DEVOURER

Ch 8

The red and blue lights from the police cars flashed over the darkened buildings nearby. Closing off the area you could hear the radio background noise from the police officers. Detective Robert Klines stepped out of his vehicle, which he had thrown his smaller police light onto the dashboard. Rubbing his eyes the Detective stepped forward to find his partner in crimesolving awaiting him. His partner knew him well; he had a cup of warm coffee ready. "Sorry to wake you up for this one." Said the partner as he handed Klines the cup of Joe. "What do we got?" Klines mumbled as he took a careful sip. The two cops that were professionally dressed went inside a commercial building. The place was an established restaurant. Klines could recall coming here on two separate occasions. Beezle's Italian Restaurant was the name of this place. For the moment the place was a mess, tables were thrown about; there were patches of blood in random places, but no bodies...not a single one. "Staff that comes in for the morning to prep food for breakfast saw this and believed to have been a robbery. Called it in, when we got here found nothing ordinary missing." "Just the unordinary" Klines completed his partner's sentence as he opened the near cash register to see that all the money was intact. "The doors to the front and the back were unlocked. So anybody could have come and gone." "If someone had then the hospital would have some sort of report. Somebody got hurt here. The least they could have done is called 911." Klines bent down to get a closer look at a blood puddle that was splashed against the wall. Small flesh chunks stuck to the wall, some were slowly falling due to gravity. "Already checked, nothing so far. But all of this isn't the best part." Klines' partner advised him to the back of the restaurant. There the tables had been tossed aside to leave a large clearing in the center of the place. "We found this, and now I'm thinking teenagers. College boys probably." Klines knelt to see that a large marking had been burnt into the wooden floor. It was a large signature, a huge circle. Inside this circle were lines cut to make four slices. In each slice was a different drawing. All these slices closed in to a smaller circle with another unknown marking. The Detective wanted to make sense of it all, but was interrupted by his partner. "Rob? What do you make of it?" "I have an idea where to start" Finding the nearest chair that was not knocked over Klines sat down and pulled out his cell phone. Waving his partner off Klines made a call. This ring was to someone familiar. "Yeah it's me. I got another one. Beezle's Italian Restaurant. I understandI under-LOOK I GET IT! You were right. Hurry up and be quiet." Hanging up the

phone call Detective Klines made his job for the rest of his free time to clear the area of unnecessary civilians and police officers. Pierce was the last to arrive, the crime scene was now much quieter and contained. Dawn had already passed, though the restaurant remained empty with a large CLOSED sign on the door. As Pierce approached he could see John through the glass windows. Welcomed inside by the Priest he saw Margaret kneeling at the large marking that was burnt into the ground. Detective Klines was lowly and silent in the back of the restaurant. "What is this?" The Detective asked as Pierce approached with John. "It's a signature. A pretty bad one." John noted. "Yeah well whatever. Can you explain how it got here? And where the fuck is all the people? It's like they vanished!" Klines wanted answers. "Sorry I wanted to wait for you before we went into detail." John looked to Pierce so he could understand Klines' frustration. Margaret pointed at the far right slice of the marking. "This one represents human. The human figure is pretty obvious of that...but then the blood along with these markings. I think it means human sacrifice." "What are you talking about? That blood was spilt from people who were here! They were eating, having a good time, then suddenly WAM! Hell breaks loose!" Klines tells Margaret. "The blood is on that part of the marking for a reason, to represent the blood of a human." Said Margaret as she pointed to the next slice going counterclockwise. "This one show the elements, these two swiggily lines are water. This is fire, but the symbol next to it is supposed to give a different type of fire." "That means cardinal. Its cardinal fire. Flames of passion and selfishness." John informs everybody. "This is crazy!" Klines states loudly. "Calm down Detectivecontinues Maggie." John staring down Klines the cop now left the room, looking for an outlet to release his anger. Margaret continued around the marking counterclockwise. Pierce knelt nearby so that he too could get a closer look. "That first drawing is of a bug, and this a hawkwith the drawings in the same slice I have no idea what it means." "How do you know all of this?" Pierce asked quietly from behind her. "I use to study in the arts." "That last section-" John walks forward, interrupting their conversation. "Is the clear markings of the seven levels of hell." "HELL!?!" Pierce was scared by John mentioning that word. The Doctor shot up and backed away from the marking. Margaret arose and stood next to John. "Pierce, we have to go. Now is our only chance." Margaret said. "HELL!?!" Pierce repeated. "Maggie's right Doctor. This was clearly done by a demon; there must have been around twenty, maybe thirty people here. The demon is trying to bulk up quickly, thus it can break in." "Break into our world" Pierce knew what John was trying to say.

"Snap out of it! We have come prepared! We still need you!" Maggie stepped forward and held her hand out. Pierce was locked in deep thought about fire and brimstone, hell and demons. "I just want the world to make sense again." Was all the Doctor said as he took Maggie's hand he guided him back to the center of the marking. "Maybe one day, it will." Was all Margaret said as the Reverend John Clark opened a bag of blood and poured it onto the floor. The fog immediately rushed in as the three were overcome by the force-the team heads into the Otherside. Klines returning to the main dining area saw that John, Margaret and Pierce were missing. The Detective was stunned to see that the three left without notice, without telling him anything. Klines just made this another reason to be pissed off at the three stooges. There in the cold and silent fog, the team stood. Klines not knowing that those three were about to face the evil that plagued mankind. The fog had misplaced the three team members back outside of the restaurant. The fog was a tall wall that boxed them into the area. From the center of the street the only building that they could see or enter was the restaurant. Its name however was no longer there; it was as if the restaurant had been run down for a very long time. Large spider webs were all along high peaks. Spiders had made homes in the dark corners, under tables that were sitting outside. The windows were shattered; broken glass had decorated the ground. John took the lead, a slow but steady walk. Margaret followed keeping one hand in her satchel the entire time. The Doctor kept on hand out reaching for Margaret, just in case something bad was to happen, he wanted to let her know. Pierce feared that if the Otherside got his way, his screams would be saved for when he is being punished. Standing sideways as he walked Pierce continued to look behind him, checking the fog for anything. John took a step up onto the sidewalk to see that the pathway had hundreds of spider eggs. Small brown color with a slight green haze to them each egg held a small spider. The eggs nestled together to look like a good size beehive. Some of these spider eggs were throbbing, and also a clear liquid was coming from the eggs. John intentionally sticking his finger into the clear liquid pulls it out and takes a smell of the nasty substance. John wiping the goo off on his pants looks up to a strange sound, coming from the roof of the building large spiders cascaded down. Monster spiders dropped quickly from the sky. These spiders were a little larger then a soccer ball, black fur with shiny black eyes. Four spiders surrounded the team, protecting the baby spider eggs. Immediately Margaret opened her Zippo and lit the flame, breathing in she gasped a huge flame that killed the spider in front of the team. A few remainder flames caught onto the table cloths and even on a few of the spider eggs. John ran into the restaurant, Pierce followed as Margaret kept the other three spiders away with the fear of being burned. The inside of the restaurant was just as dead as how it looked on the outside. Spider webs covered the corners of the room, and completely blocked access to through the back doors. In the center of the room, the marking was no longer there. Instead just a giant hole in the ground. "What is this?" Pierce asked.

"Its the demon's home." John opening his small black book read a few words from and held out his palm. Instantly his hand shook as a blue flame ignited from it. Hovering above the Priest's palm was a flickering blue fire. Margaret slowly walking backward caught up with the two of them. John led the way into the hole, the blue fire giving ample light. "Into the belly of the beast." Margaret said as she helped the Doctor follow John into the cave. The ground, the walls, the narrow path ahead was all made up of dirt. Large rocks along the path made the team go around them. At one point in this passage the team had to climb into an even smaller area. Together the team crawled until the cave opened up; they had made it to the center of the cave. It was like a circular room, with three passage ways. One path to the far left and to the far right was open. The path straight ahead however was sealed shut with a large door. John walked up to the large sealed passage and felt the writing. A wooden circular table was alone with nothing on it at the center of this area. Pierce stood there and watched Margaret stroll by him to look at writing that was all across the walls. While this was the lone table in the center of the room, there were these smaller tables set up along the perimeter of the area. The tables were covered with rotten food; flies circled what was once a great meal. "No seal is going to be able to break this door." John said out loud. "Two items are to be brought to the table as gifts. This will unlock the path." "The demon hides and locks itself away!" Margaret calls out. "It thinks it is all powerful yet we are here in its home, breaking in." "This demon knows what we are here to do. It wasn't about to make it easy." John and Margaret regrouped with Pierce at the empty table in the center of the area. "Two paths, each having a reward that we can return back here." "A reward for what?" Asked Doctor Pierce. "For whatever awaits you." Margaret answered. "We'll go together. Here, you can even choose the path." Pierce did not worry about which path should be first, he was certain they were both going to be quite horrid. Pointing left John took the blue fire onto a torch that rested on the rock wall. John was now able to not have to burn up his energy giving the team light through the dark cave. Leading the way once again the three of them ventured down the left passageway. The dark catacomb was not very inviting to the team. John held the torch high to light the way, Margaret followed the Priest's lead, and Pierce followed her with a concerned look on his face. The rock embedded passage had dried blood on the ground. From the long trail of the blood it looked as if something was dragged. When the passage opened up John killed the blue flame on the torch; he could tell there was an immediate threat to them as they entered this room. A thick fog had rested high above the room, as if there was no ceiling to this part of the cave. The fog gave enough vision for John to see that there were scattered bones across the entire floor. Along the piles of pale bones were many dog beasts, sleeping in the dirt. Pierce counted to see that there must have been at least ten, maybe even more of these twisted animals. Kicking a small rock by accident Pierce stopped in his tracks, every profound sound made the dogs stop

with their heavy breathing. The dogs rested without interruption, Pierce was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Margaret crept next to John so she could gently whisper into his ear. "It's a bone yard." Margaret softly spoke to John; he turned to her ear to whisper back. "The hounds of hell. Look beyond them, it's a plate of untouched food." There at the end of the room on a large rock remained a large quantity of food. Many wooden plates holding chicken drumsticks, fresh fruit, and one plate had nothing but chocolate and other assorted deserts. "That is the reward? Which one we can't take all of them!" Margaret stated as she saw the feast awaiting them past the bones and scraps. "This demon's theme is obviously gluttony. One of the seven sins. We need the plate that has the most food, the worst for someone to intake." John replied. "I'll go." Margaret stepped forward and John extended his arm to do a barricade. "No! You're wearing perfume!" John whispered a little louder. "My perfume?" "Yes it's faint but it's there! You go near those bloodhounds and you will be there next meal for certain!" John lowered his arm as Margaret smelled her clothes. She could not tell the perfume was on her, but maybe she had become accustomed to it. The Doctor looked back at John and nodded as he caught his attention. Pierce knew that it was best for him to try to get to the other end of the area. The Doctor felt as though he was a thief, lightly stepping over the bones. Sneaking pasts the sleeping dogs Pierce found himself zigzagging between the messes, each step getting him closer to his goal. At one point Pierce had no other choice but to step over one of these vicious beasts. This moment was terrifying to the Doctor. He first made sure that he had his balance, kept his breathing under control so the dogs wouldn't hear him panic. Next Pierce bent his knee and arched his leg over the beast. From this point of view Pierce was able to see the dogs in full detail. Blood along with heavy bits of dirt covered the beast. Its abdomen raised and lowered, taking in and out air. The smell from its body was distinct, nasty, and familiar. Pierce had realized that he had seen these beasts too often, especially up close and personal. Lowering his foot as slowly as possible so it would not make any noise. Shifting his body too quickly Pierce stopped as the dog's breathing suddenly changed. Frozen in the worst possible position the Doctor awaited and did not hear any growling. Nothing moved, so the Doctor began to move away from the dog. Reaching the large rock the Pierce felt that success was near. Too many plates, too many choices, the Doctor could not make up his mind. Scratching his chin Pierce pondered just which one was the correct one. Looking back at John and Margaret Pierce hovered his hand over a plate. Moving his hand over each plate he stopped when he finally recognized John and Margaret nodding yes. The plate had potatoes surrounding a large turkey. The turkey itself had stuffing pouring out of its insides. To top it all off sliced bread was spread in between the potatoes and turkey. Touching the plate made the Doctor's mouth dry. Licking his lips Pierce could not help but feel a hunger in his stomach. Ignoring this he lifted the plate; it was rather heavy with the

mass amount of food on it. Pierce had no problem keeping it balanced. Making his way back through the sleeping dogs was a much more difficult task. Every so often Pierce would have to stop as a low grumbling noise came from his stomach. "Oh no." John said in reaction to the look on Pierce's face. "What is it?" Margaret whispered to John. "The hounds aren't the only thing we have to worry about." John looked on to see Pierce's eyes grow wider as he stared at the plate. A steaming hot meal that would replenish his energy. All John could do was hope that the Doctor would not fall to the temptation of the food. John knew that it was part of the test, being able to resist the urge to pleasure thyself before helping others. Pierce with his mouth now watering with the desire for this wonderful feast, he had to stop. Being only feet away John had to act quickly. The Priest began jumping through the holes he found and met with the Doctor. Holding the plate with both hands Pierce was shaking heavily. Slowly reaching out John put his hands on the other side of the plate, and waited to see if Pierce really could resist. John did not want to pull hard on the plate; he feared the food would be tossed and no longer useful. The Priest also unable to speak due to the resting dogs around them did the only thing he could: facing the Doctor he continued to raise his brow at the plate. Gently tugging to show to Pierce that it was time to let go of it. As the doc's stomach rumbled even harder he did not desire to pull away from this food. The mighty need or love of it was all-consuming. As soon as John took the plate Pierce immediately felt the hunger had past. No more desire to eat. Pierce couldn't believe he was so entranced. This sort of thing had happened before to the Doctor. He tried his best not to think about what happened in that bar. However the image of a duplicate of himself continually harassed him. The two of them made it back to Margaret, who now took the plate. John lead the team quickly back through the tunnel to the center area. "I'm so sorry. I don't what got over me." Pierce apologized. "It's okay," John taking the plate from Margaret immediately placed it down on the empty table in the center of the room. "You couldn't help yourself. Selfishness, lonelinessthis was just a trick part of that trial." "One of the many wonders of this world." Margaret added in at the end of her statement. Walking over to the tunnel on the far right of the room she looks down the path. "Hey, there is light down this tunnel. Let's go!" Taking a step into the path she glanced back to see John coming to her but Pierce was still standing around. "Are you ready?" John now looking back as well at the Doctor. "I really am sick of these fucking dogs." Pierce commented as he began to follow them down the path far right. This cavern was larger, having torches set along the walls; it gave proper light as the path lead downward. Feeling the shift in the air, a cold wind came shuttering from the open area just up ahead. With this breeze came a horrible stench, one that would make Margaret turn in disgust. Covering her mouth she gagged on the smell.

"Oh my God!" She said through her coughing. "What reeks down here?" John grabs Margaret to make sure she is okay, and then takes the lead into the opened area. Pierce follows John, to see where the horrible stench comes from. This room which was lit well from torches along the walls had a pit of slime. An odd ooze that had an oatmeal look and color to it. This pit not only had the smell of something rotten but also the feel of death. It was circulating in the air, along with the large amount of flies. Little black annoying flies. The Doctor swatted at some of the pestering flies that darted in front of his face. John did the same but was more concerned with what was at the other end of the cavern. There on top of a large rock, yet again was something in a tall wooden cup. It was now becoming clearer to John as to what the rewards meant. Food and water to the host. These gifts were symbols of worthiness. This demon was gluttony in its highest degree. "Someone has to go through this stuff." John says as he touched the oatmeal like substance. "Is it poisonous?" Pierce asked. "No way am I going near that sludge!" Margaret stated as she kept herself at the entrance, covering her mouth from the smell of this pit. Pierce looked at John who was checking the slime's texture. "Anything is better than those dogs!" Taking a step forward John arose and took his coat off. "No I will do this one. Can't just let you do all the action." John undressed what was unneeded. Keeping his small black book in his hand John raised his arms high as he walked into the sludge. It was warm and festering; sinking into the stuff John found that it was deep enough to reach his waistline. Keeping his head high and his arms even higher John slowly walked through the think gunk. John trenched his way deeper into the pit. Eventually the feeling of being nauseated went away. The smell no more of a concern the flies that were in the room now focused on John as he made very slow progress through the thick sludge. Onward to the opposite end, where he was able to climb out of the pit and dry off. There on the rock John found waiting a singular wooden cup, filled three quarters of the way with a black liquid. Taking a firm hand to the wooden cup John thought the contents were familiar. Raising the cup high so that Margaret and Pierce could see he turned to enter back into the slime. But the room began to shake, erupting with a loud moan. Something had been disturbed by John taking away the cup. As the mini-quake ended Pierce could see something moving in the pit. "SHARK!" The Doctor called out, the bulge swam up and slowly amassing from the slime was a large pig's head. Pierce was disgusted by the unexplained phenomenon as it stood tall from the pit. A human figure with the head of a pig must have stood at least eight feet tall. "PIG! WATCH OUT JOHN ITS A GIANT PIG!" Pierce described it as such but its human form argued otherwise. With a loud squeal the pig began to move toward John, the pig beast capable of moving much faster than the Priest, John knew he had no chance of outrunning the monster. Instead of running John felt it was best to fight. Placing back down the cup he looked to see that the pig beast was still coming. With each long step it came ever closer, and John looked to his little black book. When the monster made surfaced onto the dry patch John was already

reading, a blue glow had overcome his hand and the book. The pig reaching for him out of John's hand manifested a blue flame. As John placed it onto the pig's chest the monster in return grabbed John by his shoulder. The pig beast pitched an even higher squeal, so high that the room once again rumbled. From the pain John is lifted and thrown back into the pit. The pig beast now rubbing the hand mark that has been singed into its pig skin, ferociously dove into the pit after its opponent. John emerged from the oatmeal slime, tossing his book away; it was no longer a use to him anymore. "Oh no, his book got destroyed." Margaret said. "We gotta do something!" Pierce shouted as Margaret stepped to the edge of the pit. Pulling out her big book she flipped through the pages. "My flame won't reach that far..." Margaret said as John swung and open hand at the flies. The sound of the buzzing only made it more clear just how serious the situation was. "HOLD ON JOHN!" Pierce shouted out into the pit. Margaret pulling out her Zippo ignited the flame and began to read from context in her book. The book glowed a gentle red, Pierce backed away as he saw Margaret's eyes turn to a bold red as well. Holding the lighter out she grasped hard at the flame, and there in Margaret's hand she carried a small ball of fire. Margaret continued to whisper to the fireball, it began to mold and shift. The fire changed from a ball to a small bird of fire. Pulling her arm back Margaret threw the bird which grew in midair. It turned into a large phoenix, born of the fire. Ripping through the dark room it soared through the flies and into the pig beast. John at this moment had no choice but to dive into the sludge to avoid getting burned. A mob of flies on fire rained onto the pit below. Some time elapsed, and surfacing from the oatmeal colored goo was the Priest. Pierce and Margaret were happy now, smiling as John gasped for fresh air. As John wiped his face clean he looked around himself to see the dead flies along with the floating pig beast, forever sleeping in its own filth.

Part 2

Once the entire party made it back to the center of the cave John took this moment to dry himself off. Margaret taking the cup to the center table placed it next to the plate of untouched food. Standing back, she along with Pierce and John watched as the mechanisms on the door began to move. The food dissolving right in front of them, suddenly a loud snap came from the door. With a loud and long creak the doors swung open. Pierce walked up to now the newly opened path, he found himself drawn in.

"Here..." Margaret reached into her tote bag and handed John another little black book. "I always keep one on me, just in case." "Occasions such as this it is crucial. So thank you." John replied, looking on he saw that Pierce stared into what lied ahead for them. "This place is festering with evil Doctor. Gluttony is a very powerful sin." "That was a horrible test. I don't want to think about what is through these doors" "Death, if you are unable to handle it." Margaret said as she touched Pierce's shoulder. "That isn't going to happen. We're all going to get out of here. We're all going to kill this monster, save some lives, and go home. Together is the only way." "I didn't come here to die Doc. We have to finish this." Margaret comforted Pierce, helping his mind ease from the terrors of the Otherside. Taking the lead from Margaret and John, Pierce was the first to walk through the doorway. Into an inviting darkness that welcomed the team of three. The dirty pathway turned into a narrow spiraling staircase. Keeping on hand against the dirt wall Pierce continued down the stairs, passing repeating lit torches. Their footsteps echoing through the levels that they walked down. Pierce's steps being slow and careful, the team continued downward, deeper and deeper into the nothingness. This was the until the stairs came to an end, and brought Pierce, Margaret and John to an entrance. Through the archway the team felt they were inside a battle dome. The room was filled with tall pillars of rock, the walls of the circular room raised high above them. Along the ceiling dangled bodies, the latest victims. Each poor soul hanging from chains, the blood falling to the dirt below. The blood however disappearing, fading into the brown soil. At the opposing end of this room sitting on a throne of gray stone was a rather heavy set man. Approaching closer Pierce, Margaret and John made it half way into the dome before they could hear a loud chuckle from the extremely fat behemoth. Its skin had a slight tint of yellow; crumbs of food covered its massive belly. No hair at all on the man Pierce eyes grew wide as he saw two tiny horns coming out of his head. "Its a man?" The Doctor said with a confused look. "Look beyond the skin, it is a demon taking over the human. It already has its host, now it just needs enough strength to breach the Otherside!" John proclaimed.

"Such fine foods! Perfect for my Snakes!"

"Snakes?" Pierce questioned as the booming voice laughed from his throne. From the dirt below their feet three large snakes attacked. Green and black scales the snakes must have been eight to ten feet long. The team broke apart immediately from their formation, each one escaping the fast strikes coming from their enemies. Margaret ran back toward the entrance, at the same time reaching into her tote bag. Pulling out her Zippo Margaret looked back to find the snake diving into the hard dirt. Snapping the top open and lighting the flame Margaret stood waiting for the snake to emerge. Every second counting, every moment vital. Jumping to the side the snakes pops up from the dirt where Margaret was standing. Blowing a gentle air at the flame as she fell the flame was created, igniting the snake. From the fire the snake hissed and flailed, it had fallen to the fire.

"I'm out of lighter fluid!" Margaret called out as she shook her Zippo before placing it back in her tote bag. She sprinted forward to see that John had cut the head off the snake attacking him, the long sword made of white light shined brightly in his hand. Looking forward John ran with Margaret to help the Doctor. Pierce was the only one who was in a losing position. The snake had wrapped itself tightly around him. Pierce moaned from the pain as the snake squeezed. As the snake opened its mouth wide, Pierce closed his eyes shut at the sight of the long narrow fangs. In this instant Pierce remembered defense-he had to think of defense. The snake thrusting forward to engulf his head failed, banging hard against an energy force that Pierce had created. John thrusting his sword of light into the gaping snake's mouth quickly was able to split the snake. As its grip released on Pierce he was able to kneel and rest from the pain. Margaret joining him on his knees asked if he was okay. The Doctor nodding looked up as the demon dressed as a fat man continued to laugh hard from its high throne.

"YOU DARE TO KILL MY CHILDREN! I WILL GRIND YOUR BONES!" The Demon roars as
spit shoots from his mouth. "Before you do that can I ask you something?" John proposed and left the entire arena in a dead silence. "Who was the man that you took over? What was his name?"

"...Another pathetic human, a chef! HE WAS NOTHING!"

"Well I wanted to know so when we go back to our world we'll know who to dig a grave for."

"!YOU WON'T MAKE IT OUT OF HERE ALIVE FILTHY HUMANS!"

"There will be no grace, no mercy, and no forgiveness for you!" Margaret grabbing the Priest's arm pulled him back. "What are you doing?" She asked. "We will never leave until he is defeated. It's our only chance; we have to make him fight us!" John stared back at the demon who breathed heavily in the fat man's body. Writhing in the throne he gripped the arm rests tightly. "You could have chosen a better human as your host; you look like you can't even stand up!"

"YOU MOCK YOUR GOD!"

"YOU ARE FAR FROM BEING MY GOD!" John replied. "YOU'RE SO FAT WHEN YOU SIT ON A RAINBOW SKITTLES COME OUT!" Margaret shouting out to the demon, with a mean look the arm rests shatter as the demon slowly arises from its throne.

"I WILL DEVOURER YOU WHOLE MYSELF! LET THE BLOODSHED BEGIN!" The demon
taking a step forward shakes the ground of the entire room. The monster of a man leaped from its high rise look on the arena, falling to the dirt below. Just before crashing on the demon curled himself up, turning into a round massive ball. A man-made wrecking ball; they began to spin and crash through many of the pillars of stone. John immediately sprinted to dive out of the way as it came hurdling for them. Margaret hid herself somewhere in the remaining pillars along with Pierce. The ground shook and small bits of rock

and dirt fell from the sky above as the demon demolished anything in its way. Hitting against the columns the demon knocked around the arena like a giant pinball in an arcade machine. The demon reaching the wall, rolled upward against it, and then landed firmly back on the ground to continue its path of destruction. The demon now had its targets strictly on John, the man who dared to push the demon's buttons. The Priest ran in the opposite direction, sprinting as hard as he could. The demon hitting a mass of columns started a dominoes effect, cascading rock down onto the Priest. "JOHN!" Pierce called out as he ran to help. Margaret putting down her tote bag reached into its contents. The demon had a low chuckle as it unrolled itself, and slowly climbed the mountain of rocks. Pierce making halfway to the demon and the rubble before seeing a large snake appear in front of him. Seeing trails of smoke he noticed the snake had recently shedded its skin, its green mixed with black was shiny like new. This must have been the snake that Margaret had set on fire, Pierce thought to himself as the snake hissed loudly. Pierce without hesitance thought of how he could kill the snake. He thought about his work, his life and what he could use from this. The Doctor with a clenched fist concentrated hard. A blue light shimmered from within that fist, as sweat came from his forehead the Doctor strafed left, dancing with the snake that kept its eyes in trance on its victim. The snake reacted quickly to the Doctor, lunging forward. The snake's mouth opening wide. However this time Pierce's actions were different. Pierce timing it perfectly catches the snake. With his hands holding back the mouth of the snake the blue light glowed from his markings. As each radiating blast shot out it made Pierce realize just how strong he really was. The Doctor began to concentrate hard, wanting to focus the energy within. Pierce watched the light slowly move its way down his wrists and into his hands. There his hands grew bright and in a sudden flash he ripped the snakes mouth apart. Blinking heavily from the light Pierce sees that he has split the enemy into two. Grabbing John by his throat the demon dressed as a man lifted him through the rubble of rocks. John suffering from his mighty grip had eyes open wide as the demon laughed hardly. Margaret had already pulled out the small doll. Reading from her book the doll in her right hand began to glow brightly. As the demon continued to laugh hard it opened its mouth. Wider than a normal human's mouth could, it was like he had no jaw. The hole was massive, John looked down into the darkness of the monster's throat to fear the endless rows of teeth awaiting him. The demon chomping down hard onto John, taken about half of him into its mouth. After a few chews the demon spat out the remains of John, it looked like pieces of straw. Raising up the rest of John the demon tossed it aside seeing his body now turning into a large carving of wood. In a yell of rage the demon turned to see John, perfectly safe, standing next to Margaret. "Phew! That was close!" John said as he watched the Doctor approach the demon head on. Climbing up the rock pile he sized up to be at about the level of the demon's chest. The Doctor's hands glowing of a bright blue he was ready for a fight. "No way! Pierce! What are you doing? You don't stand a chance!" Margaret yelled out. Pierce however felt confident that he could take the demon on. The Doctor did so before, with the

demon that thrived on alcohol. However this demon was different. Its body mass was made of fat, it was a cushion for blows from attacks. Despite Pierce striking five or six hard blows to the demon's stomach it showed no effect. The demon only laughed before giving Pierce a swift backhand. The Doctor stunned-flies off the pile of rubble. The demon closed his mouth and took in a big breath, opening wide it spat out an ugly green slime. The slime covered Pierce on his legs, and while he tried to stand to run away he found himself stuck like it was fast-acting cement. The Doctor now no longer mobile, he was a sitting duck for his enemy. Pulling on each of his legs Pierce found himself trapped. The demon slowly approached him from the pile of rubble. Cracking his knuckles the demon licked his lips, yet an even wider more evil smile stretched across the monster's face. The monster with an inescapable grip grabbed Pierce. Lifting the Doctor high he was now in the same position that John was in only moments earlier. The quick acting wet cement goo shattered with ease, showing the demon's true strength. Pierce having one free hand pounded at the demon's arms. Finding himself at total disarray; just another notch on the demon's belt. Pierce continued to fight, but was now feeling insecure. The demon's wrath was not only powerful but it was absolute. The demon's mouth opened, showing a set-after-set of sharp teeth, leading down the dark tunnel of death. The Doctor screaming at the sight of what would become of him, felt abused. Like a boy being beaten by an adult. There was nothing that Pierce could do. Lowering Pierce into its mouth it seemed the demon's neck expanded, stretching to fit whatever it desired down its throat. Pierce stuck out his hand and immediately casted his seal, hoping it save him. His actions at least bought the Doctor some time, as his wrist glowed the circle appeared. This symbol of the sealing acted like a barrier, it stopped the demon from pushing the Doctor down his throat. As the demon tried again and again Pierce saw that the seal was not creating the symbols with the circles. The seal was not fully activating, the demon was not weak enough for it. This gave enough time for Margaret to set up for her next spell. Reading from her opened book with two hands she pushed out from the book to the demon. An orange circle shined on Margaret's palms. With a gust of wind suddenly the demon felt lifted, looking below itself the monster saw that orange circle now on the dirt where he stood. Wind cascading upwards from the dirt, the orange circle having symbols and drawings quickly spiraling like a twister. The effect made an orange light emit, the demon fell to one knee. "HE'S WEAKENING! NOW JOHN!" As Margaret called out the demon twisted its neck like an owl can, a full reverse to see what was happening behind him. With a sudden shout of pain a large blade ripped through the demon's back, coming through the other side of it and even into the hand that held Pierce. Shaken Pierce is able to get his other hand free. Trying to pull himself out of the demon it twisted its neck back to the Doctor only to make its grip tighter around his waist. Through the pain Pierce saw John standing behind the demon. He was holding the large blade-ended cross, one made of a blue and white color.

"DO IT PIERCE! DO IT!" John shouted holding his weapon firmly so that the demon would not break free.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU GET AWAY! YOUR SOUL IS MINE!"
"EAT THIS!" The Doctor shouted out in response to the demon. With both hands put together Pierce put all of his strength, all of his energy, into one more attempt to seal. Closing his eyes and grunting hard the seal reappeared and now finally the symbols began to appear from within. As they spun the demon roared loudly, shaking the earth that they all stood on. The seal now growing ever brighter, Pierce could hear the demon's voice fading. Its grip gone on him, Pierce fell seeing that the demon now was being pulled into the seal itself. It was like a portal to another dimension. It was a vacuum, pulling in the evil. The demon reaching out with its arms drooled immensely but could not now fight off the power of the light. Once the demon was gone the seal disappeared in a final brilliant shot of white light. That was when the entire cave shook. Rocks fell from the ceiling below, and John quickly helps Pierce up to get out of the arena. The place shaking the Doctor could barely keep one eye open, he was exhausted. "What is happening?" Asked Pierce. "We need to get out of here! This place is falling apart without its master!" Margaret explained as she lead them back up the long spiraling staircase. "Ialmost died" Pierce said before falling due to lack of energy. John now picking up the Doctor held him on his shoulders. "Save your energy my friend" Said John as he slowly climbed the stairs. There halfway up the spiraling staircase was this thick gray cloud. "THERE! The fog is up ahead!" Margaret climbing up the stairs vanishes into the fog. John feeling however is much slower, an older man who now was having difficulty keeping his balance as the ground shook. "I'm getting too old for this!" John said to himself as he slowly stepped up and into the fog. The Otherside bringing the team back to the restaurant where they had initially begun their journey. Three came in, three came out. The people who were dining at Beezle's Italian Restaurant earlier were no casualties of war. Margaret leaned against a table before sitting down at nearby diner chair. Plopping her head down on the table she breathed hard. John just fell to the ground, and gently pushed Pierce off his back. "Whathappenedto all the people?" Pierce asked as he rolled onto his back, looking up at the ceiling with the many lights and fans. "They're gone" Margaret said before pulling her hood over her head. Indeed all the people that were victims were now lost, maybe to become ghosts, maybe to move on as celestial spirits. Footsteps came and from the entrance of the diner stood Detective Klines. Still in his long trench coat he came over to help pull up Pierce from the floor. The Doctor however declined the offer. "Where the hell have you been? What happened to you guys?" Assisting John from the floor the Priest slowly arose. Taking a look outside and around his surroundings the Priest took his time.

"Itsits nightfall." "Yes its nightfall! You all left earlier haven't seen any of you since! What are you doing here this is still a crime scene!" The Detective instinctively looks down to see that the large mark that was once on the floor was now also gone. "What happened here?" Klines asked and John patted him on the back before escorting him towards the entrance of the restaurant. "Detective if I could just borrow you for a moment. You will find that out of all the people who have gone missing there is one employee who is a person of interest. That man is one of the cooks at this restaurant." "I've already looked into that." Klines responds. "And what do you have?" John continued to ask. "I've got three cooks, all missing." "Congratulations Detective! You just solved this horrible case." "What are you talking about?" Klines now asking the questions. "Its brilliant! One of those three cooks, was behind all of this. Kidnapped them, did horrible things to them, then ran away." "What about the bodies? There is no proof of something bad here. Actually the only solid proof I had now is now gone! Vanished! How do you explain that father?" The Detective putting his hands on his waist stared at John he looked back at his fellow team members. Margaret who was passed out on the dinner table, and Pierce who now sunken himself onto a chair as well. "Want to know the best part about my job Detective? I don't have to answer to you." With that harsh statement John slowly leaves the restaurant, Klines with a mad look only gets more aggravated over the entire situation. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSE TO DO ABOUT THE REPORT? WHAT AM I GONNA TELL THE CAPTAIN?" Klines yelled at the Priest but he continued to walk on. His silence said enough. Walking back into the restaurant he shook Margaret, but the Detective got no response. "GET UP!" Shaking Pierce as well he saw that they were both too tired to move. "UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE!" Klines shouted as he stomped all the way out of the restaurant and into his car. After some rest Pierce awoke and rubbed his eyes. Morning had arrived, Margaret was no longer sitting with him. The Doctor slowly got up and stretched, before heading for the exit. "Where you going?" Hearing a familiar voice Pierce stopped and turned around, there was Margaret coming from the back of the restaurant. "I thought you had left already." Pierce returned to his seat and Margaret sat at the chair across from him, she placed on the table a large bottle of alcohol and two glasses. "Look at what I found in the back." Pierce picked up the bottle and looked over the name. "I'm not much of a drinker." Margaret grabbing the bottle from Pierce's hand opened it and began to pour. "You just stared down a demon. Not just any demon. A very powerful one. I think you deserve a drink!" She passed him his glass, Pierce after a moment picked it up, and saw that Margaret was now pouring herself one as well. "I thought you didn't drink?"

"Nonomy father, was an alcoholic. I learned from the past you need to relax once and a while to survive the hells we go through. ANDI felt you shouldn't drink alone. Should never have to drink alone." Margaret took a slow sip from her glass, Pierce followed. "Out of all those things that you have learned. Anything you've done ever in the past that you'veyou knowhad regrets about?" Putting down his glass Pierce stared down Margaret who took another swig from her glass before responding. "I'm not perfect Doctor Pierce." Margaret says his name in a mocking tone. "The only real thing that I regret in my life is never saying goodbye." Margaret bit her lip. "Goodbyes to Sara?" Pierce asked but he knew that he was right. "You want a talk about it?" "Not right now" Margaret replied with a softer voice and tone. Pierce now noticed that Margaret was for the first time ever shy about a subject. Her tell was Margaret was rubbing her finger around the rim of the glass. It was more lady-like than what Pierce known Margaret for. "Okay...wellI should go! Tell John that I will be needing to make up for lost time at the hospital. Feels like I haven't been there in forever!" "Okay." Margaret replies as Pierce stood up. "Oh and tell him I still have a lot of questions." Pierce said as he stretched himself out again. "Okay, I will." With that the Doctor walked to the entrance of the restaurant once more. "Oh yeah and Maggie-" Pierce looking back to her. "BE GOOD." "Okay" The Doctor left with that final certainty from Margaret. Taking the last of alcohol from her glass Margaret poured herself another glass. While pouring the liquor the tears began to abrupt from nowhere. In a fit of rage Margaret grabbed the glass and threw it across the room. Now hearing the smash she grabs the bottle as well and throws it harder with more of an arch. This time the smash was loud, and Margaret reveled in it. Readjusting herself in the dining chair Margaret leaned her head against her hand as she wept hard. The tears came down her face and hit the white table cloth. Waving at herself Margaret tried to control her breathing so that she could calm down. However her thoughts got the best of her. Tears were still coming down on her face. Margaret pounded the table, and then pounded it again, and again, and again. Finally with a scream of rage Margaret pounds both her fists on the table. The light above her table explodes, showering small bits of glass down onto her. Covering herself defensively Margaret shoots out of her chair and in shock stares at the damage that she had done. A spark popped from the light above, or what remained of it. Seeing how her crying had now been succumbed Margaret shook what bits of glass she had on her shoulders off before leaving the restaurant behind.