HELLS GRACE

Part 5

“That’s weird. It says on Google Maps that this road doesn’t exist,” Yasmine said from the backseat. Unlike the others, she wasn’t dressed for a break-in, wearing a band t-shirt I hadn’t heard of, a loose, long-sleeved flannel shirt, and shorts. She was younger than the others and must be around her mid-to-late twenties. She looked Polynesian, with brown skin and long straight black hair. A quick look at her Instagram feed showed that she hailed from Honolulu, moved to LA, and then to Oregon.

“What? It’s the only way to reach the other side of the lake, and this road comes to a dead end,” Steven said.

“Maybe we missed a turn.”

“Tara just drove back and around. This is the only road.”

Yasmine rolled her eyes. “What do you think, Tara?” She asked, hoping to persuade the sister.

Tara paused, looking at the dirt road. “I mean, forty grand is forty grand.”

“Do you even believe that guy has forty thousand dollars sitting in his living room? He looks like a bum,” Yasmine said, turning back to Steven. “Babe, I don’t think we should have taken this job. We should have asked more if he wants us to off someone. You said this Alvin guy was a felon and lived off a bottle a year ago, and now—”

“Now he’s got a job working for some rich folks. Frankly, I wished I had thought of that sooner,” Steven said.

Tara whirled around. “We’re independent contractors, Steven. We’re not some leashed dogs. And Yasmine, forty grand is nearly a year’s worth of paycheck for most Americans, right? And we’re getting it in a day.”

“Divided by three?” Yasmine crossed her arms.

“Enough pocket money to find a new gig,” Tara said. “Portland’s bustling these days. Plus, we still got that money from the last job. You didn’t have to shoot anyone, but Steven and I did. It’s still the same pay, and I didn’t hear you complaining.”

“We got fifty from that. We haven’t gotten a Portland job in a while. For good reason. Those motherfuckers up there are crazy.”

“Everyone gets crazier in the winter. It’s only one woman. How hard can that be?”

“Yas, he said he’ll increase the money if we found the gemstone. We can ask for seventy-five, so we get twenty-five grand each?” Steven reassured her. “If they really want this gem, it must be precious. Heck, we might steal it for ourselves if not for--”

“Not happening. We got a code, Steven. We don’t fuck with people who hire us. Bad for business.”

“Yeah, yeah. Gotcha, sis. But think about it for a moment, okay? This could be like two hundred grand or something if Alvin wants to get it back.”

Yasmine leaned back in her seat. “Ah, fine. Rent’s due in two weeks anyway.”

Steven smiled. “I know you’ll come around.”

“Why would a woman be alone in a cabin?” Yasmine muttered.

“Vacation?” Tara chimed in as she drove into my road.

“Or hiding. Alvin is looking for her after all,” Steven said.

“This means she might be armed, so we must be careful. Scout first, then we make contact. You know the drill.”

Both Steven and Yasmine nodded. “Got it.”

Their aura grew in strength with a bright shade of green.

I watched them cross the bridge and then the site of Eddie’s accident. However, using [telekinesis], I dragged the van further into the forest, and Old Growth covered them with foliage earlier this morning. No one from the road would see it unless they ventured into the woods. It’s hard enough to see that I made the road specifically twisting so that the driver had to focus not to go off the ditch and crash.

“We’re almost there,” Steven said.

“Okay. Everyone hold on.” Tara steered the Jeep off the path and through a gap between the trees. Steven and Yasmine held on for dear life as the vehicle rocked back and forth from running over each protruding root and mound. Finally, she found a clearing where she could park the car. She looked at her GPS. “That should bring us…a thousand feet from the property. Grab your stuff. We’ll walk from here.”

On Oracle’s screen, I saw Alvin had just arrived at the roadhouse’s parking lot.

“Keep your eyes on him, Oracle, while we deal with our visitors,” I said.

> ORDERS RECEIVED.

“What about me, lord dungeon? What shall I do?” Maxine said.

“You?” I paused, thinking. “I want you to play.”

Demon Maxine grinned. “Then I shall.”

For an hour, Steven, Tara, and Yasmine stayed beyond the tree line, watching from the shadows. They scouted the cabin, noting the only entry points (the front and back door), and even looked through the boathouse. I didn’t let Maxine show herself near the window. I didn’t want to give away her location to the others. She remained inside the pantry, hidden. Once they’d scouted everything they could, including the garden and generator shed, they met up near the start of Trail B to discuss their plans for getting inside the cabin.

After ten minutes, they decided to bring Yasmine in.

Wearing Tara’s daypack, Yasmine took a deep breath and marched down Trail B, pretending to be exhausted. She took out the full bottle of water from the side of her pack and poured it to half empty, then took a small swig, patting the nonexistent sweat on her brow with the back of her hand. The others remained hidden in the bushes, watching the woman stagger toward the cabin. Unbeknownst to them, Goliath stood not far behind, doing the same thing.

I already told Goliath, Old Growth, Siren, and the demon what weapons Tara and Steven carried. Tara had a knife with her and a Glock. Steven also had the latter. Only Yasmine was unarmed.

Yasmine walked up to the front door and knocked. “Hello?” Another knock. “Anybody home? Hello?”

I went over to the demon. “Handle her.”

“With pleasure.” Maxine walked out of the pantry.

“Hello?” Yasmine knocked again.

Maxine opened the door but kept the chain lock on, parting a narrow gap between her and the stranger. “Can I help you?” Maxine asked, pretending to be cautious. I’m impressed by how quickly the demon could switch an act. They had an infinite time to perfect it.

“Hi!” Yasmine exploded with relief. “Thank God someone’s home. Um, I just got lost hiking through the trail, and I stumbled upon your cabin.”

Maxine glanced over her shoulder. “Well, you’re off by several miles if you’re trying to get to the mountain.”

“Yes. Um, well, I’m not really used to hiking on my own, but the sun is going down, and I don’t really know where I am. I just want to get home. Do you have a phone by any chance?”

Maxine hesitated. A stupid question, I thought. Everyone has phones these days. We’re practically addicted to it.

Yasmine never let her kind smile falter. “It’s just that my husband and I are visiting the town nearby, and he can drive over here from the hotel and pick me up once he knows where I am. He wanted to do wine tasting than hiking.” Yasmine faked a laugh.

Maxine gulped. “Uh, what’s wrong with your phone?”

Yasmine showed her a blank screen and frowned. “Dead. I forgot to charge it last night.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Maxine nodded. “Oh. Um, sure. You can come in.” She unlocked the chain and opened the door wider.

“Fantastic! I’ll be out of your hair in no time!” Yasmine said and entered the cabin.

Steven took out his CB radio. “She’s in,” he told Tara, hiding behind the bushes near the back door.

“Copy. We’ll wait for her signal,” she said.

Inside, Yasmine made a show of looking around the cabin. “Oh my gosh. This is quite a nice place you have.”

“It’s my husband’s,” Maxine said. “Our summer home. I’ll get the phone.”

Maxine entered the bedroom upstairs while Yasmine started checking out the living room. She walked over to the picture frames, and her expression slightly twitched. She noticed that the photos did not feature Maxine at all. A completely random family. Her Resolve dwindled to a dull green. It was not my intention, but I was glad I unnerved her. She heard Maxine’s footsteps coming out of the bedroom, and Yasmine quickly walked back to where she was last standing.

She beamed a smile as Maxine handed her Leo’s phone. “Thank you, thank you so much. I owe you one.” She dialed Steven’s number, and they let it ring for a few seconds until Steven picked up. “Hey, hun! It’s Kyla. I’m calling from a woman’s phone because my battery died. Yes. I’m okay. I just got lost and found this cabin, and this nice lady handed me her phone to call you…yes. Yes. Uh-huh. Um…” Yasmine turned to Maxine. “Where are we again?”

“North Cedar Lake.”

“North Cedar Lake,” Yasmine said. “Sure. I can drop a pin. Would that be alright, ma’am?”

“That’s fine,” Maxine said.

“Perfect.” For some reason, Yasmine’s green Resolve became duller and duller. She probably expected Maxine to protest, given that she might be hiding from Alvin’s employers, but she offered it immediately.

“She’s suspicious,” I told the demon.

Maxine’s face never changed.

“Alright, hun. I’ll wait for you here. Love you. Bye-bye.” Yasmine dropped the pin over text and then handed back the phone. “Again, thank you.”

“Please. Sit. I’ll brew you some herbal tea. You can also watch TV. I have cable.”

“Oh, that would be nice. Um, actually, may I use the restroom? I’ve been hiking quite a lot, and my bladder’s…”

“No need to explain. It’s just down the hall.”

Yasmine waited until Maxine went into the kitchen, took the kettle from the cupboard, and added water from the sink. She marched toward the back door, making sure her footsteps were as light as a feather.

Yasmine unlocked the door and went into the bathroom. Turning on her phone, she sent Steven and Tara the thumbs-up emoji.

TARA: Good. And the thing?

YASMINE: Didn’t see it. Might be hidden.

TARA: We’ll look for it together. Wait fifteen minutes. We’ll be in. Jamming the phones now.

Outside, Steven opened the small gym bag he carried around his shoulder and fished out a small grey box. It only had a couple of buttons, and he pushed the one on top. Immediately, all the internet access around the cabin was cut off.

> INTERRUPTION DETECTED. REROUTING POWER AND PROCESSING…

“Shit,” I muttered. Oracle was a construct, but I made him to be a computer with access to the internet. A jamming device would quickly snuff that out. “How long’s that gonna take?”

> FOUR MINUTES [TECH MANIPULATION TRIGGERED].

“Not bad. Just do your best.”

I teleported into the kitchen. "She opened the back door," I told the demon.

Demon Maxine nodded. "And this human is a capable fighter?'

"Tara says she is. She could be lying to Alvin so that she's included in the job."

"She is weak. I can sense her soul," the demon said almost with glee. "She is not like the other two. Could be a lie then."

"Are you saying you can handle her?"

"Like a boot to an ant. She is a pretty face to knock someone's walls down. I'd like to wear her."

"But what about Maxine's body?"

"She is still...alive. When I slip out of her skin, she will be be knocked unconscious by the separation. But do not worry, lord dungeon. I will get inside her body after I take care of the others. I have not dallied in a while, and Oldie has usurped the kill last time, although a welcomed one."

"Okay. See to it that you will."

Yasmine waited in the bathroom for a few minutes, checking her phone, and confirmed that Steven had already blocked all communication around the cabin. That brought her a lot of confidence as her Resolve turned greener. She walked over and looked at herself in the mirror, trying to psyche herself up, patting her cheeks, moving her jaw.

“Come on, Yas. You’re not the one who’s going to do it,” she said. “Not you. Not you.”

I realized she meant killing Maxine. It’s all fine for her as long as she’s not the one doing the deed. Her hands trembled a little. Anxious. She peeked out of the bathroom window but couldn’t see Steven or Tara hiding nearby. Sighing, she washed her hands and walked out the door. She returned to the living room and noticed the kettle was almost boiling.

Maxine smiled. “It’s almost ready. Do you want honey with it?”

“Yes, please.”

Yasmine sat at the end of the dining table, waiting as the kettle boiled, and Maxine poured the hot water into two mugs and handed it to her. “Careful. It’s hot,” Maxine said.

“Thanks. What’s in it?”

“Peppermint tea. Good to warm yourself up. I hope you’re not allergic.”

“No, it’s one of my favorites.”

Maxine sat on the opposite end of the table. “So, what brings you to hike on your own?”

“Oh, I’m an avid hiker,” Yasmine replied, taking a small sip. “I’ve hiked many trails, and the ones around Mount Selene are my go-to this time of the year. I know it’s cheesy, but it’s like being inside a postcard.”

“It is a beautiful area. That’s why I chose it,” Maxine said.

Time to unnerve her more. I activated [Strange Noises]. I made two-second, audible footsteps as if someone was running on the second floor. Yasmine immediately noticed it, but Maxine pretended she didn’t hear it.

“Um, is your husband here with you?” Yasmine asked.

“No,” Maxine answered. “I had friends over last night.”

“Oh. I didn’t know you had guests.”

“Oh, don’t worry. They’re sleeping downstairs.”

Yasmine’s bubbly facade fell. “Downstairs…?” She looked around for the stairs that would lead below. She probably thought that she missed an area of the cabin. After all, some places had turned their basements into living spaces. I could tell she wanted to alert the others of more potential complications. Fighting multiple people at once was not part of their plan.

Maxine picked up the steaming mug of tea and gulped it down like a beer can. Her throat turned red as the heat rushed from her chest to her cheeks and forehead. She let out an exhilarating exhale and dropped the mug down on the table with a loud thud, enough to make Yasmine jump. Maxine’s lips splintered and reddened.

“Yes. Downstairs,” Maxine reiterated. “They’re…hungover from last night. It was a massacre of a party.”

“Oh.” Yasmine was clearly uncomfortable. She didn’t know where to look and instead chose to look down at her hands around her mug. She didn’t like the way Maxine was looking at her. Suddenly, she wanted to leave this cabin and into the forest’s safety.

With [Strange Noises] still active for a minute, I created the heavy footsteps again as if someone was slowly walking down the stairs.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Yasmine had a good view of the stairs from where she sat in the kitchen…and no one was walking down those steps.

Only the noise.

Reverberating against her ears.

It continued walking down those wooden steps until it reached the bottom landing. And still, it creaked against the floorboards as if an invisible force was walking toward the table.

The noise stopped from where Yasmine was sitting, eyes bulging and breathing heavily, focusing on the space where the figure must be standing. She didn’t realize she was gripping the mug tighter and tighter until the heat surged from the mug and radiated up her wrist. “Shit!” She shouted, reeling her hands off the steaming mug.

“Yasmine,” Maxine called out. “Are you okay?” She asked, almost sounding genuine.

“Ah, yeah. I just burnt myself—” she paused. “Wait. What did you say?”

“I asked if you are okay. Are you?”

Yasmine shook her hand and stood up. “No, no. Before that.”

Maxine hesitated. “What did you think I said?”

Yasmine froze. It dawned on her, and she certainly didn’t imagine it. The woman said her name. The name that she did not give. Kyla. That was the name she had given her. Kyla. Not Yasmine. Kyla.

“What. Did. You. Think. I. Said?” Maxine asked again.

Yasmine quickly picked up her pack from the floor. “Um, I—I think I remember now where to go back to town. I don’t want to be a bother, but, um, I think I could find my own way.”

“What about your husband? Isn’t he picking you up?”

“I-I can meet him on the trailhead. It’s easy to find.”

“But you are far off the trail. You haven’t even finished your tea.”

Yasmine forced a smile. “I’ll just get some air.” She strode out of the kitchen and headed toward the front door. She was about to unlock the chain when Maxine shouted.

“GOOD!” Maxine got up from her seat. “And the thing? Didn’t see it. Might be hidden.”

Yasmine slowly turned around and let out an uneven breath. “What…”

“We’ll look for it together…” Maxine’s voice became deeper and garbled as if three voices were speaking at once. The demon triggered its [Mocking Torment]. “Wait fifteen minutes. We’ll go in. Jamming the phones now.”

“How…” Yasmine was rooted at where she stood. Fear clouded her mind.

Maxine grinned. Her eyes glowed a golden yellow. “Lucky for you, whore. Fifteen minutes is all I need to have fun with you.”

Yasmine pivoted her heels and reached for the chained lock, but Maxine was already behind her and slammed her face right on the wooden door. Blood spurted out of Yasmine’s nose as Maxine grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her back. She stumbled onto the ground, clutching her bleeding face.

The demon leaped on top of her. Before Yasmine could scream and alert the others, Maxine wrapped her hand around her mouth, muffling her cries. I didn’t think it would be possible, but the demon extended Maxine’s tongue by several inches, almost like a snake’s, and licked Yasmine’s face from her chin and then up to her forehead. A greenish slime of bile glistened on Yasmine’s cheek.

“My, my, Yasmine…” the demon said. “Your soul tastes awfully sweet. I will enjoy wearing your flesh and let you watch your own hand cut your pretty boy boyfriend and feed his eyes to his bitch sister. She doesn’t like you anyway, does she? Sounds…fun.”

The demon grabbed Yasmine by the jaw and forced her mouth open. Suddenly, a deluge of black and crimson blood mixed with maggots erupted from Maxine’s mouth, spraying all over the girl’s face. It was like watching a hose shoved inside Maxine’s throat, and when I thought it would end, it kept going and going and going…

Finally, the bloody flood waned, and Maxine’s eyes rolled over, and she collapsed on the ground next to Yasmine, whose Resolve turned into a deep red.

The demon’s shadow hovered above her, waiting. Though I could see it, the woman couldn’t.

Choking, Yasmine scrambled to her feet, trying to wash the blood off her face. She wanted to scream but didn’t want to swallow the maggots crawling around her head and inside her blood-soaked hair.

“Oh, God! Oh, God!” She yelped, grabbed the chained lock, and pulled the door open.

Luckily, Steven and Tara had already moved into position near the back door. They had no idea what was going on inside.

“Steve—!”

The infernal shadow rushed forward and wrapped itself around Yasmine’s body like a coiling snake, freezing all her muscles mid-stride. She tried to breathe, tried to move her head, her eyes rolling backward until all I could see was the white sclera. A big glob of drool slipped out her gaping mouth. Then, her bladder emptied, and urine flowed from her shorts and down her legs, pooling underneath her.

“Help…” Yasmine managed to squeak.

The demon dragged her back inside the cabin and slammed the door shut.