I was back on Infernum Tonight, sitting across from the demon, Azazel Flameborne, while he interviewed, not just me, but Annalise and Snuggles as well. There was less tension in the studio this time, perhaps because I was feeling glad that my two friends had made it through their own Trials in one piece.

Snuggles was sat in his seat, currently three feet tall, as he regaled the captive audience with tales from his Trial, acting like some sort of conquering hero. The audience were eating up.

“So there I was,” Snuggles said, his fur covered arms gesturing dramatically, “stuck in what they called the ‘Cuddles & Carnage’ Trial. So picture this—a massive toy store, but everything’s trying to kill you. Teddy bears with razor teeth, jack-in-the-boxes with tentacles, the works!”

The audience chuckled as he bounced in his seat, his eyes—no longer made of glass—gleaming under the studio lights.

“Now, most contestants would try to fight their way through, right? But me? I had an epiphany. I thought, ‘Hey, I’m basically a living plushie now—why not try diplomacy?’ So I walk up to this enormous murder-bear, all nine feet of horrible fuzzy death, and I say, ‘Hey there, big guy. That’s some lovely stitching you’ve got there. Custom work?’”

The audience burst into laughter as Snuggles mimed examining the invisible bear’s fur with a connoisseur’s eye.

“And you know what? The murder-bear actually stopped! Started preening a little! Turns out evil toys are just as vain as regular ones. Before you know it, I’m hosting a tea party in the middle of the apocalyptic toy store. Had a Barbie doll with chainsaws for arms serving crumpets, a possessed rocking horse doing the serving tray balancing act...”

He paused for dramatic effect, the audience on the edge of their seats.

“The best part? The Trial Master shows up, this big shadowy thing calling itself the Toymaker, expecting to find a bloodbath. Instead, there’s me, teaching a group of killer stuffed animals how to do the Cha Cha. Should’ve seen its face—well, if it had one. Pretty sure I heard it mutter something about ‘reviewing the parameters of psychological torture.’”

The audience was in stitches now, even Azazel was trying to hide a smirk.

“By the end of it all, I had an army of reformed murder-toys. The Toymaker just threw up its hands and said, ‘Fine, you pass. Just please stop teaching the possessed jack-in-the-boxes to sing Sugar Sugar.’” More laughter. “And that’s how I became the first contestant to complete a Trial through the power of friendship and impromptu dance lessons!”

He took a little bow in his seat, his body—more monster than plush now—bouncing with the motion. “And hey, being permanently transformed into a three-foot-tall stuffed monster? Not so bad. Do you know how much I save on food now?”

I glanced at Annalise, and we both smiled and shook our heads. Despite her smile, she couldn’t hide the haunted look in her eyes, and I got the impression she was put through the mill during her Trial, same as me.

“Well, Snuggles, you may not have spilled much blood during your Trial,” Azazel said, “but you sure made it entertaining, didn’t you?”

“Hey, what can I say, Azazel?” Snuggles said. “That’s the name of the game, right? I was just putting on a show for all the good people out there.”

The audience clapped and cheered, and Snuggles smiled smugly.

“So, Annalise,” Azazel said, shifting his attention to her, even though she clearly felt uncomfortable being here. “Tell us about your Trial. You were at a summer camp, being chased and tormented by ‘The Slasher.’ How was that experience?”

The crowd fell silent, as did Annalise. For a long, uncomfortable moment, she just sat there, her eyes glassy as she seemed to be lost in the memories of her Trial.

“Annalise?” Azazel prompted her.

“It was horrible,” she finally said. “I almost died multiple times.” She turned to look at the audience. “And if you freaks get your rocks off watching something like that, there’s something fucking wrong with you.”

Oh shit…

The audience fell into shocked silence for a second, then Azazel said, “Clearly Annalise is suffering some after effects, folks. We know how these Trials get to some contestants.”

Annalise stood up suddenly. “You’re all fucking sick. You disgust me. Get fucked, all of you.”

Then she stormed away from the set and across the studio, disappearing into the shadows.

I sat there in the shocked silence, mortified, not knowing what to do or say. Snuggles did the same.

“Well,” Azazel said, seeming annoyed that someone would walk off his set like that. “Some people just don’t know how lucky they are, do they?”

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“It’s not easy,” I said in her defense, looking at Azazel and then the audience. “We’re only human. We weren’t built for this kind of… horror.”

“Weren’t built for it?” Azazel leaned forward in his chair, his eyes gleaming with barely contained malice. “But that’s exactly why you were chosen. Your... fragility is what makes it entertaining.”

The audience murmured in agreement, and I felt my stomach turn.

“Look at you,” he continued, gesturing broadly. “Each of you handled your Trial differently. Snuggles here turned it into a comedy show. You, Kade, became the very monster you were fighting. And Annalise...” He glanced toward where she’d disappeared. “Well, she broke. Different paths, different outcomes, all absolutely riveting television.”

“We’re not performing monkeys, Azazel,” I said quietly, but firmly.

“Oh, but you are!” Azazel’s voice boomed across the studio. “That’s exactly what you are! You’re here to entertain. Annalise just failed spectacularly at that, but you two...” He grinned at Snuggles and me. “You understand the game.”

Snuggles shifted uncomfortably in his seat, no longer seeming quite so cheerful. “Maybe she’s right, you know. Maybe this whole thing is—”

“Careful now.” Azazel’s voice dropped to a dangerous purr. “You wouldn’t want to lose your... audience appeal. Would you?”

The threat hung in the air like smoke. Snuggles’ eyes dimmed slightly, and he slumped back in his chair.

“That’s better,” Azazel said. “Now, Kade, tell us more about your transformation into the new Drifter. The audience is dying to know—did you enjoy it? The killing? The power?”

I looked out at the sea of eager faces in the audience, all hungry for more violence, more trauma, more pain. In that moment, I understood exactly why Annalise had walked off.

“No,” I said simply. “I didn’t enjoy any of it. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

Azazel’s smile turned razor-sharp. “Oh, come now. Surely you can give us more than that? The ratings demand it.”

I forced a false smile onto my face. “I just did what I had to do to win. That’s why we’re here, right? To win?”

“Of course,” Azazel said, annoyed that I wouldn’t give him more. “You’ve certainly shown you have the capacity to win, haven’t you, Kade? First Floss, then the Drifter. It seems like there’ll be no stopping you.”

“There won’t be any stopping any of us,” Snuggles cut in, “because we’re the Damned & Dangerous party, and we won’t stop until we’ve conquered the entire Trials of the Damned!”

The audience couldn’t help reacting, erupting into cheers again. I had to give it to Snuggles, he knew how to play the game.

* * *

After the show, the three of us were relaxing in the green room. The showrunners had laid out a spread of food and drink for us, which included a bottle of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes for me. Grik was around somewhere too, though I had no idea were. Before the show, he informed us that he was now mentoring all three of us, since we were a party and it would apparently be easier that way. Personally, I just think he saw the potential in all of us and wanted to ride the gravy train to his future race change.

Despite my lackluster performance on the show, it certainly hadn’t hurt my ratings, which had increased quite a bit.

Views: 2.2 billion

Watchers: 6.6 million

Favorites: 3.7 million

Sponsors: 2

Snuggles’ ratings had shot up also, as had Annalise’s, though she had the least out of the three of us. No doubt the viewers could tell she wasn’t fully engaging with the game, and that she was reluctant to turn herself into some sort of “star.” In one sense, I admired her integrity. But I also knew those kind of human values were a detriment in the Trials. At some point, Annalise would have to embrace that fact if she wanted to stay relevant. I hoped she would, for I didn’t want to lose her.

She sat beside me drinking whiskey, even though she hated it. She held a lit cigarette, even though she had never smoked back on Earth. This was the first time the three of us had been alone since finishing the second Trial. After our Trials, we were immediately transported here. Annalise and I looked like blood-soaked extras from the Evil Dead 2 movie.

“I guess you got it rough during your Trial,” I said quietly.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What for? This is the game, right? It’s only going to get worse from here.” She paused and shook her head. “I thought I’d be strong enough for this Kade, but—” Her lower lip trembled as if she was about to cry. “Now… now I’m not so sure.”

After placing my whiskey glass on the dressing table, I put my arm around her and pulled her in close to me, kissing her gently on top of the head. Her hair smelled of blood and rotten meat. “You are strong enough,” I told her. “Floss done a number on you, there’s no doubt. But you can’t let what that bastard did destroy your chances of survival here. He’s gone now, and he can never hurt you again. You survived and he didn’t. So fuck him.” I paused. “Besides, you still have me and Snuggles. We’ll all get through this together.”

Snuggles walked over and placed a hairy hand on Annalise’s leg. “We’re here for you, Ninja Girl. And Kade is right—fuck Floss and what he did to us. The best thing we can do now is succeed despite what he did. That fucker has probably been repurposed as a slug or something. He’s probably crawling along a rock in some swamp somewhere.”

Tears ran down Annalise’s face and dripped onto my crimson stained jeans. “It’s not just Floss. You don’t know what I went through in that last Trial,” she whispered. “The things I had to do…”

“I understand,” I said. “I had to do some fucked up horrible things as well. I can’t even…” Bloody flashbacks assaulted my mind, and I shuddered at the sheer horror.

“Hey,” Snuggles said. “What doesn’t kill us and all that malarkey, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, not feeling it.

“Right, Annalise?” Snuggles pressed.

Annalise nodded, sitting up straight and wiping the tears from her eyes. “Right.”

“There’s my Ninja Girl.”

At that point, the door opened, and Zara poked her head into the room. “Kade, could you come with me, please?”

“What for?” I asked, frowning at her.

“Vorak would like to speak with you in his office.”

“Who the hell is Vorak?” Snuggles asked.

“One of the Infernova executives,” I said, still looking at Zara. “Does he want his wicked way with me, because I’m not really—” I stopped when I saw the wounded look on Zara’s face. “Sorry, that was… I’m coming.”

Standing up, I downed the whiskey in my glass and took a last drag of my cigarette, stubbing it out in a metal ashtray that had the Infernova logo on it.

“Be careful, Kade,” Snuggles warned. “Those guys are the real monsters.”

Zara looked at the floor when he said that.

“Yeah, I will be,” I told him, before looking at Annalise. “You going to be okay?”

Annalise forced a smile, bless her. “I’m fine. Just don’t take any shit, okay?”

I smiled back at her. “I never do.”