Kane climbed into the hammock like a natural.

He’d had a hammock for a while back in Albany, so he’d gotten pretty comfortable with them. He and his mother had set it up between a pair of trees in their backyard, which had unfortunately been too far apart, causing the hammock itself to stretch thin and eventually snap one day. But on the particularly nice days, after a workout with the free weights in the garage or a run around the neighborhood, he’d lay back in the sun and take it all in.

It seemed those rare nice days were long behind him now.

This hammock’s fabric was itchy, and the pillow was flat and lifeless. The hammock itself felt flimsy, too; Kane had the feeling that the hammock might just tear open, and he’d fall right through.

The crew’s quarters were dimly lit by Esau’s flames, now enclosed within lanterns spread about the space, casting a soft red glows in the choice spots around the room. Esau himself was already knocked out, sleeping silently in his own hammock just a good few feet away from Kane. Meanwhile, it seemed that Saul was on the graveyard shift when it came to steering the ship — which made sense now that Kane finally thought about it. If he was their best combatant, and everyone else had other duties, then it made sense for him to steer and keep guard during the night and then sleep during the day as a card in reserve in case things went awry. Maybe he’d been asleep prior to today’s kraken attack.

This would also explain his pervasive crankiness. But this arrangement meant that Saul would get his alone time, and the others would get their beauty sleep. Technically a win-win.

Kane still hadn’t fully comprehended the beef the older man seemed to have with the rest of the crew. They were all cynics to some degree, but Saul looked to be a straight-up misanthrope. Perhaps he’d simply been that type of man in life. Not that it was Kane’s job to figure the guy out, regardless.

Other than that, Kane had already done all the thinking he’d wanted to for today. He’d had his chance to vent earlier with Lucian, and he’d likely sleep better because of it.

For the first day, it hadn’t been excellent, but he’d survived and he had a nebulous goal in the form of an apparent destination. It could have been worse.

Finally ready to drift into a sweet, calm, dreamless sleep, Kane shut his eyes, pressed his head onto his pillow, and felt unconsciousness wash over him like a gentle ocean wave.

—

The fucking shadow monster rebuked reality itself.

It wasn’t easy to describe, but it was even harder to look at. It seemed to repel light, as if the thought of being illuminated disgusted it to its very core. The closest approximation Kane could make when it came to its substance and its shading was TV static, except this thing actually hurt his eyes to observe, unlike TV, which was twice as pleasant and thrice as harmless.

It was tall and slender, a dark-blank blur, a silhouette. Standing over him in the backdrop of white, as if it was primed to devour him in a single pounce.

Kane couldn’t move his limbs. Despite every part of his mind screaming to make a run for it — and to where exactly? He was in a white void, although every corner of it looked safer than beside this thing — Kane was locked in place, head craned down towards the creature’s approximation of feet and knees.

It reached down with a long, jagged arm and lifted Kane’s chin. The feel of its ‘skin’ on Kane’s own tingled, like pins and needles of a limb that had falling asleep. Out of fear, Kane screamed, but no noise came out in the static background sound of the void they were in.

His face was lifted until he was facing the creature’s own visage. Despite its whole body being static that was neither black nor white, it still seemed to have two spinning swirls of pure light for eyes and a matching smile that was excessively wide. It almost looked as if it were a drawing from a preschooler’s nightmare.

When the creature spoke, it didn’t sound malevolent, nor hungry, nor angry, nor even sad.

It just sounded… irked.

“They don’t say ‘Hello’ anymore on Earth nowadays?” Despite its apparent annoyance, its voice was cool and calm and melodic, like a gust of fresh wind blowing through an evergreen forest. It was pleasant, not matching the creature’s appearance at all.

And it radiated power all the same.

It was odd enough to jolt Kane out of his paralyzing fear for just a moment. “Don’t do what?” To his surprise, he was able to actually say these words, despite his screaming from earlier having been inaudible.

The creature narrowed its ‘eyes’. “Don’t scream in my face like that. You haven’t even met me. It’s rude and honestly pretty hurtful. How would you like it if someone had just met you in the street and then started screaming in your face in terror?”

Kane didn’t even have a response to this. He did not expect the otherworldly demon creature thing to behave like a gen ed lecture’s class-clown.

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“You know what? I’ll forgive you — don’t even worry about it, water under the bridge. I think with time, we’ll become great friends. I’m not here to bite — at least, not yet.”

“Are you my sleep paralysis demon?” He did a decent job of keeping the tremble out of his voice. It was definitely too bold of a thing to say, but some part of Kane was already done with all this before it had even truly gotten started.

“Basically.” The creature shrugged, such a languid gesture for a creature two heads taller than him. “Seems it’s easiest to talk to you when you’re asleep. Maybe we can make this a nightly thing?”

Kane would rather not. His brain was already running through the list of possible ways to escape this place. Just like earlier that day, none of his plans were good.

“Well, guess it’s time for introductions. You’re Kane, nice to meet you, yadda yadda yadda. And me? I’ve been called many names — not all of them nice — but you, you can call me Freddy.”

At this, the creature’s smiled wide as before, barely fitting on its face.

Perhaps it was trying to look friendly?

The fact that it had been talking for as long as it had suggested that it likely wasn’t going to strike Kane down anytime soon. Yet it seemed to have some sort of control over him, given how he was still unable to move his limbs or speak unless spoken to, meaning it wanted Kane prone and helpless. “What do you want from me?” he demanded.

Freddy’s smile slipped away. He sounded mildly offended as he spoke. “I can understand that talking to me might be unsettling at first — that’s why I’m making an effort to be friendly, to make you comfortable. I have your best interests at heart.”

So it was trying. “You wake up in Limbo with no memory, of course you’re gonna freak out, and be incredibly disoriented. And what with me appearing in your head the moment you fall asleep. If I were you, I’d be freaking out too.”

For some reason, hearing this otherworldly abomination sympathizing with him was somehow… reassuring? Despite the way it looked, and its odd behavior, it was nice to have something attempt to make Kane feel better in a way that Lucian and the others hadn’t really managed just yet.

But no way in hell was he trusting it. No creepy deals and no soul-selling; I’m not that desperate just yet.

“Here. Lay it on me. This sucks, right?” The creature seemed to step away, raising a palm towards Kane, gesturing for him to answer. “Right?”

Kane cleared his throat, finding his voice. “Well. I mean, yeah. My sense of self has been irrevocably altered, my grip on reality is all but gone, and I’m lost and alone and probably in great danger.”

“Honestly. You’re a strong guy for putting up with this for as long as you have, stronger than you’d think.” Freddy nodded, squinting, as if he were just as ticked off as Kane was. “Here, walk with me.” He began to walk forward, and when Kane made an attempt to move, he found his limbs finally obeyed him, albeit unsteadily.

Despite his heart picking up the pace, he would hold off on running for now.

“And the lot you’re with…” Freddy whistled, which Kane didn’t think could technically be possible given the geometry of his mouth. “What a mess. Your life is in their hands, and theirs in yours.”

Kane had avoided thinking of it like that, but it was true. “Yeah. It’s not a good feeling. Hurts my stomach, you know? And I’m not too sure about that ‘their lives being in my hands’ part. I’m the weakest person on board.”

Freddy did the closest thing to furrowing his brows. “What makes you think that? Your power allows you to…” He trailed off once he noticed Kane’s facial expression.

Kane’s eyes had gone wide as coins. “Wait, so I do have one?”

The creature made a face, as if he’d said too much and was regretting it. “Tell you what, friend. I can tell you more about it next time we meet. But time moves faster here,” he waved a hand in a lazy arc around them, “and there’s important stuff I need to let you know.”

Naturally, it wasn’t the best idea to take everything the nightmare demon said at face value. But Kane genuinely hadn’t heard good news in as long as he could remember.

His mind whirled with the possibilities. What was he able to do? And why hadn’t he figured it out yet?

He realized Freddy was waiting for him to press him with a question? He put on a subtle smile, attempting to reciprocate the prior friendliness. “Of course. What is it?”

Freddy shrugged. “Frankly, I’m really just here to tell you to listen to Lucian, your captain, for the time being. And… judging by that look on your face, I get the feeling that you don’t like him. But he’s right about the heading thing. You have to head towards the center.”

Kane was baffled. There was all this information that this creature could possibly give him — stuff about why he was in hell and what his power was and all the important stuff like that — and what he considered most vital was his suggestion to listen to the cloaked bastard?

He raised a hand. “Alright, hold up. We’ve skipped, like, many, many steps. What are you, how are you speaking to me, and why?”

Freddy didn’t miss a beat. “Those are easy. I’m a Shade, a spirit of the underworld. I’m reaching your unconscious-conscious with a very fragile connection from very far away — think dial-up. I don’t actually look like this.” He gestured to his static-covered form. “I’m much handsomer in person, honest. You might meet me eventually.

“And as for why I’m speaking with you? Don’t hate me, but all I can say is I’m partially responsible for getting you into this situation…” As he said this, the Shade looked immensely guilty, even with its simplistic features. Like a puppy who’d broken a prized vase.

It wasn’t enough to stop the fount of rage that materialized in Kane’s gut and exploded outwards from every angle. He stopped immediately, whirling on the creature. “You WHAT?”

Freddy shook his head, backing away as if he wasn’t the most threatening thing on this plane of existence. “You seem… mad. You know what, I’ll tell you more about it once you reach land, which is the actual border of the 9th Circle. Sound good?”

Kane jabbed a finger at the demon’s face, all wisdom and caution leaving his brain in real time as he got far too close to it. “No, it doesn’t sound good! I need to know—”

Freddy gently grabbed his wrist. “Do it for Isabella.”

Kane froze, an itch forming in the depths of his mind. “Who’s Isab—”

The world flipped on its side.