the time, "I wonder if these are like the picture books you found in Harbinger?" Then he carelessly started to dust one of the ancient books.

Poignantly the shadowy figure screeched at Nibbs, "Don't touch the books!" In the blink of an eye the dark creature was at Nibbs side, and snatching his fingers from the dust covered book. Nibbs was in a state of shock, staring at the figures hand, and falling backwards over a stack of books, even as he exclaimed, "Demon!"

Hadge was rather confused on how the creature reached one side of the room to the next in less than a second, suspecting the figure may very well be a monster. He hadn't the time to ask, even as he too crossed the room, standing between the figure and Nibbs hissing, "Stay where you are."

Hadge wanted to know what was so important about one dusty old book, as he turned briefly to glance at the spine, and even through the dust he could see the same horrific title from the book of Elysium. It was another copy of the Edge of Darkness. "Oh my Yahveh." He incredibly whispered, with his mouth hanging open, and finding it hard to believe.

Then his vision skipped from book to book, each one with the same terrible title, as his eyes perused the shelf, and realized there could be hundreds, maybe thousands of copies here in Hell. He started to wonder why they were all here, no doubt stolen from their worlds, and assuredly concluded it had to be the Devil's ploy to harvest souls.

Hadge stepped passed the shadowy figure, his trembling hand prepared to touch the devilish spine, certain the figure would stop him, yet the figure never said a word. Within seconds his finger was pressed against the spine, inaudibly petitioning, "Where are you from?"

Suddenly it was a choir of different voices, as each book ethereally answered, "I was taken from Zenith." Then a mans deep voice said, "Culmen here." And the list went on and on, Halcyon, Avalon, Welkin, Saturnia, Nirvana, Hyaline, Vertex, Steep, Kakotopia, Meridian, Summit, Firmament, Dystopia, Arcadia, Bliss, Felicity, and Canaan, however the list was endless.

Hadge sharply stopped at Canaan, the name rung a bell, remembering that the evil Churl had come from that world. He removed the book of Canaan from the shelf, as its black leathery texture was molded into many grimacing faces, surely a similarity to the sheol, but wondered how callous a man could be to destroy their own world. The most heartbreaking thing was that all the innocent people had to suffer for one mans sins, as Hadge swore, "If I make it out of Hell alive. Canaan will be next on my list."

Aptly Hadge digested the fact that the stranger knew the books were deadly to everyone but a Hadge, and he was interested to know, "How did he know?" Then intently looked up at the mysterious figure, trying to work everything out in his mind, "He may be an eyewitness, or even a key." Then his mind darkly suggested, "He could be exactly like Churl. After all he moved across the room with lightning speed." His thoughts suspiciously wagering, "I bet he's evil to the core." And wanted to know this strangers secrets, as he staunchly glared at the silken hood, addressing whomever lain beneath, "Really" He asked, "Just who are you?" Nibbs cried from the opposite side of the room, next to Reybe, "I told you it's a Demon!" Holding up his gashed finger, "It attacked me!"

Nonplussed the stranger strode to the center of the room, stroking a display case with an extremely old book inside, as he responded, "No one." However the sad inflection within his voice said otherwise, "I've been trapped here longer than I can remember." He sighed as if in contemplation, while his voice quivered, "My world died, along with everyone I've ever known." Hadge wasn't surprised, questioning the stranger, "What was the name of your world?" The stranger tensed up, reluctantly answering, "Eden." Hadge laughed, even as he announced, "Eden didn't die. It was the only world Yahveh had given a second chance." The stranger seemed to stiffen with this new knowledge, but didn't say another word.

Hadge walked the distance separating him and the stranger. Then looked down at the tattered book of Eden just beneath the glass, and compassionately patted the stranger on the arm, offering, "I can try to help you get home."

The stranger stormed across the room, angrily spitting, "There's no help for me!" Hadge was bewildered by his behavior, "Why do you believe that?" The stranger enlightened him to the truth, "Lillith the key of Eden made a pact with the Devil. For everlasting life, but the monstrosity she became drove her mad. Even the Devil could not control her, so he locked her away." He breathed heavily, "However not before they had taken people from all era's of my world. Each of us was shackled to Hell by Lilliths psychic chains. Unless she is dead, or releases us, we cannot leave."

Then Hadges thoughts were in overtime, "Lillith is the key to Eden. This man just got caught in the war between good and evil." That name sounded so familiar, "Lillith..." When he remembered, it was like a punch in the stomach, "Carrissa is trapped with Lillith." And he suddenly felt sick.

The tall stranger nervously paced about the room, stating, "We can't stay here much longer." Reybe agreed, "He's right." He growled, "I can hear them getting closer." Nibbs crying, "If they find us. We'll all be dead." Hadge reminded him, "You're already dead." Nibbs refined his choice of words, "Death for the dead is most horrible." The stranger concurred, "He's right. Its worse than any punishment beset by sins." Reybe soundly barked, "I hear them!" Nibbs recoiled behind them all, howling, "What are we going to do?" The stranger hissed, "Be silent..."

Hadge swiftly shoved the book of Canaan in his pocket, going from shelf to shelf of the library, and searched for any other ways out of the room. However he could only see one way in or out, as he glanced upwards at all the landings, and asked the stranger, "Where does that go?" Regretfully the stranger replied, "Its merely an illusion." He pointed out the shiny black stone of the ceiling and floor, stating, "They mirror each other." Hadge looked at the mirrored surface, as the floor had the same ongoing appearance of landing after landing as the ceiling, but the only railing was a decorative rail next to the ceiling, grumbling, "Of all the dumb..."

Anxiously Reybe started to bark at Hadge, "They're coming! They're coming!" Nibbs started to shriek, "Do something." The stranger yelled, "The doors!" Hadge rushed to the double doors, placing one hand on each stone door, as the heat from his hands change the consistency of the doors, and melded doors and frame soundly together.

Almost immediately he could hear the hellhounds on the other side sniffing here and there, and then scratching at the immovable object. Nibbs shrieking again, "Their here!" They all backed away, hearing even heavier footsteps walk up to the doors.

BANG! BANG! The explosive noises resounded terrifyingly throughout the chamber. BANG! BANG! BANG! The walls and floor rocked like an earthquake, as bits and pieces of dust and rock hailed athwart their heads. The stranger shouting, "Its not going to last much longer!" BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Suddenly the melded rock shattered like glass, as the jagged opening invited the evil right in.

Posthaste the vile monsters emerged from the outer darkness, as shelves and books were flung athwart the room, and Reybe had been trapped beneath a bookcase. Hadge rushed to save his friend, pushing and pushing at the rock shelf, yet his inferior strength could not budge the object. He was caught unawares as two strange-clawed hands joined to shift the bookshelf, as he twisted to see where the hands led, they belonged to the shadowy stranger, and Hadge couldn't help but wonder, "What have they done to him?" The bookcase was slammed against the wall, as the stranger pulled Reybe to safety, asking, "Are you alright?"

Suddenly Nibbs squealed somewhere behind them, as a vampire held him precariously above a pack of hellhounds. Hadge released a burst of sunlight throughout the room, merely disabling the demons sight, whereas Nibbs was dropped hard onto the floor, although still not out of harm's way.

Hadge and the stranger pulled Nibbs from amid the dazed hellhounds. The stranger shouting, "We should try to make to the exit while they are blinded!" But it was already too late, as the demons were already regaining their sight, and the hellhounds were now growling at them.

Oddly the ethereal voice of a young girl spoke up, as if continuing her story from earlier, "The young hero was at odds at what to do next, until he heard the young girls voice speak, and wondered where the sound was coming from." Hadge did wonder, as his eyes fell upon the book of Eden lain on the floor, sure the girl was speaking from that very book.

Quickly he snatched up the book, battering the hellhounds, watching them die one by one. At last he realized it was futile, as more and more demons replaced those that had fallen, and forced Hadge and the others into a corner.

Hadge took a protective position out front; feeling the sunlight rapidly engorging his body, and he shouted angrily at the Demons, "Dare if you might! But you just might die!" The warning did nothing to stop them from moving closer. The stranger alerted Hadge to an unnoticeable detail, "Your clothes." Hadge looked at the fabric of fate, oddly it mimicked the black shine of the wall yet again, and he wondered what was going on.

Abruptly Nibbs fell through the wall behind them, screaming from just outside the building, "Hadge!" Then Hadge rapidly come to realize that the fabric must create some kind of strange portals. Without further thought he ordered them all, "Get through that wall!" Each leapt through the weird portal wall, as he followed the last of them through.

Securely through to the other side, the barrier promptly solidified behind them. Errantly they were disposed in the heart of the black streets of Xilbalba, amidst the oddly masked inhabitants that manically began to scream, and scattered like frightened animals. The stranger was on his feet trying to calm them down, "Its ok...everything's ok..."

BANG! BANG! The fierce pounding sound echoed from inside the wall. BANG! BANG! BANG! All those demons were now a demolition crew, compromising the walls stability. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! The deteriorating wall was the only thing separating them from the monsters, as tiny fragments of dust and rocks chipped from the exterior.

BANG! The explosive bombardment formed a fracture from one side of the wall to the next. BANG! BANG! Hadge frantically shouted, "Run!" Conversely his words were too late. The barrier had buckled, bursting a giant hole in the wall, as huge chunks of black stones flew out into the busy street.

One particularly large stone struck Hadge in the back, reeling him face first against the stony pavement, as he helplessly lay there bleeding. "Hadge!" Somewhere Nibbs screamed his name, sounding miles and miles away.

Hadge could hardly breathe let alone move, as he lay crudely like a rag doll, still weakly trying to tell the others, "Runnnn..." Something dark moved just at the corner of his vision, inching its way his direction. He was convinced it couldn't be any of his friends; each had to have been hurt in the blast.

Powerfully the dark creature grabbed him by the back of the neck, its gravelly voice telling him, "Hold still." He couldn't just lie there and die, as he desperately demanded his body to move, but experienced only the bitter defeat of pain. In that industrious moment he was easily lifted by the nape of the neck, just as a vampire's large insectoid limb nailed the ground hard where he had once been located. All he could do is gasp at the proximity of the demons leg.

Suddenly he realized he was moving, being dragged mercilessly through the streets, as he tried to fight against the being with all his might. Then he started to wonder why the creature was running away from the other demons, were they saving him, or maybe taking him to the Devil. No matter how the story ends he needed to know if this dark creature were his savior or executioner.

Hadge bent and twisted against the monsters grip, just for one glimpse of his captor, as he began to notice its heavy growling breath that labored as they moved along, sounding very much like one of those demons. Hadge's body a slave to the motion was thrashed among the monsters nomadic robes, at times caught between the dark billowing folds of the fabric, only to discover there was naught a torso inside. Hadge started to freak out, as his thoughts stammered, "What...what is this thing?"

A startling, much louder growl wafted from the creature, however the sound was quite irregular, at times muffled. That's when Hadge noticed something dark beyond the billowing robes, as if something else was in the monsters opposite hand. At once it all made sense; the growls were coming from the other hand, and not the monster. Reybe was in the monsters other hand, most likely struggling as much as he had been. Then he wondered why the creature had wanted Reybe, even as his thoughts right away fell to Nibbs, "Where's Nibbs?"

Madly he searched throughout the assassin's robes for the grubb, only just choking out his name, "Nibbs?" Strangely he discovered something greatly important, as the book of Eden was tucked in the creature's robes. Hadge was curious how it got there, and who could've touched it, since there was only one other person who knew the book was deadly, the shadowy stranger. Finally he knew who had saved him and Reybe from the demons, however his mind still was not at ease, questioning the reality of the situation, "Just how safe are we with this stranger?"

Hadge's thoughts squarely returned to Nibbs, wondering what happened to him, and just how safe he was at this very moment. He couldn't help but worry, because Nibbs was nearly as bad as Uwee about getting into trouble. Without delay he yelled the grubbs name yet again, "Nibbs!"

Promptly the stranger answered, "He escaped into the crowd." Hadge began to relax considering the stranger may be right, after all Nibbs was wearing one of those strange masks, and could easily slip into the crowds of Xilbalba.

"Hadge!" A voice wildly screamed his name. Now the demons were sure to find them. "There he is!" The voice continued to scream his location, just as a masked figure could be seen through the crowds, and he knew the traitorous Nibbs was the one yelling. "Hadge!" Nibbs screamed, "Hadge!" The voice was getting further away, "He went that way!" Hadge could hardly believe the grubb was ratting them out. "Hadge is there!" The words were getting harder to hear, as if he were running in the opposite direction. He shouted again, but the words were too far away to make out, "He ran into the mines!"

Suddenly there was a huge explosion, which rocked nearly all of Xilbalba. Voices in the crowd clamoring, "It was the mine!" They said, "The mine exploded!" Instantly Hadge knew Nibbs had a hand in the explosion. Possibly trying to create a diversion, and distract the Demons away from their real target. Nevertheless he could hear the persistent sounds of the hellhounds still following them, certain Nibbs plan had failed.

Step by risky step they had left the city, and cover of the crowds. Bolting into the surrounding crag lands once more, as the crags and trees only offered minimal coverage. Hadge was convinced that even if the demons couldn't see them, they would hear the sound of every crunching footstep. The stranger fretfully huffed, "If we can only reach the lake." Hadge sighed, "The lake..." Recalling that the swirling red lake amassed in the center of the forest, but seriously wondered how that could help. Terrifyingly an army of crunching footstep could be heard in the crags, demons of all shapes and sizes, as the hellhounds brisk steps were quickly catching up to them, and the high pitch of their barks were every bit as piercing. The stranger nervously glancing behind them, saying, "We're not going to make it."

Hadge knew they needed time, as he sent a burst of sunlight trailing behind them, and the cancerous trees quadrupled in size, congesting the trees into one continuous obstruction. Momentarily the sounds of the hellhounds began to wan, stuck behind a wall of trees, but surely it wouldn't take the clever beasts long to find a way past.

The stranger ran nonstop through the eerie forest, stronger than a man, more agile than most animals, with exhaustion the least of his worries. He informed the others, "We're almost there!" However he never would've had to say a word, because the roar of the waterfall was abundantly clear, as tiny scarlet flecks of spray freckled their skin.

Suddenly the sounds of trees crashing echoed through the crag lands, as the sounds of the hellhounds once again became widespread, seeming to move faster than ever before. The chase was relentless through the remainder of the crags, as the hellhounds were closing in. At last the lake came into view, as the blood swirled round and round, and all the people were screaming for help. The stranger informing everyone, "We have to jump in the lake." Hadge started to argue, thinking there surely had to be another way, but the piercing sound of the hellhounds made the strangers plans seem ideal.

Thereupon the heavy crunch of footsteps swiftly gathered around them, just as the stranger half turned in the direction of the sound, and dozens of hellhounds were viciously hunched and growling. Immediately the ferocious animals all collectively attacked the stranger at once, knocking each and every one in the bloody tarn.

Within the red plasma matter Hadge fought to reach the surface, fought desperately for an ounce of air, gagging and choking on the thick mucous fluid. At last he broke that unholy surface, bobbing in the midst of the throes of agony and despair, as thousands of hands groped to drag him back under, and the misbegotten way ahead was again lost.

Hadge had lost sight of Reybe and the stranger in the fall, amid the blood, and wayward bodies. Although he could still hear the mulish howls of the hellhounds circling around him, drifting aimlessly with the current, around and around. He was literally drowning in a sea of terrified bodies, as their faces kept changing, but their pleas remained the same, some crying, "Help me!" Others moaning, "Please help me!" Still they beseeched, "I don't belong here." All nearly pulling Hadge beneath the foul murky liquid, as he fought and choked for meager amounts of air, and the hands continued to pull him down, to the peak of confusion that whirled him dizzily around and around.

Face after face rotated rapidly passed, people with large heads, enlarged eyes, tiny slits for mouths, holes for ears, elongated necks, each of the faces otherworldly, as the throng of bodies around him were actually different humanoids, and Hell is the melting pot of all worldly sins.

Abruptly a soured breath squarely heaved in Hadges face, as a man was nose to nose with him, and had latched his arms and legs about his body. Hadge fought to loosen the mans grip, yelling, "Get off me!" Nonetheless he wouldn't let go. The mans head easily whipped from side to side as they tumbled throughout the lake, most likely because of his abnormally elongated neck, in all probability from the world of Canaan.

They were swept to the edge of the frightful vortex, beholding the black yawning abyss at the center, nearly half dead from fright, but still they were forced deeper into the powerful maelstrom. Deeper and deeper they went until they were sucked into the bloody navel of the lake, sucked into the endless quarry of darkness, and the endless suffuse of suffocation. Hadge had fought against the darkness for as long as he could, as the repetitive motion swept him in and out of consciousness, and a sense of falling permeated throughout his entire body, being hurled perhaps to his death. The debauchery of control is purely a delusion of the mind's eye, like a straw in the wind, a slave to the fall, and all that is left is to pray.

Strange strangled cries were embedded in this unknown centriole, compiled with the hollow sounds of bare flesh being smacked time and again. All at once something slimy slid against Hadges arm in-flight, after that he felt the same disgusting matter slide against his other arm, swearing whatever was out there had to be ungodly. Ungodly or not, the fall could kill him, and soon tried to latch onto whatever was out there in an effort to slow his descent. Over and over the slime squished through his fingers, as the murkiness kept the creatures unseen, and he started to notice whatever was out there was in turn trying to grab at him.

Suddenly Hadge caught hold of one of the creatures, barely clinging to what he thought were the things shoulders. He could feel the soft fleshy decayed texture beneath his palms slowly begin to tear away, as he desperately fought to cling to this creature, while his hands little by little slipped down over what felt like a limb, and his mind was instantly queued to the fact that he was clinging to a dead body.

Right away the arm flinched, as Hadge was utterly horrified that this body was still alive. After several grueling minutes his eyes adjusted to the sickly glow from the firestorm of Hell, its odd flames burning black. During that time he became aware that there were thousands upon thousands of silhouetted bodies hanging everywhere in the midway, each suspended by their tongues. Hadge knowingly whispered, "The room of liars..."

A startling hand readjusted around Hadges waist, as he realized he still had his hitchhiker from Canaan, certain the extra weight was why he was losing his grip. Inch by inch the worm infested tissue continued to tear, as the loosened devil worms pelted Hadge in the face, seeing that he spat and spitted to keep the disgusting creatures from his mouth. In the end muscle and all tore from the decaying body, reeling them back into the constant flow of raining blood, as well as lost souls.

The feeling of falling in the endless depths of darkness curdled his senses once more, as the art of breathing was hindered by aimless smoldering particles. They were specks of orange embers in the pitch black; growing heavier the deeper he fell. Although all he could do is wonder "What happened to Reybe?" And, "What happened to the stranger?" He could only be sure of one thing they were somewhere out there among the sea of people, all crying, clinging to anything they possibly could hold onto.

All of a sudden searing pains stung Hadges flesh, again and again. One minute he's falling in the muddle of darkness, in the next his body springs upwards from an unknown source, and back again. He was no longer falling, as he could feel pain all over his backside, curious what was holding him in place. In reaction Hadge attempted to turn his head, trying to see what was holding him in mid-air, as the prickling of pains on his scalp were beyond comprehension. Nonetheless he discovered what had imprisoned him here, as the outlines of a strange black netting stretched further than the eye could see, but the sticky netting was as strong as wire, with every inch barbed.

That's when Hadge noticed his hitchhiker was caught several feet above him, seeing only a portion of the mans face, and that he could only see four feet in any direction around him. Still there were others suspended in the wires, by the sounds there were thousands here, maybe millions. The older bodies appeared to be wrapped in the same barbed wire, as the wire was thickly deposited over genital areas, and cut deep into the wormy flesh. The barbed wire was not the end of their suffering, as ebony fire and embers rose up periodically cooking the skin.

A vibration constantly could be felt through the wire, like someone walking on a tight rope. When the vibrations intensified blood curdling screams would always seems to follow, and Hadge was positive something else resided here besides all of the damned. He desperately tried to wriggle from the wire that terrifyingly started to look more like webbing than wire or netting, as it ripped his flesh. He was positive the wire was meant exclusively for pain.

Uncannily the sounds of clicking haunted Hadges memory, but he just couldn't place it. Eerily that same clicking reoccurred from the murky ends of the webbing, as another clicking resounded elsewhere, and another from far below, until he could pick out a hundred separate clicks, possibly more. He was certain it had to be demons. Still the ungodly screams came closer and closer, as he desperately tried to break free once more, and the debilitating pain on top of pain was more than he could handle.

Out of the blackness something fell in front of him, dangling by a barbed thread, as if it were an example for him to see. Quickly he realized it was the hitchhiker, his body viciously wrapped tightly in the barbed wire, cutting deep into his flesh, as the man weakly pleaded, "Please help me..."

Hadge began to have an eerie feeling that all this reminded him so much of the spiders on Ennead Mountain. His inner voice informing him that this was the lair of the succubus, creature's half-human half-arachnid, evil spiders that burgeoned upon the moral judgment of flesh. This is where the lustful suffer for all eternity, paying for their sins. The feeling of pleasure in every sexual sense is subsisted into pure pain, which innervates every miniscule nerve, as the succubus sadistically preys upon the sinners in this musty lair in every abominable way.

Suddenly the vibrations of the wire grew increasingly stronger, and he knew what was there without seeing, but where was the problem. The murky darkness gave nothing away, as he was terrified of what was lurking in the darkness. Then something huge emerged from the murk, a hideous demon, with the shape of a spider. The humanistic succubus had four enormous black eyes, rows of sharp pointy teeth, as its leathery human-like skin went from gray to black as it evenly merged from human to spider, and all across its blackened thorax were bizarre half-human half-spider like limbs. The succubus was neither male nor female, and this one had its sights set on Hadge.

The succubus had come to judge the extent of his sins, as he desperately tried to break free, and the barbs cut deeper into his skin. Eerily the succubus had settled over him, as its humanlike face distorted to expose row after row of long sharp teeth. Hadge almost swearing that he saw it smile, just before its sharp two inch long teeth sunk into his neck, and the monsters legs hugged his body, extracting him from the web. Hadge fought tooth and nail against the beast; as panic promptly began to burn through his veins, and oddly he could sense the succubus's hold slightly falter.

Abruptly his entire body burned brighter than any sun, feeling his divine heat start to rise, even as his life force slowly began to wither, and his exhaustive thoughts could merely wonder, "Am I going to die?" In a turning point Hadge bellowed, "Noooooooooooooo!" He would not allow himself to die, not now.

Wildly the sunlight burst form every pore of his body, disintegrating the monster before his very eyes, as the whole horrendous midway was as bright as a sunny day, and the barbed webbing melted like butter. Hadge was falling once more. However his thoughts returned to all the sinners that remained trapped in that horrible lair, continually being preyed upon, an eternity of unending pain, and penance for their lustful sins.

It seemed like a never-ending fall, as his thoughts had time to imagine all sorts of endings, would he die at the bottom, or was there some kind of terrible creature there waiting to rip him apart, maybe a vampire would pick him right out of the air, there were infinite possibilities.

Gradually a malodorous stench became overwhelming, a vile combination of smells, from sulfur, to defecation, vomit, body odors, death, and the list of smells were unrelenting. The deeper Hadge fell the more unbearable the heat, as the blindingly increasing smoke and cinders obstructed everything around him. The air satiated with stench and debris was overpowering, churning Hadges stomach, but even in his sickened state he could see several large figures stirring below him, something was there.

Abruptly through the smoke he came face to face with the ground, as his body formed to the shape of the bottom of a large rancid mud puddle. Hadge groaned, not sure how many more beatings he could withstand. Then weakly pushed himself upright, hardly able to stand the smell of his body, as his eyes were the only things clearly not covered in the brownish sludge. He nervously blinked several times, trying to take a closer look at the large figures moving just out of sight, muttering, "What is that?"

The haze boiled ominously before his eyes, as a hail of droplets unremittingly pelted this vile place, a storm of blood, vomit, mucous, urine, flesh, and feces, which all horrifyingly accumulated within the thick sludge on the ground. On the double he knew that it wasn't a mud puddle that had cushioned his fall, as he felt his stomach practically lurch, and he urgently tried to wipe the putrid waste from his body.

Gllyaaaaaaaaaaaack! Gurgle! Gyaaaaack! Sssplop... Unexpectedly something had hit the ground, as whatever it was splattered a good distance away, landing on Hadges legs. "Yuck!" Hadge whooped, jumping back in an effort to avoid what sounded to be vomit, all the same it was already too late, and really he had no idea from which direction it had been expelled.

Suddenly he was aware that something huge was stirring amid the smoke behind him, even as he warily turned his head in the beast's direction, releasing a nervous breath. The breath seemed to divinely take on a life of its own, breaking up the smoke a fair distance around him, and revealing what truly what was out there.

The revolting mire was strewn with the huge immobile shapes, here, there, and everywhere. Each large shape had at once been human, as their corpulent bodies had amassed layers upon layers of fat, and were now too big to move. Their eyes were sewn shut in the essence to keep them inert, with a strange metal contraption forcing their jaws to stay open, so they could constantly be fed, and continue to grow. Hadge finding it inconceivable that the masses were even human, however he kept hearing them moan, groan, and flex as they vomited.

Then there were the emaciated humans, mere skeletons of themselves. Each were bound to one of the glutinous beings, mouths sewn shut, in eternal servitude, as they scraped the chunky sludge off the floor, and ceaselessly fed the glutinous souls. None of the souls even acknowledged he was there, or even cared, as they continued slaving, and eating. Hadge knew exactly where he was now; this is the warped province of self-subjugation.

Hadge relaxed a bit, certain he wasn't in immediate danger, well at least not from the souls of subjugation. The most pressing matter at the time was Reybe and the stranger; he needed to find out what happened to them, and the best way to do that was to start looking. All at once the smoke reappeared as oddly as it had disappeared, as Hadge tried the breath thingy, but it did not work. He would have to search for his friends in the smoke.

Little by little he stumbled through the smoky terrain, trying to avoid the people here, and detecting cracks of all sizes beneath his feet. The further he walked, the more depressed he felt, as the dismal cries had wheedled throughout his brain, eternally engraving millions of people's pain on his ever-lasting soul. Soon followed paranoia, as freakish images twisted before him in the haze, giant faces, spiders, figures that didn't exist, hellhounds, and he half expected something to jump out at him at any given moment.

Soon the odious gnarrs of hellhounds wickedly mirrored his every movement, although he could not see them, he knew they were out there. The terrifying sounds grew increasingly louder, as if they were searching every inch of ground, and he strongly believed that the pungent smell in this place might have impeded the demon dog's sense of smell. In and out the hellhounds moved through the changing thickness of fog, and he feared they would soon find him.

Suddenly one of the hellhounds appeared from out of the haze, then two, and a shadowy presence of a third. They were close enough Hadge could see every horrid detail of the beasts, as he pulled out his dagger, demanding the dogs, "Stay where you are!" Immediately the hellhounds were already bristling for the attack. "I'm warning you!" Hadge shouted, as the dagger flinched in his hand, and he could sense the onset of heat mounting throughout his body.

Swiftly the first hellhound ran in his direction, at the exact same moment someone yelled his name, "Hadge!" It was truly a moment of fear, until he was aware that that particular hellhound was his friend Reybe. Reybe shouting, "Move Hadge move!" However they could not move, as dozens of hellhounds had stepped from the haze, gathering all around the pair, and any escape looked less than likely.

Then a large dark mass came from above them, as its dangerous claws dug into their necks, and dragged them savagely through the muck. Hadge was gagging and choking yet again, but was quite convinced this had to be a vampire, and he would have to kill it so they could escape.

Within seconds the creature had crossed nearly half a mile, running headlong towards a crack big enough to fit one of the corpulent humans. Hadge started to scream, but it was too late. The beast had pulled them all through the giant crack, and they spiraled into a freefall. Nimbly the blackened mass spread what looked to be wings amid the thickening smoke, but never once lost the grip on his captives. Hadge knew this had to be one of those vampires, and decided to temporarily use it for a free ride, and then he would kill it.

Soaring among the smoke cluttered tempest, land and sky vanished from sight. Hadge knew by all accounts that the region of greed existed somewhere below. Those that ended up there were forever burdened to push an ever-expanding boulder, to simulate their growing greed. And still they were made to walk upon a wasteland of hot coals, which distributed the smoke upwards.

Hadge and Reybe dangled dangerously by the claws of this demon, as darkened shadows appeared within the smoke around them. A sure sign of vampires. Hadge didn't care how many there were, nothing could ever stand in his way to get to Carrissa.

Vampires emerged through the miasma of cinders, everyone assailing the creature Hadge and Reybe were clinging to. Hadge thought the behavior quite odd, attacking one of their own kind, as he seriously wondered why. He twisted around to see his captor, just as the strangers voice ordered, "Stay still!"

Then an onslaught of vampires swooped in, slashing at the stranger, as he quickly lost control, and they hurled ever downward. Still vampire after vampire picked away at them, as Hadge angrily shot bursts of sunlight in their directions, and the beasts quickly avoided the contact.

Suddenly they crashed. Hadge thoroughly convinced they all had to be dead, as he fought from beneath the strangers cloak, seeing the remnants of a strange blue light gently set them on the ground.

Quickly he looked under the stranger's robes, as the book of Eden was laid open, and he knew that's how they survived. Reybe got to his feet looking at the indentured extremities of the landscape, asking, "Where are we?" The stranger wiped the blood from the book of Eden, as he shoved it back into his robes, and answered, "I think it's the Blood Mountains north of the carrow fields." Hadge quickly asked the stranger, "How did you do that?" The strangers voice sounded bewildered, "Do what?"

Out of the smoke eight or nine vampires appeared, all swooping in for the final attack. At once Hadge expelled a burst of sunlight, rather like a shield, safeguarding against the ensuing attack. The vampires angrily screeched, carefully trying to claw at the burning light. Hadge was unsure how long he could keep this up, and only hoped they would eventually give up and leave, but he knew that would never happen.

Surprisingly the stranger gripped Hadges forearm, rumbling, "We need to get through that mountain." The brief memory of walking through a wall in Xilbalba replayed in his head, but he hadn't a clue how it happened, as he argued, "I don't know how." The stranger responded, "You're the Hadge."

His attention returned to the ever-increasing numbers of vampires, as one of the hideous beasts tried to fly headlong into the shield, turning to dust on impact. He knew something had to done, and done now, after all he was reminded that he is the Hadge.

Hadge utterly had no idea how to evaporate a wall, but he hoped that touching the object in question would help. He set his palms on the bloody surface of the mountain, as the extreme temperature burned his skin, but he knew he couldn't give into the pain, too many lives were at stake. The stranger coaxing him, "Concentrate." Hadge could sense the warm companion of the sunlight throughout his body, like a warm calming glove, as his breathing became shallow, and nothing seemed impossible. Then he directed that conviction to his hands, as the sense tingled to his fingertips, and the rock began to give way beneath his palms.

Abruptly his hand passed through the mountainside, as he shouted at the others, 'I've got it!" But in the process of doing so he had let down his shield, and the vampires were quick to realize. Hadge hadn't even the time to consider that they may be crushed once inside, because urgency left them no choice. He shouted, "Get inside!" First Reybe, followed by the stranger, who urged Hadge, "Come on."

Hadge swiftly backed into the hole in the mountainside, as his eyes remained affixed to one vampire attempting to dive-bomb them. The vampire lunged through the face of the hole, just as Hadge backed away even more, and the rock face began to solidify. Which trapped nearly the entire vampire in rock, only leaving the front of the vampires face, and an arm free to move.

Even so it still hissed and clawed at them. Hadge gave a curt wave to the demon from the safety of the bubble, saying, "It doesn't look like your day." The stranger urged, "We need to keep moving." Hadge agreed, starting to walk further into the mountain, as the bubble of safety followed his every move, and the vampire was now completely encased in rock. Reybe nervously stayed close to Hadge saying, "What a way to go." Hadge laughed, "Yea..." And said, "Looks like he's stuck between a rock and a hard place."

Hadge continued to walk in amazement, as he watched the rock vanish before them, and reappear behind. The only light within the mountain was the glow emanating from Hadges body, given that not a fragment of light could pass through its surface. Reybe ruffed, "Where do we go now?" The stranger spoke up, suggesting, "We should head for the carrow fields." Hadge was curious, "Why there?" The stranger was concise, "It's the only way to Lillith." Hadge didn't say another word, but finding directions inside a mountain was going to be a bit complicated.

Reybe nervously bumped into Hadge, again and again, as he stayed close to his master glancing at the shifting rock, growling, "What if we never get out of here?" Hadge snapped, "Don't say that!" But he had wondered the same horrible thing.

Each and every step maneuvered them downhill, walking for what seemed an eternity. Along the indubitable man-made cavern that dislodged countless devil worms that had bored into the mountain, falling beneath their feet. Reybe asked, "Do you think the Demons know where we are?" The stranger ruefully addressed the question, "Of course they do. After all we are inside the Devils domain." He informed, "We are nothing but vermin crawling inside and out. The Devils punishment for his heinous crimes. Our saviors reckoning had to be more fulsome." Answering at last, "The Devil knows everything that happens to his own body." Hadge spurned the idea, "You mean to tell us Hell is inside the Devils body?" The stranger hissed, "That's exactly what I said." Hadge disagreed, "No. I don't believe that." The stranger upheld the idea, "Punishment always fits the crime. What better way to punish the Devil, than to force him to be subservient to the very things he detested most." Hadge thinking, "It kind of made sense yet sounded so unbelievable." Then on the other hand he thought, "Everything along this journey has been unbelievable."

After walking what seemed a day, Reybe's stomach began to grumble, sounding crabby, "I'm hungry..." Hadge thought the same thing, as he joined in, "Me too." The stranger picked up a handful of devil worms, stating, "Here." He held the creepy crawlers towards Hadge and Reybe, telling them, "They have a nutty taste, and very nutritious." Hadge reluctantly shook his head, and said, "You really have been down here a while."

Hadge didn't know why, but the conversation made him think of the book of Eden, as he asked the munching stranger, "How did you pick up the book in your cloak?" The stranger seemed surprised, as he quickly picked a rock from inside of the mountain, and exclaimed, "We have to be close!" He held out the red sedimentary rock, showing how easily it crumbled in his hand, saying, "This rock layer is the same as the barrens."

Almost immediately the virtual elements of the rock had melted away, and they were now standing outside the foot of the mountain. They had stepped right out into the dry powdery dirt of the barrens, as the ruddy dust blew every which way. Hadge kicked at the strange dust beneath his feet, positive the dust in the barrens was not dirt at all, but rather millions of year's worth of ashes. Hadge looked a sickly white as he said, "This place is kind of creepy." Even as he thought about how many people it took to assemble the barrens.

They all fearfully looked out over the uneven terrain, sprinkled lightly with dwarf cancerous trees, bones, and crazed in various depths of cracks, each filled with a ginger glow. Reybe pointed out, "There's a road." Oddly the remains of an ancient road had settled as much as the broken terrain, but still the road led somewhere, all they would have to do is follow.

Hadge moved closer to inspect the stony path, having that old feeling of being watched. He nervously felt his heart race and his breathing become erratic, but nothing was out there. Nonetheless he found that the dry tainted air in this place was difficult to breathe, and raked at the back of your throat.

The stranger threw a piece of a pottery that he had found nearby, saying, "There used to be cities down here." He sighed looking in the direction of several strange rock formations, and finished his sentence, "Most have crumbled away." Hadge suddenly realized the rock formations in the distance were in fact the outlines of crumbling buildings. How many buildings he couldn't tell through the fiery storm that stirred dust and debris in all directions. Hadge simply asked without moving his eyes from the buildings, "Carrow fields?" The stranger pointed exactly in the direction he was already looking, and responded, "The carrow fields."

"Yeeeoooooooooooooow!" Hadge howled, jumping up and down, and screamed, "They're biting me!" Thousands of tiny dark red beetles had gathered beneath his feet, dispersing as he moved, vanishing in every crack and crevice around. The stranger picked up one of the iridescent beetles saying, "These are mephisto's, mature devil worms. If you stand too long in one spot the little buggers will come nibble on you." Then added a horrifying fact, as he flicked the beetle on the road, "They have been known to devour whole bodies within ten minutes." A chill crept up Hadges spine, as he warily glanced at either side of his feet, and said, "Well then, I think we should get moving." Hadge briskly set off, however uneasily watched every crack as he passed.

They walked and walked, for what seemed like hours, but the path never seemed any shorter. Every once in a while he would detect movement out of the corner of his eye, as he tried to explain it away, "It could have been some of those mephisto's, or a thick cluster of the blustery fire storm that raged around them." No matter what it was, it was truly unnerving, and happening more and more frequently.

Then something large slinked back into a nearby ravine, and was absolutely sure it wasn't the mephisto, but had to wonder, "What's out there?" The stranger answered as if he heard what he was thinking, "Carrow. The undead. They are much like the vampires, visteria, werewolves, witches and other unmentionables." He breathed, "Oh yes monsters are real. They are just some of the fallen angels whom were punished along with Satan. Their unearthly beauty replaced by the ugliness beating in their hearts. Feeding upon the living." He added, "The incarnation of their plague can be passed upon to the victims."

A chill crawled up Hadges spine, hesitantly stating, "Maybe I'm in the wrong place." He Glanced from Reybe to the stranger, sure he was the only one human here, and probably looked just like a hot meal. Reybe growled, "Me too." Then the stranger cryptically responded, "We are all in the wrong place, but the perception of time can change many things." Hadge eyed the stranger dubiously, because he'd sounded so much like the Angel, as they both had spoke of time as being ever-changing.

Suddenly they heard what sounded like a branch snap in close proximity. What was left of the hairs on Reybe's back stood on end, and he was instantly growling. Hadge could feel his hairs bristle on the nape of his neck also, as he still thought of the carrow. The stranger edgily affirmed what everyone was thinking, "Carrow..." Uneasily Hadge started to move in the direction from which the sound had come, but the stranger seized his arm saying, "Wait...Something's not right about this." Hadge answered, "Nothings right anymore."

Then he walked quite a few feet from the road, as the haze of the blowing storm kept visibility low. The only thing he could find in that general location besides all the cracks and crevasses was a small cancerous bush, as its branch still swung insecurely, and fresh blood dripped from its open wound. Something had definitely been here.

Eerily Hadge again had that intense feeling of being watched, but who was watching him. He looked out across the haze, seeing several indistinct shapes, which could be just about anything from bushes to terrain. Hadge blinked, seeing that there was even more figures than before, and knew it wasn't inanimate objects out there, and was certain they were all distantly watching him.

The stranger rushed, "We need to get out of here now!" Reybe growled even louder, expressing, "Demons..." Hadge pointed at the shapes in the haze, uttering, "They're all ready here." The stranger tensely on guard, declared, "We will not go down without a fight!" It felt as if they had marched straight into the hands of death, but why hadn't the carrow by now tried to attack them.

Out of the Haze an endless sea of carrow's appeared. Reybe growled wildly, literally turning in circles, because the creatures had now encircled them, herding them like cattle. The once indefinable shapes had become much clearer, and some even close enough to see their vacant stares. Blank colorless eyes stared from various degrees of rotting corpses, as some would be missing an ear, or fingers, and even limbs.

The stranger yelled, "Watch out! The carrow is a lot faster than you think!" Hadge sounded off as he too was turning in circles amidst the monsters, "Like the wind!" They were completely walled in, as the carrow imminently moved closer and closer, baring jagged rotted teeth, stained the color of leftover mephisto. Hadge certain he was to be the main course.

Suddenly the mephisto started to appear, because they had stood in one spot too long. Hadge was trying to fight them off, just as the stranger screamed, "Watch out!" Nonetheless a hand clawed at Hadges face, moreover he strangely felt out of sorts, hearing Reybe yelp, and the stranger getting the wind knocked out of him. From where Hadge had fallen on the ground he could see a hazy image hover over him, as its darkened outlines leaned in close, and he was sure death was to follow.

Then an oddly recognizable voice resounded from just out of sight, dictating, "Not him...." Odd mumbles came from every direction, rambling off into oblivion as the darkness consumed him, and the identity of the voice was now lost.

Hadge lingered in the blackened nightmare, as the slurred voices gradually resumed, however made no sense. A hand shifted beneath his back, and he was suddenly aware that he was awake now, but dared not to open his eyes. His mind running rampant, who's out there, what's going on? Even so he could feel his body being moved along. He had to know what was going on, as he bravely stole a peek from beneath heavy lids.

He was being hauled through a valley of open graves, each grave containing a single soul. Soul after crying soul were mere skeletons of their previous life, as devil worms ate at their flesh and bone, and the light of their inner soul had become dulled and dirty.

They had passed close by one of the souls, as its trembling hand reached out to Hadge, as if it had known who he was. The soul wept from burned out eye sockets, as its entire body was engulfed in constant black flames, despairingly begging him so, "Help me..." Hadge was overwhelmed by sadness, as his heart ached for what was left of the woman, for all she had left was pain and misery. At that time he knew exactly where they were, the valley of death. This is where the sins of heresy have been judged, and the punishment is eternal.

Hadge could take no more, shutting his eyes from the horrors, as the pain and agony of million and millions coursed through his skull, and the blackness overtook him yet again.

Darkness upon darkness devoured this place. Hadge was lost in that darkness, far from insanity, and despair. All at once droplets of light gathered around him like dew to a petal, as the darkness began to fade, and the sweet dulcet tone of the Angel encouraged, "Wake up..." She said, "Hadgggggggggggee..." Strangely her voice trailed like a whisper, but it wasn't a whisper, it was the wind. He could hear the hollow sound blow over his ears, like murmurs in the dark, and he knew now he was clearly awake. Even still the murmurs grew louder, as he realized it wasn't the wind at all, but rather the voices from the book of Canaan in his pocket, "Wake up." It implored, "Wake up Hadge." Still it insisted, "You're in danger!" Then all the voices demanded, "Open the pages and set yourself..."

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" A threatening shout could be heard above all else. It was followed by grunts and growls. Hadge felt numerous hands grope his body, as if they were searching for something. Then a voice lowly rumbled, "The books not here." The shouting voice blared, "You fools!" He snarled, "Those are threads of fate..."

Then the sinister shouting voice ordered, "Throw them in with Lillith!" Hadge recognized the churlish voice, even as the man eerily laughed, "Befitting for the Hadge to die by a daughter of Eden. Given that he was conceived as a result of its fall." The evil laugh sent a chill up Hadge's spine, as he could take no more, and leapt to his feet, bellowing at first and foremost, "Churl!!!"

Churl's malevolent laugher filled the long stygian cave, as he petulantly rasped, "So the divine runt decides to join us." The band of demons in the cave all cackled, mirthfully poking at his helpless friends laying in the center of the cavern, saying such things as, "Whatcha gonna do runt?" And still they jeered, "I'm sooooo scared." Hadge heatedly took a step in the direction of his friends crumpled bodies, his voice seething with anger, "Why are you doing all this?" Churl goaded, "What have I done?" Hadge hissed, "You know what you've done..." Thundering, "First Canaan. Then Elysium. How many other worlds have you destroyed?" Churl wickedly taunted, "They haven't died yet. They still have you." Then he glowered at Hadge and stated, "But maybe not for long." And added, "It seems your puny soul is worth a lot to the prince of darkness."

The book restlessly whispered, "If he gets your soul all hope will be lost, and every world will die in vein." Hadge couldn't let that happen, not now, as he responded indignantly, "I know..." Churl fumed at the voices, "Shut up you damn book!" The book continued to speak, "All these dying worlds are entangled in this trap to catch you." Churl snapping, "Shut up I say!" Still the book went on, "A war waged by the Devil to smite Yahveh." Churl insanely raged, "SHUT UP!"

Hadge tracked the sound of Churls voice, searching through the myriad of demons; knowing he had to be there somewhere. Now it was Hadge's turn to provoke his adversary, "Its funny how a few voices can drive a man mad." By that time Hadge could clearly see the evil man, he had been fully transformed into a sheol, as faces innocently stared from his flesh, some making noises, and Hadge ridiculed, "And it seems your way passed mad!" He chuckled, "Even beyond delirious."

Churl furiously moved forward, shouting defensively, "I'm not mad!" Hadge glared at Churl, wrathfully hissing, "What do you think the Devil will do with you when you're no longer useful?" Churl barked, "He promised..." Hadge quickly cut him short, castigating the madman, "A promise from the Devil means nothing." Churl laughed, "What do you know? You're just a puppet for Yahveh!" Hadge bitterly cracking, "Maybe you should just shut up!" Churl snickered and said, " Or what?" And dared the divine being, "Kill the key of Canaan?"

Just as a demon randomly hissed amid the fray, "I thought the Hadge would've been something extraordinary, but he's nothing more than a cowardly ape." Laughs circulated through the mash of demons, as they kept saying things such as, "Ape!" And, "He's a joke!" And still, "How could Yahveh think a disfigured runt could stand up to all the power of us?" Ha, ha, ha, snort, ha, ha!

Hadge started to wonder if the demons were right, maybe he was nothing but a useless deformity, but still he was going to find a way out of here. He could see the fiery winds blowing in through the exit, which was blocked by all the demons. The opposite direction was pitch black, and he had no idea what could be hidden away in the darkness, but he suspected it had to be Lillith. So which would be the lesser of two evils?

All at once Churl walked towards the exit, with a wave of his hand he ordered, "Throw them in!" Hadge's mind shouting, "Throw whom in?" He hadn't a clue to what the madman had meant, but it was now or never to escape, as he bellowed at Churl, "Let us go, or I will destroy you all!"

Churl smugly kept walking, seeming unaffected by the threat, "Not likely." Even as Churl's sinister laughter echoed throughout the cave, fading as he slowly moved towards the exit. The sound grated on Hadges nerves, as he yelled the evil mans name, "Churl!" He had a hard time keeping his anger in check, and he knew if he lost control everyone around him would be incinerated. Including his friends.

Treacherously the demons threw countless people into the long dark cave, piling them up one by one. Hadge hardly seemed to notice the people, he could only focus on Churl, yelling his name, "Churl!" Still he tried to get the madman's attention, "Churl!" Hadge rushed towards the exit, mindlessly screaming, "Churl!" Churl halted just outside the exit, followed closely by all the demons, and he turned to face the Hadge, saying, "Farewell."

Thereupon the muscular tissue of the exit tightly constricted, as Churl and the demons were closed off from sight, and all Hadge had left to do was pound on the fleshy exit screaming Churl's name, "Churl!" Hadge realized the unmitigated blackness had even eclipsed his hands, as the sense of no sight brought nothing but fear. The voices from the book tried to soothe, "Stay calm." He closed his eyes, as he tried to imagine he was asleep, and amazingly a calm poured over him. Then the young girl from the book continued his incredible tale, "The voices from the book whispered to the Hadge. Open the pages and set yourself free."

Hadge removed the book of Canaan from his pocket, feeling the distraught faces in the leathery cover beneath his fingertips. Each of the child-like faces all profoundly crying out for help, surely as if he was the one crying, pleading for help. Hadge shook the terrible feeling, as he opened the book, unsure of what to do next.

At once the blue fire leapt from the pages, instilling that faultless glow deep inside him, little by little unraveling the mysteries all around him. He could see past, present, and future all at once. Every world in some way affected another, and still the memories kept coming, up till the point of near exhaustion. At the near end Hadge fell to the floor gasping for an ounce of air, as the young girl whispered to him, "Exhausted, Hadge hadn't heard all the noises around him..."

"What?" Hadge mumbled in utter bewilderment, expecting the book to explain. At that moment he in fact did hear noises, rocks, swish of clothing, and growls. Quickly his head shot up, as his bluish inner glow had spread throughout the cave.

The humans were stumbling to their feet, as if they had inhaled crimson soama. It was evident that they were not punished souls, but rather filthy imprisoned humans, used for only Yahveh knew what. Recklessly the people all stumbled towards his glow, except they weren't just ordinary people, each was infected by the bites of various demons.

Hadge got to his feet, warningly holding the book outward, telling them all, "Stay back!" But his words were useless, just like his empty threat, as the rabble of beings assailed him. Each and every one of the vicious monsters pulled him back down to the floor, fighting amongst themselves to be the first at his tender warm flesh. Hadge fought and shrieked, "Noooooooooo!" The abstracted sound of a bark could be heard even through the grunts and the growls of the monsters. It had to be Reybe. "Hadge!" The stranger's bloodcurdling scream pierced through the barrage of bodies, as the monstrous humans flinched for a half a second, and continued to attack

Relentlessly the teeth of these people gnashed into his flesh, biting and tearing chunks away. Hadge screamed out in excruciating pain, hopelessly sure his journey would fall short here, until he heard a voice he waited so long to hear, "Hady..." It was just like a dream, Carrissa was calling out his name, and she was somewhere in this cave.

Suddenly he felt the desire to not give up so easily, not now, not after coming this far. "Noooooooooo!" He powerfully shrieked, feeling the strength of a hundred men course through his veins, as he effortlessly tossed each and every infected human aside. The monstrous humans were strewn everywhere, as their limpid bodies began to convulse, and he feared he might have killed them.

Instantly Reybe and the cloaked stranger were at his side. The stranger handed him the book of Canaan, as if he knew he needed it, and asked, "Are you alright?" Hadge looked towards the trembling bodies, breathlessly answering, "Yeah, but they don't look so well." The stranger glanced at the bodies as well, suggesting, "I believe your blood is reacting to the virus within them." Hadge wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, as he asked the worldly stranger, "Will they die?" The stranger sighed just before answering to the best of his knowledge, "Its really hard to say. But everything about the Hadge is pure and good, so I choose to believe Yahveh has a plan for those humans, and will let them live."

Then Reybe brushed up against his master, grumbling, "You look so bad." The stranger agreed, stating, "He's right. You should use the book." Hadge at first was surprised how much this stranger knew about the Hadge, and could only nod at what he had said, "Yes..." He uttered, as he cut a slit into the book, "Yes, you're both right." Then he proceeded to rub the blood over his wounds. Reybe pointed at his cheek, "You missed a spot." Hadge rubbed the missing chunks in his face, as he unexpectedly come to realize how many wounds he actually had, and that he truly did look bad.

"Hady!" The transient sound of Carrissa's voice had called out again. Her voice had come from somewhere in the depths of the darkness. Hadge stopped and focused on the pitch black, however the darkness gave none of its secrets away, not a sight, nor a sound could be heard. Hadge arose as if in a trance, placing the book in his pocket, and called out to the girl he knew from another lifetime, "Carrissa!" Reybe attempted to look him right in the eyes, and said, "Hadge." Although Hadge didn't take any notice, as he sidestepped the hound, and walked off towards the impenetrable darkness, breathlessly avowing, "I have to find her!"

The stranger chased after him, arguing, "It could be a trap!" Hadge kept walking, as he adamantly attested, "She is the reason I'm here!" The stranger establishing, "Then you're not going without us!" Reybe gruffed, "Its all or nothing."

Each darkened step through the long twisting cavern seemed more dangerous than the one before, as the canal like structure went one direction, and back again, over and over. Eerily the ventral enclosure around them responded to their every movement, recoiling and restricting as if it were alive. Everywhere the devil worms weaved in and out of the walls, as bits and pieces of skeletons were scattered over the floor. Reybe joked, "Looks like they didn't make it." The stranger held his nose, stating, "We may not either if the smell gets any worse."

The smell in this place was overwhelmingly repugnant, as sloughs of fecal matter had settled into the uneven cavities along the canal. Still they went without saying, but they knew right where they were, in the bowels of Hell.

"Hady!" The voice called out again, louder this time, as they surely knew they were getting closer. Hadge called out to her, "Carrissa!" After several seconds the voice responded, "Hady!" It was even louder this time, as a mix of sounds resonated together from the darkness. Hadge was convinced he had heard an undertone of something hissing, as his mind could think of no other creature than Lillith. He had to be on his guard, because the evil witch was lurking just out of sight.

Out of the blackness the haunting white image of Carrissa's frail form came into view, only just clinging to the invisible chains holding her upright. She had withered to the point of a skeleton, her eyes sunken and blinded by the perpetual darkness. Even in the dark Hadge could see the scars covering her body from head to toe, as he was drawn to one particular scar, which was shaped in the letters of HELP across her stomach. He had recognized the letters from the book of Elysium, rapidly coming to realize she had become one with the book, right from the very first moment she touched it.

Hadge was so sorry he could not come to her sooner, as his sad breathy voice murmured her name, "Carrissa..." Carrissa laboriously lifted her gray patchy head, whispering, "Runnnn...." He refused to heed her warning; he had come across time and Hell to save her. The stranger uttered close to his ear, "Lillith's close. I can feel her."

Warily they moved down into the vast concave, as the oval space nearly seemed to triple, and a mire of excrement had gathered far and wide. Reybe made a revolted noise, "Bluugh..." Hadge placed a comforting hand on his friends back, as the warmth of his divine light gently soothed the dog's tummy. However nothing could soothe the insanity of thousands of never-ending drips, dripping over and over from the moisture in the bowels.

Hadge continued to take in the room, as here and there dark stringers louvered the space, in such a way just about anything could vanish from sight. He happen to notice numerous growths protruding from the mire, randomly scattered all over the place, much like skipping stones. The stranger had noticed them at the same time, saying, "We can use them to get safely across." Hadge agreed, "Yes." Then his eyes fell to Carrissa's half lifeless body dangling in the center of the room, certain there was no way in the world she was the one calling out to him.

Sssssssssssssssssssssssss. Reybe jumped, exclaiming, "Did you hear that?" They had all heard the horrifying sound. A sound that now seemed to generate from behind them. Soon to follow was the creepy sound of Carrissa's voice, saying, "Hadge!" However Hadge was looking directly at the real Carrissa in the center of the room, and she never once made a peep. At last the stranger uttered what everyone was thinking, "Lillith..."

One and all turned to face the she-beast, unsure of what to expect. At first the entrance seemed no different, completely engulfed in blackness. Then the entire blackness began to shift, as the massive black object emerged forth, slithering somewhat like a snake. At that moment the creepy voice of Carrissa came from that blackness, "Hadge! Hadge! I've been waiting for you."

Abruptly Lillith lunged into sight, as she was still speaking in Carrissa's voice, but now very angry, "Why did you take so long?" Lillith no longer resembled any human shape, as her long bulbous body was now deformed more like a snake. She loomed darkly above them, pounding the ceiling with both hands, furiously asking again, "Why did you take so long?" Every inch of her black leathery skin was suffused with souls, as the fraught souls struggled against her lithe outer membrane everyone pleading for help. Hadge unsteadily answered the witch, "I'm here now!"

She listlessly edged closer, as her voice began to hiss, "Sooooo you arrreee..." Then leaned close enough they could see her wickedly smiling back at them, exposing her long jagged teeth, and her icy black stare capable of tempting those of a lesser resolve.

All at once the stranger cast his cloak aside, a tall thin skeleton of a man, exclaiming to the beast, "I can no longer live with your treachery!" His mousy brown hair fell around his face, around the clear dark blue eyes Hadge knew so well. Hadge could still imagine those same eyes from every picture, eyes as blue as heavenly midnight, twinkling with the vast stars of the universe hidden deep within, like windows into that persons never-ending soul. Hadge now knew how this man had touched the book, how he knew so much about the Hadge, because he is the Hadge of Eden. Still the mystery was how a Hadge could be infected with a demons virus, and trapped in Hell since Eden's fall.

Lillith wanted no part of the stranger's vexation; with the wave of her razor sharp fingers the unseen chains suspended him upside down. "Noooo!" Hadge screamed, as he started to reach out to his friend. However the Hadge of Eden boldly ordered him away, "No! You have to defeat Lillith." He exclaimed, "It's the only way!"

At once Lillith's attention had moved back to the Hadge, saying in a vinegar sweet voice, "My dear boy, I've waited so long for you." He bitterly snapped back at her, pointing an accusing finger, "And I have waited a long time for you!" She lunged in his direction, just as Reybe leapt between them, growling to protect his master.

Suddenly hundreds of hands reached out from the witches body, as the souls reluctantly were enslaved to do her bidding, and the souls were all crying and moaning, "No..." They wailed, "Please help us..." The hands all reached for Reybe, as he growled and snapped at the limbs over and over, but there were just too many. They were pulling him towards the membrane, as Hadge desperately tugged the dog in the opposite direction, screeching an ungodly sound, "Noooooooo!"

The hands were just too strong, as he felt his friend slipping away, and finally pulled right out of his hands. Hadge was reeled backwards into the mire, and could only helplessly watch Reybe being absorbed into the gelatinous membrane, until he was gone. He could do nothing but scream his name, "Reybeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Lillith cackled from her highly sovereign spot above him, laughing at his inadequate form, laughing at how he dared claim the name of divine protector. All in all she only wanted one thing, souls, and he happen to possess two of them. Eerily the wicked sheol's laughter coursed throughout her whole body, as the membrane began to jiggle from one end to the other. At that very moment Hadge realized for the very first time that her body completely bordered the room, and there was no possible way out.

Hadge vaulted to his feet, as he had completely come unhinged, manically roaring, "AAAHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Furious bursts of sunlight launched from his hands, again and again, all aimed at the hideous soul eater. The inhuman beast flinched at hit after hit, but otherwise deflected the bothersome beams, as if it were merely a nuisance.

"How dare you!" Her shriek filled the cave, "You bothersome little cockroach!" Lillith had firmly leveled her gaze on Hadge, as her cumbersome body charged in his direction. Hadge continued to shoot balls of sunlight at her, as he warily backed further into the mire. The stranger kept shouting, "Let the Hadge free!"

In one fell swoop her vicious claws had captured his face, as each nail kept digging deeper. Hadge couldn't help but scream from all the pain. Even as he frantically delved for the book of Canaan in his pocket with one hand, and his other hand tried to pry Lilliths hands from his face. Her hissing smiling face kept advancing closer to his, as she delighted to tell him, "I'm going to enjoy thissssss."

All at once his hand was on the book, as he shrieked at the beast before him, "I bet you will!" Then hauled off and hit her right in the mouth with the book. She was stunned only for a second, as the book had done nothing but incite her anger even further. Hadge knew he was in trouble, and scolded himself for not recognizing a book cannot harm a key.

Lillith screamed to the top of her lungs, knocking the book into the mire, and jerking his tiny little body around like a rag doll. Hadge powerlessly tried to squirm beneath all the erratic motion, as he could physically sense the heat rising in his body, and he had no way to stop it, or the desire to do so. Without further delay the blast of energy hit Lillith full force, as it dislodged Hadge from her hands, throwing him backwards into the mire.

Oddly he had landed close to the book, as it whispered next to his ear, "Don't be afraid." While the stranger still shrieked, "You have to become the protector now!"

Almost immediately the sinister sheol was above him, digging her nails back into his face, even as she ranted and raved about his so called extraordinary powers, "And you call yourself the Hadge." She spat at him, "Your just as pitiful as your stupid dog!" Then Lillith once again leaned her face close to his, inhaling his pure magnificent scent, as if he were a luxurious meal, and proceeded to siphon at his soul. The stranger kept shrieking his name, "Hadge!" He exclaimed, "Do something Hadge!"

Hadge had fought against her until the sense of pain was beyond all human comprehension. Bit by bit he felt his soul begin to tear from his life form, shredding like an old shriveled piece of paper. Still Carrissa's soul desperately cleaved to the pieces of his soul, secured by love and a promise. Then his overwhelming pain started to intensify, as the pain of every soul Lillith had ever stolen imparted throughout his being. He was sure this would be his death, because he could take no more pain, begging Yahveh, "Please no more pain..."

Beyond the reaches of unconsciousness he heard the haunting voices of the book calling out to him, "Free yourself." As one dieing hand fell upon the pages of the open book, sending a burst of fiery blue flames up his arm, until the light of Yahveh bathed him in splendor, and his pain was no more.

Suddenly everything seemed to unravel around him, he knew his purpose, and he knew his given name. Hadge opened his clear blue eyes, unstressed by the beast above him, as his body seemed to grow in size, until his hand had gathered at Lillith's neck. She was quite surprised, thinking she had already won, but all she could do now was scream.

The Hadge ethereally arose nine feet tall in the cave, with his quarry still in hand, choking and gasping for air. He was the perfect form of an Angel, as the blue flames burned around him like a torch. Hadge looked Lillith directly in the eyes, as she copiously hung from his palm, and he said, "I judge thee guilty of unimaginable sins."

Out of the blackness her massive snake-like body battered the divine protector over and over, however his steely figure did not budge, and he calmly declared, "There are no more chances for you Lillith." Then her body froze in place, and she pleaded to know, "What are you doing?" Still she begged, "Please, your divine. You don't kill!" He made it perfectly clear, "Some atrocities have to be served to protect the innocent." Then he glowered at Lillith for assisting the Devil, and announced his judgment, "Too many innocent people have died at your hands. I believe it is time to die."

Lillith shrieked to the top of her lungs, as the sound surely carried all over Hell, but nothing could save her now. Hadge reached down her screaming throat, as he pulled onto something that clung for dear life, until he had separated the sheol from her soul. Lillith had instantly stopped screaming, as her hideous carcass fell into the mire. No, no she wasn't dead, her dim light rested in the palm of his hand, until he crushed it into a fine dark powder, and scattered it into the mire.

Promptly all of Hell began to shake. Surely the quake was a result that the Devil was aware his treasured disciple had just fallen.

Right away souls began to escape every pour of the sheols inert body, they were free, and thanking him for his help. Then Reybe's soul appeared, he was just a normal dog, as he quickly darted around Hadge, playfully barking and wagging his tail.

Splat! Hadge had turned just in time to see the stranger fall into the mire, since Lilliths death he had nothing left to shackle him to Hell. Hadge helped the stranger from the disgusting mire, as the stranger handed him the muck-covered book, saying, "You might need this." Hadge gave him a thankful nod, as he shoved the book in his pocket for safe keeping, and informed him, "Its time to go home Hadden." Hadden replied happily, "Yes." And Hadge fondly looked into Haddens eyes, the eyes of Eden, sadly saying farewell, "Be well my friend." Hadden nodded having mixed feelings about going home after such a long time.

Hadge waved his divine hand, as a light filled Hadden's body, faster than the speed of light. Then he and all the innocent people in this cave began to fade within the light, they were going back home, returned to the moment in time from which they were taken, thusly vanishing from the horrors of Hell.

Reybe started to bark, turning in circles as he pulled Hadge to the center of the mire, pulling him in the direction of a near inaudible sound. Each step altered the noise into a recognizable sound, a tiny rasping breath. It was Carrissa. Hadge didn't know how he could've forgotten her, as he rushed to her side lifting her head enough to make it easier for her to breathe, and felt the need to apologize again and again, "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

"Shhhhhhhhhh..." Carrissa weakly whispered, "I knew you would come." Hadge carefully lifted her fragile body from the disgusting mire, as he was filled with anger, because she didn't deserve all this punishment. "I'm so sorry..." He continued to apologize, as tears ran down his divine cheeks.

Then he lovingly brushed her matted hair from her haggard old face, but in his eyes she still looked the same as the first time he'd seen her, beautiful and alive. He couldn't help but let his warm lingering breath lean close, just like the day in the sun. Then tenderly pressed his lips to hers, a kiss he had expected so long ago, but this time he was returning what belonged to her, her soul.

Hadge didn't want this moment to end, however knew once she closed that final chapter in the book of Elysium, he could never see her again, in this time, or any other time. Once the key locks the book closed, their fate is sealed forever in the pages of the book, and time is reversed to the moment the book had been touched, as if nothing had ever happened.

Abruptly Reybe began to growl at the entrance, as the cave was filling with demons, and Churl was leading the pack. Hadge carefully set Carrissa on one of the fleshy growths, telling her, "I wont be long."

Then he turned on the hideous beasts, wasting no time to freeze them all to the spot they were now standing. Hadge passed them all by, heading straight for his quarry, Churl.

He towered over the cocky sheol, half asking, "You would like to speak to me?" Churl could only mumble, hardly able to look the Hadge directly in the eyes. Hadge placed his fingers on either side of Churl's jaws, lifting him easily from the spot, with a threatening tone in his voice he exclaimed, "Its not your day to die! But if you do not change your ways the next time we meet you may not be so lucky." Hadge tapped Churl's forehead, and said, "Here's something to think about." All at once images of death and destruction feverishly engaged throughout his evil mind, as Churl beseeched him, "Make it stop!" Hadge obliged, and breathed, "The choice is yours."

Gravely Carrissa's uneven breathing had lapsed into a death rattle, a sign her time was nearly spent. Hadge didn't have the luxury of time to waste on Churl, as he cast him aside, and rushed back to Carrissa.

"Hadge..." It was no more than air escaping her lips, as he leaned in closer to hear, and he kept telling her, "Just hold on! Just hold on!" When the flow of tears began to stream from his eyes, and he knew there was no more time to hold onto. He gently caressed her face, allowing her a moment to feel Yahveh's enduring love, whispering in her ear, "I love you." How he wished things could be different yet was certain that even from the pages of the book she would remember love.

Hadge gently placed her hands on the book of Elysium, whispering, "Goodbye my love..." She gave a final gasp, as her body ceased to move. At that time her fragile clinging skin turned a shade of blue, as blue flames began to leap from her body, until her form was completely engulfed. Then her body burned to a fine silvery dust, as the dust and flames were at last rapt into the book.

Instantly the Edge of Darkness turned back into the hard white quartz, as the silvery glint of the surface shone even in the darkness. Hadge sadly looked down upon the terrifyingly beautiful book, and could only think one thing, "We are all just another page in the war between good and evil."

Then he picked up the ghastly tome, tucking it soundly into his pocket. But still he wondered how something so small could cause such horror and devastation.

To Hadge's surprise Carrissa's haunting voice resonated from his pocket, surely from the book of Canaan. She sounded very much like the young girl who narrated his way through tough times, as she said, "The voice from the book told him, Do not fear my love. Everything is the way it is supposed to be." Then she referenced him by name, "Hadge never heard the awful sounds from the demons he had left stock-still nearby. They were all screaming from the hoards of mephisto feasting on their bodies."

Hadge turned to look at the demons, as each and every one was covered in mephisto, but oddly there was no sound. He could only hear the drone of souls escaping from Hell.

At once a sickening feeling washed over him, as the flames vanished from around him, and his body began to shrink. His gimp leg bent back out of shape, as the hairs popped out all over his body, until at last he was once again the hairy little man from beneath Grendlocke Cemetery. He withered helplessly in the mire, crippled by pain.

The divine power that held the demons in place was now gone, as they quickly chased the mephisto away. However Churl headed straight for Hadge, leaning over him laughing, although his words were drowned out by the intensity of Hadge's pain.

Soon other demons gathered around him, as each of them seemed to mouth the same words, "What's wrong with him?" Still they poked, prodded and laughed at his folly.

Hadge hardly noticed the demons at all; tragically feeling twisted this way and that way, as if his life was gradually becoming undone. Try as he might, he couldn't even remember his friends anymore, as he thought of the grubb, and the question arose, "What was his name..." The pieces of his life kept crumbling away, until the Hadge from beneath Grendlocke Cemetery didn't exist anymore, and he was nothing more than a ghost of himself.

Hadge found himself lingering in a void of nothingness, as he groped in the dark for a shred of a memory, whether it was this Hadge or another Hadge, any memory would do.

Soon the intrusive sounds of voices assembled around him, some voices he could almost recognize, and still others were in languages he'd never heard, however he understood what they were saying. He finally come to realize those weren't just voices, those were the memories of every Hadge he'd ever been, or ever will be.

The cries of every man, woman, and child across the multi-verse rang in his every waking thought. He couldn't help but suffer every crushing ounce of sadness that welled from the deep dark unknown, as heartrending tremors quaked through his soul, trying to find a release.

"STOP!!!" Hadge emotionally shrieked. Then all went mysteriously silent, as he listened to the quiet, and realized it wasn't quiet at all. Someone was breathing. He wanted so badly to know who was out there? The breathing intensified, as each breath distorted into something new. It darkly distorted into lowly rasps, which hardly sounded real at all, but rather like a dream...

Suddenly the ungodly sounds of snorts and growls echoed around him, and he fearfully knew who was out there. Demons! He was back in the bowels of Hell, watching his body like a bystander, except for all his heightened sense of sights, sounds, and smells. It was the exact moment he had vanished from Hell, as his golden clothes collapsed into the mire. A hand reached down from out of nowhere to collect the delicate fabric, as the golden threads sparkled brightly, and he was blinded by its brilliance.

Everything had gone completely white, as the dream had ended. However his senses remained on alert, and he wondered if this was just part of the dream...

Hadge anxiously could hear the breathing once more, sounding closer than before. The breathing was intermixed with the sounds of birds chirping all about him, as the sounds of the birds consistently grew louder, but he could not see them. The light was just too bright, as he realized he was looking at the sun, and quickly averted his eyes. Everywhere birds flew athwart the stunning blue skies overhead. He remembered those skies from long ago, or perhaps it was currently happening, nonetheless he had to be Hadyn, or otherwise known as Hady. He was standing in the field near the cemetery, and had the overwhelming feeling that something happened to Carrissa. The sensation was so powerful he burst into tears. Then all he could do is helplessly drop to his knees, and sob, "Please Yahveh, not her." He continued to beg, "Please, let her go go gogogogogo..."

Eerily the breathy words resounded again and again, as the tone of the voice grew heavier with each passing syllable. The hint of each breath blowing athwart his cheek, surely as if someone were mere inches from his face. And that someone's voice carried until their words rasped into a whole different voice.

"Let them goooooo!" The deep persuasive voice was clear and concise. It was the stranger Hadden, oddly somehow he had left his world of Eden, and had come to Elysium. He had used his vampiric influence to convince the man outside the animal shelter to set all the dogs free. One by one the dogs ran every which way, as people were yelling at the dastardly dogs. Numerous voices were screaming at once, as voices were on top of voices, and the sounds were overpowering...

Strangely the rushing memories of voices sounded as if they were coming from the book, one voice overlapping the other. The voices twisted into bizarre muttering, and the murmurs bit by bit turned into nonsensical words, "Hadge, imagine, imaginary, hadaginary, Hadagery..."

Hadge had the creepy sensation someone was really out in the darkness, staring at him, as if waiting for him to move. He no longer had to second-guess if he were alone or not, because he could hear and feel their breath on his face.

Then that someone spoke in a sinister tone, an eerie recognizable voice, as Churl related a terrible fact, "Oh shit kid. You're not even real."

**Thank you** for reading **. Exiled, Here in Sullen, Children of Elmhearse, After Dark** , and **Death do us part** , which is part of a collection of short horror stories. You can also check out my book **HADAGERY** , which has a lot of horror. Please leave reviews
