Beware the things, that lurk below.

For darkness is, all they know.

- Founder script recovered from the fourth level.

“State your terms, Gob.”

The demon seemed contend with my final reply. “Glad you’ve come around, Boss.”

People panicked all around me as the drums came ever closer. Their terror amplified by the myriad of Roamer’s that loomed on the horizon. Short, pale looking creatures. Devoid of both hair, and eyes. Their physique may not have been that intimidating, but pure numbers made up for it. Add in the addition of their tamed ‘pets’, ranging from giant spiders, to slithering snakes, and you had a recipe ripe for mass hysteria. A hysteria in which Gob decided to negotiate, instead of act.

Why now? That damned demon has been pestering me about his Collar all this time, and now that I had Loosed it, he simply refused to act. I could only scowl as Gob closed his eyes to listen to the wails of despair around us. I get it, you’re in control. Just do something!

“That’s enough enjoyment,” Gob finally said after a long minute. “For now.” His sight alternated between me and the incoming horde, sporting a small grin, one which got wider with every second that passed. “Sorry, Boss. But I’ve found that Deals made under pressure tend to be that much more beneficial for me.” To say that I got irritated by the shoulder pat he proceeded to give me, was an understatement. “Surely, you’ll understand.”

“Your. Terms. Now,” I managed to squeeze out between my clenched teeth.

“Now, now, Boss. No need to look so angry. If you aren’t careful, you might pop a vein somewhere.” He looked over his shoulder. “Though something tells me, that isn’t the biggest of your concerns.” Breathe in, breathe out. Don’t let him get to you. “The thing is, Boss. You’ve been keeping me on a tight Leash these last couple of days, and as such I demand a vacation.” He chuckled as I began grinding my teeth down at a rapid pace. “Can’t function properly with all this pend up stress, Boss. You know what I’m saying?”

“That’s enough drivel from you, imp,” Sly said before whispering something in my ear. “We appreciate your attempt, but we’ve prepared ourselves the moment we accepted the Mark. No need to try and kindle our hope with this farce. We know he can scare away a dweller, but we’re going to need a lot more than that to escape this shitstorm.” She backed away until she stood next to the rest of my squad-mates. “Just give the order and we’ll gladly die alongside you.” The other four nodded in agreement.

“At least some people get it,” Gob sighed. “Pity my Boss isn’t one of them.”

“Get what?”

Gob’s eyes looked at me with pity. “Don’t worry, Boss. You’ll have your entire life to figure it out. And if that doesn’t work. Well…” Gob shrugged his shoulders. “It doesn’t have to be this lifetime specifically…”

My head started to hurt thinking about the implications of that last line, though the beating drums quickly put an end to that. Right, we’ve got bigger problems. “Are you going to state your terms, or what?”

“Calm down, Boss. Jeez… can’t a demon stall for some time in peace? Youngsters these days…” Drop-kicking him off the bridge seemed to get more alluring by the second. “But this should be close enough.” Gob made a last take at the horde in the distance before focusing on me. “I reckon they’ll be on you in five minutes, Boss. Whether you accept or decline my proposal during that time is solely up to you.” He flicked his wrist as a familiar puff of smoke enveloped it. Out of it appeared a white piece of paper; its heading read Addendum as numerous pulsing red lines sprouted forth from that word and ran through the paper. Yeah, no. Been there before, not doing that.

“I’m not signing any more of your damned Contracts, Gob,” I said, pushing the paper away when he presented it to me.

“At least you learned something, Boss,” Gob said. “But this one only contains text clearly visible to the naked eye. No hidden clauses, or anything like that.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you?”

Gob almost looked offended by my statement. “Of course not, Boss. I’m a demon. Why would anyone sign anything I offered them without reading it thoroughly. Only idiots would do that.” He put his hand on his chin. “Wait a second. There was this one dumb-ass in a basement, I can’t exactly remember his name... Matthew? Matt? Mark? Marcu-”

“That’s enough,” I said, snatching the paper from his hands. The page looked blank, safe for single block of text in the middle. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

“Simple… you don’t” He held out his hand. “Instead, I’m offering you a Deal. If any hidden or invisible text is contained on that document, it will be considered null and void. In addition I will be forced to clean this mess you’re currently in for free.”

I shook his hand before he hand a chance to pull back. “Deal.” The air visibly rippled for a brief moment, only to settle down like nothing had ever happened in the first place.

“You happy, now, Boss?” Gob looked over his shoulder again. “Better hurry up, you only got 3 minutes left.”

The whooping noises in the distance made that statement abundantly clear. The Roamers may not have eyes, but that didn’t stop them from hearing our cries of terror. And they were going crazy from the sound of it. The drums began to beat faster, causing their pace to pick up as the remaining distance began to grow smaller by the second.

My eyes flew over the pulsing page, checking both the back and the front. Confident there was nothing else, I settled my sight on the only block of text the document seemed to contain.

Marcus Ashwood, current Boss of Gob, will agree to let Gob, his Contracted demon, to Loose his Collar for the remainder of his stay in the location known as the Long Dark. Were Marcus to lose his Mark and return to the Burrows, or the surface, the previous clause will become null and void, in addition to the immediate reapplication of the Collar per the conditions set in the original Contract.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

In exchange for the aforementioned agreement, Gob will be forced to use his new-found Collarless power to, one-time and one-time only, get those people bound to Marcus Ashwood's Mark, safely off the Burrows’ main, underground bridge.

A shiver went down my spine. The mere thought of an unrestrained Gob was enough to instill fear. But it was nothing compared to the cold terror churning in my stomach — one that came from the rumbling earth beneath me. Thousands upon thousands of Roamer cries pierced the air as they began their charge. The last few hundred feet of safety rapidly shrank in their mad dash to get at us. “Live or die, what’s it gonna be, Boss?”

My body acted before my brain could catch up, thumb channeling mana into the small corner box with desperation that only imminent death could bring. The paper gave off blinding light before blinking out of existence. What was left behind was the sight of a grinning Gob, eyes filled with the kind of madness only the truly depraved knew.

“Shame you didn’t embrace it, Boss.” Gob’s body began to sweat black blood. “Though I should thank you, either way.” The murky liquid slowly pooled beneath his feet. “Having to watch you grow up would have been a pain in the ass.” What the fuck is he talking about? “I suggest you stand back a little.” Gob turned towards the incoming horde of screaming savages. “And try not to pass out.”

A thunderous clap rumbled through the cave as Gob smashed his palms together, shaking the ground as little bits and pieces of rock fell off the ceiling. The limbs of all the Roamers froze into postistion mid-stride, causing their faces to skid across the floor till they came to an eventual standstill, leaving streaks of red smeared across the stone bridge. At first glance they seemed dead, were it not for the occasional limb spasm, and the twitching of flat nose-slits.

Nobody moved as silence descended. Not a twitch, not a cough, not a word. For they couldn’t. I tried to move, tried to speak, but the same paralysation that seemed to plague the Roamers also had worked its way into my own body. I could only watch, unable to take any action, as the black liquid around Gob began to bubble and rapidly grow in size. Each second that passed made it that much larger as it refused to flow towards the immobile Roamers, only ominously creeping towards us instead.

Some primal part of me railed for control of my mind; whatever that blood was, it was not something I wanted to touch. Not that any of it helped. I could only silently struggle as the stuff started flowing past my knees, little pinpricks emanating from where the warm blood met bare skin. If that wasn’t enough, the sensation began to steadily creep upwards, slithering and worming its way beneath my clothes; heart hammering in my chest as panic took over. Soon, it was almost up to neck, making its way to my open mouth; a mouth I desperately tried to close with all my might.

My eyes couldn’t see what was happening below them, but the people around made it abundantly clear. The black blood had crept all over their skins, coating their frozen limbs in a cloak of impenetrable darkness, eyes sporting the same look of terror as it slithered up their necks.

My mind shocked back to my own predicament as the bitter tasting liquid began to invade the insides of my mouth. Oh Gods. It quickly submerged my tongue before heading deeper in. No, no, no, no, no.   

Bile rose from my stomach at the realization of where it was headed, hoping to flush it out before it got any further. It never got there in time. My throat got drowned with the substance as strands began crawling into the inside of my nose. Tears streaming endlessly from my eyes as it did. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. The last sight I saw was that of blackness making contact with my eyeballs. Then there was only darkness. And a voice, a voice I knew too well.

“You awake, Boss?” Gob asked. “Never mind, you can’t answer anyway.” My primal instincts were going completely wild, but quickly settled down when one truth became obvious. I can breathe. No, that was wrong. Blood still blocked my airways; breathing should have been impossible. I don’t need to breathe… “For those few of you still clinging to consciousness, congratulations. It seems you’ll receive the honor of knowing where you’re headed.” Splashes could be heard as if someone waded through blood. Or maybe it was water now? I didn’t know, everything was still pitch black for me. “You see, my Boss and I made a Deal. And due to that Deal, I’m forced to get you off this bridge safely. But that’s the thing, I just need to get you off this bridge.” I have a bad feeling. “And going the conventional way is sooooo boring. Anybody can walk over a bridge.” A really bad feeling. “Besides, I’m really curious as to how deep this chasm will go. So I thought… why not go down?”

If I could scream, I would have done it. “Now, I know deciding something like this without a proper group discussion is only going to lead to resentment down the line. So we’re going to have a proper vote on this, majority decides.” How about… no. “Those of you who want to go down, please raise your hands.” My muscles were still locked into place, but that didn’t stop my arm from magically rising into the air. “Wow! Everyone wants to go, how wonderful!” Gob began clapping his hands in excitement. “Since all of you want to go, we better make sure we do it right the first time. Climbing back up seems like it would take a while. Any suggestions?” It remained quiet, safe for the inside of my wailing mind. “Now, now. No need to be shy. You, miss, in the back. You seem to be harboring a great idea.”

What followed was a high-pitched, gnarly voice coming from the same direction Gob was just talking a second ago. “Well… I don’t know sir demon. I have difficulty concentrating when your broad, perfectly chiseled chest is so openly on display. I’m having trouble just thinking of anything but you.”

My mind drew a blank as Gob cleared his throat. “Yes, I know this perfection is hard to gaze upon, miss. But I urge you to cease this seduction, less my equally perfect wife finds out. I don’t want to get the hopes up of one as beautiful as you.” I think I’m going to vomit… again.

“Oh, sir demon, what a shame. It seems your heart is as pure and just as any angel. Alas, I shall cease this folly and offer my maiden’s wish instead.”

“Tell me, fair maiden. And I will grant that which your hearts desires.” If this goes on, I’m going to jump voluntarily.

“Oh, absolute, perfect, beautiful, charismatic, and supreme, sir demon. I always dreamed of cannonballing off an impossible high bridge since I was a little girl. Surely, one as magnificent as you can fulfill my lifelong dream?”

“Fear not, fair maiden. You are in the company of like-minded people. Men and women who have dreamed each night of cannonballing down high places. Making plans, perfecting their technique, and calculating the optimal cannonball to wind resistance ratio. You are in the presence of cannonball experts, my lady! And they would love nothing more than grant you your dearest wish. Isn’t that right, fellow cannonball lovers!?” My head began bobbing up and down on its own. “See there, their answer! Now, follow me, fellow cannonballers! May we make the cannoniest cannonball that ever cannoned!”

A series of splashes were heard before Gob began to shout, “CAAAAANNNNNooooooonnnnnnbbbbbbbaaaaaaaalllllllll.”

My limbs began running towards the ever more distant sounding Gob as my mind reeled against the magic controlling my limbs with all its might. It did not help. Within seconds the familiar feeling of ground beneath my feet disappeared, replaced by heart-lurching feeling of falling into a black void.

I don’t want to die. 

Not like this.