The next few moments feel like they stretch out forever. Everything is moving slowly as my blood pumps faster and my mind tries to process the situation. The Beast is on top of one of the larger buildings and is about to push off its perch for Brad. It is up pretty high and has about fifty feet to go before it gets to its target. I take a step back and see in my periphery that Brad turns his head to meet my gaze. His vision must have locked onto the beast preparing to pounce, because he cries out in fear and takes a step back, bumping into Anna.
“Brad,” I call out to him as I turn back. He does not react at all. “Brad! Take Anna and get out of here!” Anna is still close and not paying attention. She is looking at the ground while people scream and run. There is something seriously wrong here. I need to get them out of here before I can worry too much about that though. “Anna!”
“Hey, Mike!” She says, her eyes focusing again. I point over to Brad and am going to tell her they need to get out of here when The Beast leaps. She turns to look at Brad, and sees The Beast hurtling toward him. She screams like a scream queen horror movie victim would. Moving as quickly as I can, I push Anna out of its path and connect with Brad's midsection, pulling him down to avoid the attack. He cries out in pain as the claws of the beast rip through his coat and I’m afraid they’ve scraped across his chest. Luckily, I can see when I stand that the coat took the largest portion of the claws. Tons of feathers fly, and his coat and shirt fly open, exposing thin lines of red across his chest. If I had not intervened, I am sure he would be in three or four pieces right now.
The Beast growls and strafes to our left.
I turn to meet its gaze.
“Brad,”I say.
“W–Wha–What the hell is that thing?” he yells.
I see him clutching his chest in my periphery. I can't afford to take my eyes off this thing.
“Brad, get Anna and get the hell out of here,” I yell through gritted teeth.
He scrambles to get up and turns to run.
“Brad! Get Anna!” I yell again.
He grabs her arm and pulls her with him as they run, still clutching at his chest. The Beast watches, cocks its head to the side and whines. I provide cover while they escape, keeping my body in between it and them. Now that I am this close, this being feels familiar. It is not affecting me, but this thing is hot. I think it might be time to activate my own burn.
The Beast whines again, sounding like an upset dog then lets out a roaring bark. Glass windows along some of the stores that line the street shatter at the sound. The force of the vibration pushes me back a step and I check my ears. There is blood coming out of my right ear and it is no wonder, the shockwave reverberated as if from a grenade but the sound was like the sonic boom of a jet. Luckily, the street is clear now. No one saw the destruction one bark from this creature caused.
Since all of the gawkers cleared out when The Beast attacked Brad, I can draw on the power of my other half with no witnesses. I reach for the energy inside me but it retreats. Ugh, not now.
What are you doing?! Now is not the time for this!
No response. The burn will not take hold.
I thought we talked about this!
Still nothing.
“Fine!” I yell aloud in frustration. The Beast paces for a second, hops to one side then jukes, darting past me in the opposite direction. I have lost sight of Brad and Anna, but I know it is taking the same route they fled in. “Oh, no you don't!” I yell after it.
Its speed is something to be envied. Following its movements is hard, especially at the speed we are going, but I have been training myself by tapping into what is available, even without the help of a full burn. The creature moves toward me as we run and nudges me with its snout then breaks off. I am pushed off course and it moves around a small median, splitting our parallel pace and forcing me to run through the outside area of a restaurant. I fall behind, dodging tables and furniture and apologizing to the patrons as I jump over their table. They either didn’t hear the ruckus and roars from before or are completely oblivious. They yell after me, but I keep going.
I hear both Brad and Anna scream and hope I am not too late. Putting on as much speed as I can, I catch up as it rears back a paw to make the killing blow on a now downed and bleeding Brad. Driving my shoulder into its side, I grunt with the effort of slamming into the beast, using all the momentum I have built up. It yelps and I hear a crack as it goes flying. It bounces three or four times, then slams into a car, its head smashing through the driver's side window. It lies there unmoving and I take a moment to check on the couple. Anna cradles Brad’s head in her lap and looks up at me, her eyes going in and out of focus. I kneel next to them and glance down at Brad. He is breathing, but it is slow and shallow. There is more blood on him, but I don’t see it pouring out or anything. Anna has kept her eyes on me and I glance at her intermittently while checking on him.
“What happened?” she asks in a moment of lucidity. She looks back down at Brad's injuries in horror.
“Anna, you have to run. Call someone to get him. You guys have to get out of here!” I look back and dart toward where The Beast hit the car.
I approach quietly from the side, opting for stealth. Shattered glass litters the ground near the car that was hit. There are also some shards from the next two cars over too, the force of its impact shoved them together. The car’s alarms blare, covering my steps but also making it hard for me to hear. Stepping around to where The Beast landed, I see the dent in the car, but do not see the creature. Peering carefully around each car like I am in a horror movie, I scan the area. I can't find it. If I were in one of those movies, this would be the part where it was right behind me. It better not be, I swear. I turn slowly to look and luckily, it is not. Upon closer inspection of the parking lot, I see a trail of ashy smudge marks on the ground in the shape of paw prints. I follow them to a walkway near the strip mall I am at. The Beast is lying by a fountain in an area between two roads. It whimpers while it licks a leg that is bent at a sickening angle.
I move as quietly as I can, creeping up on it. Now that I can see it clearly and we're not running, I know exactly what this is. I have seen one before, a long time ago when I made a mistake. I was an angsty teen who was upset at my absentee father. I tried to summon him up from the Pit so I could tell him how much I didn't need him. I know how it sounds, but I swear it made sense at the time. I was gonna tell him off and win, but these impulses rarely hold up when you actually stop to think about it. If they cared to know you didn't need them, they would be in your life. The spell to summon him, however, didn't go to plan. I must have messed it up because when the portal opened, one of these jumped out and scared me so badly that I threw a rock at it and ran as fast as I could.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
I can't believe I am seeing another Hellhound. Its skin looks like a cross between obsidian glass and lava rock that is in the process of cooling. Molten lava flows in between the cracks and separations of the stone-like skin. The air around it shimmers, the heat coming off it causing a mirage-like ripple effect in the cold air. This has to be what the rumors and reports were about. Its crazy sharp teeth are a dead giveaway. They hang down past its chin while its mouth is closed.
Yes, I definitely know what it is, but why is it here? How is it here? So many possibilities run through my head. It could be that Rhal summoned it, but I doubt it. I don't know if he would use something like this to exact his revenge. He would want it to be personal if I know his type as well as I think I do. Could it be another of my 'siblings' coming to make trouble for me again? That's a strong possibility, but why now? Or maybe it is just another dumb kid like me, messing with magic that they don't understand.
Whatever the reason, this thing should not be here. I move closer to it in order to… To what?
I literally have no idea how to approach this situation.
I don't know how strong it is, although I do seem to have possibly broken its leg… I have no idea if they even have bones.
While I am trying to formulate a plan, sirens sound in the distance. Someone is coming, whether that be police or an ambulance for Brad. Shit–I need to get back over there and check on him. I look over to where I just came from, but I don't have a clear view of where they're sitting.
I am blindsided by a huge clawed paw. It smacks me down and rakes across my back like razors. Taking my eyes off this thing, even for a second, wasn’t smart. It is standing on my back, and its claws are digging in. It growls and leans down, its drool sizzling into the ground again near my face. The rumble of its growl vibrates through me. Then, to my surprise, I hear a voice.
(Strong One, right. Weak.)
It lowers its head, and I feel its hot breath on my neck as it opens its maw.
“I'll show you weak, beast!” my mouth says.
No, that's enough. I say, It's not getting up.
The Hound is watching me when I turn my attention back to it. It drags itself backward as I approach. It tries once more to stand, but falls yet again.
“Who sent you?” I ask, continuing to walk toward it.
The sirens are almost on us, so we need to conclude this now. Instead of answering, the thing digs at the ground. Its claws slice through the earth like a hot knife through butter, bringing up huge clumps of dirt and flinging them as it sinks quickly into the ground.
“Wait! Why are you here?” I yell after it, but it is already gone. It burrowed into the ground so quickly that I could not do anything to stop it.
The stress-filled moments have passed and I sigh in relief. I had not been sure if the attacks had been Rhal or not. Now I am positive. That Hound is not him. Its energy is completely different, and while I am pretty sure it spoke, it wasn't in Rhal's voice. The adrenaline of this afternoon is wearing off, and I am actually jazzed about how that went. I know I should not be super happy about beating an animal up–even though 'animal' isn't correct when talking about a hell beast–but it was really nice not being the punching bag. I wait a moment to see if it is going to come back or try a sneak attack, then I yell at myself.
What the hell, man? Why wouldn't you tell me that it was a Hellhound?
My demon didn't respond when I called. I needed him for the benefits of a burn. I can still use it even if we are not in sync, but unfortunately, it comes with a drawback. Every time I let my demon side out without an agreement, it becomes harder to suppress it. If I lose control, I will be the one stuck in the back seat–and I don't know what my other self wants to do if he gets out. The times before, all I felt was an insidious anger–just blind rage. Now, though, it does not feel the same. The agreement we have made is that, in circumstances of mortal danger, the cost of using the power is eschewed, but only if we agree. So, even though I felt this time warranted the use, he did not.
It called us weak. That's why you had such a violent reaction–literally. I continue walking back toward where I left Brad and Anna. I look down at myself but only have a few minor scrapes. My back, however, stings. I reach a hand back and touch where it hurts the most. The wounds are closing up, but my hand still comes away red. I stretch my arms forward to coax my healing into overdrive, then pick up my pace to a jog when I see the ambulance come to a stop.
You–Shut up! If you'd just told me or maybe agreed we were in danger before we almost got sliced to pieces, none of that would have happened. Sometimes I think he is trying to trick me into using our combined abilities. Like he is creating a scenario by putting us in danger, hoping I will just burn without him so that he can get another foot in the door. He is gonna get us killed one of these times.
I think I did okay. We're not done talking about this, but I need to see if they're okay.
He doesn't respond.
'I thought you could handle it, but I guess I was wrong?'
What a jerk.