Well, that was… a lot. When I told Freako to toy with him I meant, like, chase him around and stab him a few times, not… whatever that was. Even with my immunity to mental attacks that song freaked the hell out of me, and judging by how the soldiers acted, it wasn’t just an off-putting tune.

I’m glad the creature listened to me, at least – it seemed to pace itself so the sergeant wouldn’t be in real danger before the time was up. Unless that was just a coincidence, but I doubt it. It was methodical in its attacks, making sure to not hit anything vital, and timing its big finish so the time would run out.

I need to keep a better eye on that monster. The last I saw it, the thing was smaller than one of the spiders and looked like a goblin. Now… I don’t even know how to describe it.

I glance over at Maddi, who’s standing beside me. I wince as I see the bone protruding through her face. Anger broils in my stomach. They really shot her in the head. Will that ever heal, or will she be stuck with half her head being skull forever?

Now's not the time, for any of this. “Maddi, could you please pick up the trigger happy man?” I ask, pointing down at the wounded guy.

She grins. “Of course.” She grabs the man who shot her by the ankles, letting his head drag across the floorboards.

Whatever… I glance over at the other soldiers, who are still knocking Freako’s song out of their brains, going off their expressions. I send Blue a message, and the giant reluctantly releases the men.

The first one up is the dude with the baseball bat. I still don’t know why he has that, it wouldn’t be useful against monsters. He immediately rushes forward, headed for me. Pulling the overgrown stick from his back, he goes to take a swing at my head.

I duck, the man’s sloppy swing flying over my head. He spins in a circle as his attack continues, and he falls on his ass.

“Oww…” he whines, glaring up at me.

“Man… what’s your problem?" I ask the glowering man. "Shouldn’t you be happy to be alive? I could’ve killed all of you. I still could if you’d prefer.” I stare at the symbols on his uniform, a level of surreality hitting me. How weird is it to see stuff from Earth, here, after all this time?

“Get fucked, witch!” he growls, trying to spit at me. The pathetic droplets of fluid disappear as they get near, vaporized by the heat coming off of Maddi.

The blue demon smacks the man on the head, knocking him unconscious. Grabbing his ankle with her free hand, she drags him along too.

We walk up to the remaining soldiers, one who is still a bit out of it.

I do a fake cough to get their attention. “So… I’ll take you to town now.”

────────────

“I’m not sure if this is the best idea…” Maddi says quietly next to me.

I nod in agreement. “It’s probably a horrible idea… but I have to do it.”

I glare at the familiar wooden door in front of me. The woodgrains on the thing are identical to the ones I grew up staring at. After taking a deep breath, I flick the door with my mind. It snaps open, the frame filled with an almost blinding white light. The sound of wind whistling through trees fills the space. I step through before I can change my mind.

I close my eyes against the bright light as pressure squeezes me from every angle, making me feel like a sardine being canned. It only lasts for a few seconds, and besides a painful popping of my ears, nothing overly unpleasant happens.

That is until I open my eyes. What I see rattles me to my core.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

My body, more accurately my corpse, laying decissicated on a moldy bed. Looking away from the wretched thing, I see only more upsetting things. The room I was imprisoned in surrounds me, almost unchanged since I was last here.

My chest tightens up and I start having a hard time breathing. Why did I come here? It’s just… I screw my eyes shut, not wanting to see the horrible tile room anymore.

Memories flicker through my mind, replaying the pain and torment I went through here. Why did this door lead here, why did it have to be here? A whole planet, and it opens in the worst place possible.

A warmth on my shoulder shocks me out of my misery. Glancing up I see the worried face of my demoness general. She’s gripping my shoulder, like she is preventing me from floating away.

I frown at her. “I-i t-t-told you t-to stay…” I stammer at her.

She shakes her head with a rueful grin. “Right, because you clearly are doing fine on your own.” She cuts off my rebuttal by pulling me into a tight hug.

Her body is hot, almost to the point of burning me. I guess that’s not a huge surprise. I move my arms to reciprocate the hug, clinging to the feeling of safety the blue woman exudes. …Geeze she’s muscular.

We stay like that for a few minutes, and I feel myself slowly calming. Eventually Maddi releases me, and offers me a hand.

I grab the offered help and am pulled to my feet.

She gives me a sideways grin, her eyes darting around the room.

“I think your new place is better.”

────────────

Standing on the roof of one of the more popular bars, I watch the otherworlders stumble through the streets. I can’t believe those two just left me here to babysit while they go explore another world. Life is so unfair.

I jump to a nearby house, not wanting the bumbling manchildren to leave my sight for even a second. I doubt they could hurt anyone before I stopped them, but I don’t want to chance it.

Suddenly the one with the stick pulls it off his back. He winds up to strike a metal drum with it, and then… stops. He pauses midstrike, with the wooden weapon held behind him. What the hell is he…

Then I see it, a faint glow growing on the edges of the stick. He’s using magic! I launch myself off the makeshift tiles of the roof, aiming for the moron. But I’m a second too slow, and he strikes the can.

I land on the ground next to the man just as whatever he did takes effect. Light flashes around the oversized can, and it goes flying through a nearby wall. Faintly, I hear someone yell ‘Home run!’.

I shove my paws into the cobble road, into the shadows. Thick tendrils of darkness shoot out of the ground near the otherworlders, wrapping around their limbs. After they’re bound nice and tight, I walk into their view.

“I told you idiots to not do anything stupid,” I say with a hiss.

The leader just stares at me despondently while his subordinates all look at me with fear in their eyes. All but one.

“Stupid cat, I shoulda shot you when I could,” the man with the stick spits at me.

I let out a long sigh. “Mistress told me you’re an adult, but I’m starting to doubt it.”

The stickwielder’s eyes bulge in anger. “Fuck, fuck this place!” he roars. His limbs strain against my shadows uselessly.

Losing the last shred of patience I had, I pull the man into the ground. He quickly vanishes into the shadows, the dark puddle drying up after him. With a small amount of focus, I send the man to Blue.

With the problem child out of the way, I look at the rest of the kids.

“Your friend is in time-out. Does anyone want to join him?”

The men all shake their heads, except the leader, who just ignores me. Tired of these shitheads, I release them.

They all fall to the ground, quickly pulling themselves up. As soon as they can, they rush away from me. I watch as their backs get smaller. Once they turn a corner, I jump up onto a nearby roof.

I really hate children.

────────────

Walking through hallways that I still find familiar through the damage, Maddi and I start to find corpses.

Unlike my dried-out remains these are rotting, mostly liquid bodies. Most are only partially here, cut away cleanly by something. The corpses aren’t the only things cut apart, either: huge sections of the facility are gone, scooped out.

Eventually we find the way to the entrance where the facility meets a tunnel. Poking my head out, I see only darkness.

We take a chance, and head out into the tunnel. Once we’re far enough from the bright fluorescent lights, my eyes start to adjust. Immediately I notice the tracks in the center of the concrete tube.

“We’re in a subway tunnel!” I say, surprised. Maddi raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t ask me to explain. I always assumed the cursed place was underground, but I expected it to be in the middle of nowhere, Area 51 style. But if this is in fact a subway system, that means we’re in a city.

“I want to get out of here, but this tunnel system could go on for miles,” I explain to the demoness. Wandering endless tunnels isn’t my idea of a great homecoming.

A bright blue light blinds me as heat radiates from where Maddi is standing. Looking at my demon friend, I see her channeling her flames straight up. The gluttonous tongues of flame lash against the cement, liquifying it. It doesn’t take long until they’re burrowing through the gray stone.

The azure pyrotechnics last for a few minutes, which I spend glaring at my underling. She looks around, avoiding my gaze. When the fire does finally blink out, I’m immediately blinded by a different light.

Sunshine.