by Nicholas Kee
Chapter 2
Two years had passed since the first game of Soulless and I was doing pretty well. The sky was back to its normal color and life was pretty good. No more nine to five in a cubicle, no more taxes, and no more rent just surviving and doing as I please. The small apartment complex had become a community walled off from the chaos that reigned. We had our own little gardens and a big communal garden. We grew fruits and veggies in the garden as well as herbs. Luckily water still flowed from the pipes, so we never worried about thirst. We gathered together in the evenings to eat, sing, dance and just talk. Life was pretty good except for the small fear of being called into the game of Soulless.
Whenever a game of soulless came on I would lock myself in the closet and wait it out there. I had used soundproofing materiel all over that closet so I couldn’t hear the screams that haunted me so. I never really believed I’d be called as a contestant as there were many people still left on earth. I should have known better than that. I was sitting in my living room eating my lunch and watching the drawing for that week’s Soulless. When it happened, the thing every person left on the earth feared. My name was called.
I sat there stunned just staring at my TV. I admit I jumped when one of Lucifer’s minions appeared in my house with a small “popping” sound. “Is your name Kevin Dalles?” It asked. “Yes” I replied looking at the disgusting little pot bellied minion. He reached his hand out and grabbed my arm with a surprisingly soft hand and “Pop” I was standing on stage under the frying Nevada sun with 19 other miserable looking people. Lucifer slowly looked at us one by one; when he looked at me I gave him the finger. What can I say? I’ve always had a temper and my circumstances pissed me off. Lucifer actually smiled at my useless display of bravado. He then went through his usual spiel, I was annoyed, we had all heard it many times, what was the point?
When the gates opened I ran as hard as I could. I could see sick twisted excuses for humans sitting on the walls cheering and enjoying the spectacle. I made my way down the strip a bit and found an alley with a dumpster. I jumped in the dumpster and waited anxiously, the silence hung above the arena like smog. I heard the demon give his usual roar and I knew the show was on and that I had to survive for 20 more hours. Not long after that roar I heard a man’s voice screaming in agony. I heard the crowds chanting deathclaw’s name. The screaming didn’t last very long before silence fell on the arena again.
It was about an hour before he flushed out his next victim. I heard the pounding footsteps coming my way and peeked through a rusted out hole in the dumpster. The woman was about 30 yards from my dumpster when the demon caught her. I was about to see what the TV never showed. The woman kicked and screamed as the beast lifted her of the ground puncturing holes in her sides as he did. With one clawed hand he ripped her shirt off and I watched in dizzy horror as it put its face to her breast as baby did to suckle. I could see he had her entire breast in his mouth. Her screams became louder and louder I could seem droplets of blood dripping from the holes in her sides and her breast. The screaming became weaker as the Beast fed on her soul. Her skin started to tighten and then her bones seemed to liquefy and her skin wrinkled up and I swear I could see a ghostly image of the woman fighting to remain in her body. But the beast slurped the ghostly image down his gullet.
The crowds cheered. The gristly procedure took about 15 minutes after which the beast started sniffing the air again searching for his next victim. He looked right at my dumpster before running back the way he came. I sat there a minute horrified by what I had just witnessed. Then the dumpster was rocked back with a thump and I could see the demon’s eye gazing at me through the rusty hole. In a panic I flung myself backwards and my hand landed on broken broomstick the end which had broken was splintered and sharp.
With as much power as I could manage I jammed the broomstick into the creature’s eye and into its brain. The Demon shrieked horribly and fell backward dead. I had won a break for all of us. I was not the first to kill the creature, quite a few had managed that feat, but Lucifer always came and took it away and about an hour later the demon would be back on the hunt again. The crowds booed at me as I climbed out of the dumpster and headed straight for the Excalibur hotel which was near the far side wall.
I started looking desperately for some type of rope. I was rewarded by my efforts in the tournament of king’s arena. I grabbed the long rope and attached a sword I had found in an equipment locker to the end. I then ran to the part of the hotel that looks like an actual castle and tossed my makeshift grappling hook up towards one of the lower towers. The sword held and I began climbing. I soon reached the small bulwark and climbed over into the tower I then took up my grappling hook again, this time I tossed it up in a higher tower. I swung the short distance to the taller tower and climbed up to the bulwark way up high.
I then lay down and rested. I had found a bottle water when I was looking for the rope. So now I felt a little better having drunk some of the cool, clear water. I waited there in my perch armed with my sword listening to the screams and cheering that every so often punctuated the silence. My hiding spot didn’t exactly have a lot of room I could barely lay in a straight line or sit up with my legs outstretched. Exhaustion took over and I think I fell into some sort of trance and lost track of time. I was jolted out my nap/trance by a scream nearby followed by the crowd cheering.
It was now dark, Lucifer had most of the lights in the arena turned off, I guess to make the arena more terrifying. I looked up at the clock, 16 hours remaining. I had only been in this arena for 8 hours! It felt like a lifetime, my clothes were dirty and sweat stained. I felt like I had aged 20 years in that short period of time. I slowly sat up and cautiously looked over the edge and down upon the arena. I could not see Deathclaw but I knew he was in there somewhere. I heard the pounding of feet and saw a man of slight build running towards my tower. I called down to him “hey, up here!” He looked up and ran to the base of the tower and cried “help me.”
I lowered the rope down to him. Soon he had managed to reach the bulwark and I grabbed him by the waistband of his pants and pulled him up. He cried “thank you” several times and embraced me. He extended his hand and introduced himself as Ryan. He was a small man about 5’4’’ tall but he had a wiry frame under his dirty clothes. “Ryan, do you think we should stick together?”
“Yes, I think it’s a good idea, you know the old saying….two heads are better than one.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. Having a partner could mean the difference between life and grisly death. What do you say to hiding out up here as long as possible?”
“I’d say that’s a smart move. What should we do if Deathclaw comes?”
I thought a moment before deciding. “We stay low and if he somehow starts climbing up we push him off. I have a sword I will cut off his hand or maybe I can stab him in the eye again.”
Ryan looked impressed “You actually stabbed him?”
I nodded “yes, with a broomstick handle! He actually died but Lucifer revived him.”
“It’s just not fair is it? That should have ended the game but no, Lucifer makes his own rules.”
Suddenly a scream split the darkness followed by a roar from Deathclaw and the crowds. I could tell it came from nearby and motioned for Ryan to get down low. He did so and whispered “Do you think he’s close?” I nodded and held my finger to my lips, Ryan nodded as well. We sat there hunkered down in the darkness together listening to the occasional screams and roars. All together it was the worst night of my life, but at least I had some company.
The sun was just starting to spread its light and warmth upon the arena Ryan was sleeping while I kept watch. I glanced up at the timer and saw that only 4 hours remained. I started to gain a little hope….I should have known better. The crowds had moved on the giant surrounding wall. They had gathered around the hiding place of Ryan and I. They were chanting Deathclaw’s name and pointing down at our tower. I knew then that
Ryan and I must be the last contestants.
At that moment Deathclaw came charging around the corner. I ducked down Ryan had been awakened by the crowd’s chanting and was starting to sit up. I placed my hand on his chest and pushed him back down. I could hear the demon snuffling down below. He looked at me in askance and I whispered “I think we are the only contestants remaining. Deathclaw is down at the base of the tower sniffing around.” Ryan’s eyes widened in terror, but I had a plan and explained it to him. “Listen, this tower is pretty defendable when Deathclaw starts to climb up we knock him back down. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the fall will kill him and you know it takes Lucifer about an hour to revive his pet. So let’s stay calm and defend ourselves.”
With that I picked up my sword and we both sat up to watch Deathclaw’s progress. Deathclaw immediately noticed us and roared his anger at us. He started circling the tower. I kept praying that he would not start to climb. He wasted about an hour circling the tower and roaring at us. The timer read 3 hours. Deathclaw did a mighty leap and smashed his claws into the tower. I heard Ryan whisper “oh shit” I shared his sentiments.
The tower was not made of stone but some type of fake rock and Deathclaw’s talons punctured the fake stone rather easily. He began to climb steadily up the tower. I stood with my blade in hand and made ready to defend us. Closer and closer the demon got towards us; I could hear him breathing and smell his rank breath. Then one of those clawed hands came over the wall then the other hand joined it on the top of the bulwark. I raised my sword and slashed down with all my might, the blade sliced through the monster’s arms with blood spurting, Deathclaw let out a horrid screech and began to fall. I watched as Deathclaw plummeted 50 feet towards the ground. He hit with a mighty “whump” and his black blood sprayed everywhere. Lucifer blinked into existence right next to his pet, picked up Deathclaw and they both vanished.
I smiled over at Ryan and gave him the thumbs up “no problem dude, hey we’re almost there man check out the timer!” Ryan glanced up and smiled, “after Lucifer finishes reviving his pet we’ll only have a bit under 2 hours left! Should we just stay in our perch until the end?”
I smiled back “Yes, I don’t think Deathclaw is too smart. He’ll probably try the same attack and we’ll use the same defense over and over again until time runs out.”
“That’s brilliant, I don’t want to curse us but I think we’re gonna make it!” whispered Ryan
“Well lets try to relax a bit before Deathclaw is back.”
“Copy that”
What seemed like a few minutes later I heard that oh so familiar roar and checked the timer. It read 1:45. I looked over at Ryan and we both sat up and looked down at our nemesis. Deathclaw looked up at us and began to climb. I grabbed the sword and readied myself for action. When his hand gripped the wall, again I cut it off with my sword and again he plummeted to his death at the foot of the tower. Ryan and I both cheered for ourselves and when the devil came we taunted him. We were going to win!
Hadn’t I learned by now how my luck worked? Deathclaw’s regeneration took longer this time and the reason was pretty apparent. Deathclaw now had a long tail attached to him and his tail ended with what looked like a giant club. He walked up to our tower and started to smash it with his tail. The tower shook with each massive blow from the tail. Soon the tower started to lean to one side. I looked at Ryan and shouted “we need to swing out of here and hide again.”
Even with his massive club tail it took a while for our tower to fall and indeed it fell. I glanced at the timer as the tower leaned crazily it read 04:00. I grabbed my make shift grappling hook again and hooked it to the smaller tower. 03:00 Ryan and I held the rope and swung as the tower slowly fell making horrible groaning noises before shattering into the ground. Downward and forward we swung we whipped past the smaller tower and let go as swung back upward from the ground. We both rolled and came up running. 02:00.
I looked back over my shoulder at the dust cloud that had engulfed Deathclaw and he trotted out of the cloud and looked right back at me. “Oh crap” Ryan looked at me then back at Deathclaw and picked up his pace and I matched him stride for stride. I heard Deathclaw’s roar and peeked over my shoulder again to see the Demon starting to run after us. Ryan and I were both in pretty good shape and had managed to create a pretty good gap between Deathclaw and ourselves thanks to our swing assisted head start.
I saw the timer counting down 10,09,08,07… and looked back, Deathclaw had almost completely closed the gap. The deep gong signifying the end of the Soulless games rang out and Ryan slowed and held his hands high over his head like the winner of a marathon, I slowed and turned back to share in victory with Ryan. He was smiling when a clawed hand exploded out of his chest, his heart hanging from the claws struggled to pump blood. The claw withdrew and Ryan slumped to the ground “but I won” was what I heard him say as he fell. The heart slipped and fell to the ground and slowly came to a stop in a small puddle of crimson.
Deathclaw stood there and took a step towards me when the devil appeared and stopped him. “Oops, looks like I was a little late stopping the show, sorry!” The grin he was wearing said anything but “I’m sorry” I looked up at him with disgust.
“Lucifer you will pay for this! I will avenge Ryan! Your cold, dying heart will one day beat its last in my hand. I swear by all that is good and right!”
“yeah yeah, I’m terrified, please stop I beg you! Hahaha, do you want to see your prize?” I looked at him and wanted nothing more than to cut off his head and stab him with his own horns. I decided to just stare at him with malice. He just smiled some more and a minion grabbed my arm and “poof” We stood in front of a beautiful tower overlooking a tropical paradise.
“This is your new home Mr. Dalles, you have an army to serve your needs and you never have to compete in Soulless again. Enjoy your stay.” With that the devil disappeared and I stood with the minion.
“Minion, take me to my room.” I was led up into the tower and through a large door to my room. The room took up an entire side of the tower. It was elegant and tastefully decorated. What caught my eye though were the giant panoramic windows where the beauty of the tropics could be enjoyed. I walked over to the restroom to find a huge bath. I turned and told the minion to leave. I then fired up the bath and sunk in and began plotting my revenge.
I have grown used to living in luxury these past three months. I was sitting on my couch when two angels popped into existence in front of me. Now I sit with Michael and Gabriel planning the assassination of Lucifer.
THE END
About the Author
Nicholas Kee has been a huge fan of science fiction and fantasy for as long as he can remember.
He has worked many jobs over his lifetime from ride operator at knots berry farm to speech therapy which is his current career and love. He is a huge fan of the English premier league and MLS. He currently lives in the Sacramento area with his two Corgis Hunny and Rooney.
Find him on facebook : https://www.facebook.com/nick.kee1
Email: [email protected]
