From the demons lair

Time passes by and after what seems like another lifetime, I find myself walking up to the window of the space port which faces the space city. The hardened plate glass clears a bit as I approach it and the view is as bleak as my inner self. The numerous suns and the distant stars blink and shine as they cast their dim light which gently finds its way into the room. Not much can be seen except the endless stream of stars flowing past the window. Every so often there was a slight crackling hum, one could feel the static and smell ozone in the air as the way station starts to shake and shudder as it is buffeted by what seemed like the unending storms. The storm passes and the utter silence which seems to permeate through the walls amplified my own breathing.

The ground shook a bit and I heard a heavy sound of boots rudely stomping on the wooden flooring which seemed to be coming towards me. The sound came closer. The sudden rough knock in the door startled me and brought me out of the thoughts I was in. A strong earthy smell permeated the room and the sound of shrieking crows filled their ears. Reddish yellow light spilled into the room as the resident demon hissed at me to tell me that the slop was ready and asked if I was coming down or not. Not waiting for my reply, the large burly demon stepped up to the chair I was sitting in, yanked me off and started to drag me out of the room while I was wildly thrashing. Throwing me over his shoulder, I flew down the stairs and landed near the foot of the stairs. A soft hiss and then a cough from one of the kitchen guys who was taking orders for dinner brought me back to my senses. The body ached and it felt like every bone was broken and I let out a loud moan as pain shot through my body. Light spilled onto my face from the high intensity torch as one of the foul smelling creatures who had occupied this timeless eateries stomped impatiently once more to hiss at me that the slop was ready and asked if I was heading off there or not. With a loud curse, I headed off down the hallway and into the eating area.

The empty table, broken furniture, rotting curtains and the constant scurrying sounds of the rats hidden behind the walls could not keep my mind from feeling a little uneasiness I was feeling from the unfinished business at hand. A few flies buzzed around and the food I was trying to eat was as listless as the place. There were still a few bodies stacked in the corner which had not processed. The kitchen crew was slacking in processing the inward bound items and someone was going to do solitary time for this. A few pockets of mist solidified in the deep dark pools, merged into a one and started to twirl round and round while a banshee like sound was heard. The feud was finished in the physical world yet continued unabated here. There were occasional shouts, a few angry words and the worked up spirits were pacified once the guards walked in and started to threaten them that if they don’t quiet down, they be sent to the lower levels to roast till eternity.


The whistling sound of the kettle from the kitchen wakes me out of the dark thoughts that I had fallen into. Teleporting between planes always wore me out and I never knew where I would end up while exiting this place and in what condition. With some effort, I got out of the chair and headed off to the kitchen to see if something could be done to shake the lethargy out of my system. Seeing that the kitchen was empty, I grabbed the kettle, poured some coffee into my mug to banish the thorn from my mind and plan out the method by which it can be removed.

The intercom above crackled and the dispatcher barked out that I’ve been assigned another job and report in to the teleportation room for the long haul mission. I sat there and pondered it took me a few moments to realize that I have not picked up my job sheet to see exactly what I have to do. I looked around wondering if my supervisor was still here and all I saw was an empty room. Looking around I saw my job sheet tacked onto the job board with todays job highlighted in yellow with a note that it’s a priority job.

Heading out the door, I glanced back wondering if the spirits which whispered angrily amongst themselves would maintain peace while I was gone. Grabbing my duffle back, I started to walk towards the room which will send me to my destination and hopefully not scatter my atoms across many planes. Handing my destination coordinates to the scrawling beast, I stepped on the teleportation disk, heard a hiss, crackle and saw the walls disappear before my eyes.

I woke up in a dark alley. I don’t know how long I had been out yet when I looked up all I saw were stars and a lonely moon travelling across the sky. I rubbed my head wishing the awful splitting headache away. My legs were weak as if all the energy had been drained out of my system. Feebly, I walked to the edge of the dark alley and gazed down a dirt road that ran through this so called town. I looked down at myself and then the drunk sprawled near the edge of the road and realized that I had been teleported to some other era.

Memories rushed back and I remembered the turn of events that led to this. I hastily felt my back and was relieved to discover the backpack still there. Its weight felt comforting. The clip clop of a horse was heard in the distance and I realized that I needed a place to hide till I got a new set of clothes and a new identity. Running down the small hill, I spied a lone horseman approaching the town. Tying a burlap rope across the dirt road, I waited for the horse and man to pass. A lone rider rounded the corner and he was in a rush to reach the town. Not seeing the tight rope stretched across a few feet above the road, the horse fell throwing the rider into the bushes. The horse was ok and it got up almost immediately. Shaking itself free of the dirt it pranced around nervously and seemed out of breath. The rider was unconscious and I hauled him to the tumbleweed bushes. I went up to the horse and it took some time to calm it down. It must have been one long haul journey as it seemed tired and sweaty. Bringing it to the bushes, I tied it to one of the tumbleweeds and wandered back to the man to see which clothes I could use.

Taking my clothes off, I packed them in my backpack and hid it in the horse saddle and put on the man clothes on. The clothes were a bit bulky, but it’ll do for now. Pulling out my job card, I flipped the flashlight on and started to memorize my mission. Swinging the horse around, I pulled the bridle till it started to gallop back towards the town. Time was running short as the teleportation gate only opens at certain times and if I miss it, I’ll be stuck here till it cycles through and makes another pass at a later time.



The town loomed in front of me as soon as I rounded the small hill. The same dark wooden houses stared back at me. The dark alley still had the drunk sprawled, yet a stray dog sniffed the drunk before marking him before leaving. The house for which I was looking for was the last one and it appeared before me as I reached the very edge of town. The front portion of the dark brooding house was overgrown with shrubs and weeds and the windows were all boarded. No sign of life was visible, yet I knew I had reached the right place. Getting off the horse, I gathered my belonging and set it free. After watching it gallop some distance into the heart of the town, I turned around and started to walk towards the house which seemed to stare down at me as if to discourage me from entering.

Turning the door handle just a bit, I pushed the door gently till a crack appeared. Through the old wooden partially open door, bright yellow light was spilling out. Looking through the small opening, I looked inside to see that the room seemed empty. As the door creaked open, I saw cobwebs everywhere and a thick layer of dust covering everything. I started to cough as a thin layer of dust started to float as I started to walk across the floor. In the distance I saw a dust covered table with a table light. Walking over I flipped on the study light on the desk. It was a large room with a fireplace at the very far end. Wooden book shelves lined one end of the wall while there was a large window at the opposite end.


One the floor, there was a lush carpet and behind the bar was a huge wine rack filled with numerous bottles both of which were covered with a thick layer of dust. As I wandered through the dust filled house, the empty rooms echoed my footsteps and dusty windows and mirrors reflected my passage. I wondered if I had come too soon or too late. Finding a staircase, I make my way up the stairs to find myself standing at a hallway. There are numerous doors on each side. Opening the first door, I saw that it was a dimly lit bare room except for the old wooden table with a chair near the window and a fireplace near the center. Looking around, I saw that each wall was identical to the other. Each wall had a door with an old wooden table and chair near the window in which the shades are drawn. There was a broken door lying at the very far end as if some intruder had broken into the room long time back.


I stepped back momentarily as I saw a figure emerge through the broken door and into the room. He lit a lantern hanging on one of the walls, shed his wet clothes as quickly as possible and hung them by the fireplace to dry. The fire seemed to have died down long ago yet the ambers still smoldered brightly under the ashes. Throwing a hand full of twigs and some straw, the old man stirred the ambers and kept fanning till the twigs and straw caught fire. Bit by bit, he kept adding the logs till it was a roaring fire and started to wander around to find a clean dry set of clothes. Not finding any, he pulled up a chair and sat his tired body down. Grabbing a mug of coffee, he started to take sip it and began to lose himself in his own world.

A soft cough jerked him away from the half sleep he had fallen into. Little by little, I started to inch closer to my prey. Recognizing me for who I was, he started to squirming backwards, begging me to let him be as he started looking for an escape till he reached the very edge of the room. Not being able to back any further, a loud gasp escaped his lips as he toppled backwards wide eyed and sweat started to soak his shirt. My eyes turned hard, gritty and started to sparkle with an evil glint as adrenaline started to rush through my system.


Pulling a shotgun from the shoulder, I started to insert shells one by one into the twin barrel while grimacing at the figure sprawled on the floor. “Hi. You already know who I am and why I am here. Yet take a good long look at me, because your end is near. It’s been a few months and you forgot to complete your assignments. I’ve come to collect in full.” Was all I said as I snapped the gun and flipped the safety off. With sweat running down his neck and soaking the shirt, the old man started to crawl out of the room and into the hallway. Pulling the trigger, the shotgun rang out and the pellets left their marks on his ankles and lower legs. Air was knocked out as I kicked him swiftly in the groin. As he started to lose consciousness, I took a brass knuckle out of the jacket, raised my hand and started to pound the writhing figure repeatedly leaving a stream of blood flowing down through the wooden boards while he gasped out in pain. With a sharp gasp, he opened his eyes and tried to sit up yet fell back down on the floor once more as a sharp jolt of pain rang through his body. He felt a nudge and heard a curse. “This is the end. How long did you think you could run and hide? I’ve made arrangement for you. No more deadlines to worry about.” was whispered as he was dragged across the room and finally into the edge of the room. He tried to resist yet was too weak.

My body was shaking with tiredness and fatigue. I hastily felt my back and was relieved to discover the backpack still there. Its weight felt comforting and I quickly pulled out the teleporter. Flipping the switch the lights blinked and it lit up fully. Powering up the device, the power crystal showed 100% charge and it started to project a small crack on the far wall which slowly widened to a large arched door. Pulling out the coordinate reference sheet, I fed in the coordinates into the keypad. The projection on the wall crackled and hissed for a moment as reality shimmered. After a few moments, a wide set of steps leading downwards appeared. Reddish glow could be seen emitting from it and a foul stench, barking of hell hounds and shrieks of souls being ripped apart till eternity filled the room. Gathering my last bit of strength, I got up and looked around one final time. The fireplace was still burning bright and I really wanted to finish that coffee that was lying on the coffee table in the corner. Setting the anti-matter explosive device timer to 0:30, I pressed the activate button and threw it in the far corner.

Grabbing the old man by the collar, I dragged him to the very edge of the shimmering wall and threw him down the steps. A loud howl and then a blood cuddling scream went up as the sounds of ripping meat and crushing bones was heard. Something was heard trying to make its way back up the stairs, yet was dragged back down and the scream that went up was cut short. The house started to shake and fall apart as I quickly tightened the straps of the backpack on my back. I looked around once more to make sure that I had packed everything and finding nothing in the room that held interest to me. Closing the teleportation door, I looked up the coordinates to my next job on the coordinate reference sheet pressed the buttons as I rocked on my heels and started to run towards the shimmering far wall once more. There was a slight hum and I could smell ozone in the air as the walls disappeared once more.