She slowly turned her neck as she heard the sound of something approaching her. As she did so she felt her neck snap and her head slumped forward stopping her from seeing who or what was making the sound. All she could do is listen and try and resist the pain being forced upon her.
"Julia," she heard a voice mumble. Gently she pulled her flesh together and looked down to see a skinless male looking up at her. She managed a small smile.
"Hello Frank".
Some time later Julia stood, skinless, alongside her former lover. He had unhooked her body from the torture devices of hell and she had managed to reform herself. She knew in Hell you could never truly die; the suffering would be forever, you could be cut to a million pieces and still be aware. The pain was infinite.
"Well, things not work out for you?" Frank hissed, "Let me guess. Kirsty got the better of you."
"It wasn’t that simple," she couldn’t finish, she knew it was true. Kirsty and Tiffany had solved the Box within Hell; they had killed all the Cenobites and deactivated Leviathan. The souls had escaped, Leviathan needed more to gain power but with no one to torture the souls in preparation he was getting none.
"What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Frank chuckled, "Your in the same boat as me now, we are both nothing but fodder." Julia hated the fact that he was right; she was nothing.
"How did you escape your Hell?" she asked.
"I don’t know what happened but this place has gone to hell," he laughed dryly at his comment, "I just walked out, no Cenobites, no nothing. I figured you would know what happened."
"You were right," she sighed; those bitches had defeated her and killed Channard through trickery. "Kirsty is the cause of all of this."
"I thought so," Frank smiled slightly. She could tell he was amused at her failure, amused how, after all she did, she was no better off than him. She wanted to wipe that grin from off his face but she knew there would be little point.
"What now?" Julia asked as she wandered over to archway which led into the corridors of Hell. She peered out and looked right and left down the darkened hallways, the blue light shining across her face.
"Escape," Frank hissed, "Together. You worked for the bastards; you know how to get out."
"We’re even right?" Julia asked cautiously.
"We’re even," Frank agreed, "We can put that behind us; we can still be together." He put his arm around her waist and held her close, she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. She had loved him once but that was before he had attacked her, left her to the Cenobites; that was before Channard and her allegiance to Leviathan. Still, all that was over and she had nothing left to loose.
"Alright," she whispered to Frank, "Let’s go."
Time , of course, has no meaning within the labyrinths of Hell. Seconds begin to seem like minutes, minutes like hours, hours like days, days like years; eventually all you know is the suffering, the pleasures and the pains. Even when wandering the hallways of Hell you loose track of time; you have no clue as too how far you have gone or how long you have taken getting there. Anyone who tried to escape soon lost any hope they might have had.
Julia knew all of this but it did not deter her; no one else had the intricate knowledge of the labyrinth she possessed. She could find the way out; the way back to the mortal world and she knew it.
He had wanted everything, every possible pleasure; now all he desired was his freedom from Hell, an end to all the pain. The moment he had discovered Julia he knew he could use her to escape, after all she had sided with the rulers of Hell. He didn’t really blame her after all what happened, he had actually been quite impressed by her rise to power; but once they were out he was going to make sure she understood who was in charge. She belonged to him again and would follow him loyally.
"I think we should go this way," he heard Julia call from the crossroads ahead. He came up and looked in the direction she was pointing; the tunnel went off deep into the distance.
"What makes you so sure," he asked, "Looks to me that it leads deeper in."
"Things aren’t always what they seem," she hissed as she strode forward, a new confidence in her step. Frank let a small smile spread across his lips, they would soon be free. Suddenly he heard a yell from ahead and looked up too see Julia being dragged back into a doorway. Frank surge forward, as he approached he realised the arms pulling her were rotten human flesh; probably some other being that had solved the puzzle and been brought here. He reached her and kicked the decaying corpse away and slammed the doorway shut. Julia stood there gasping.
"It came from no where…" she stuttered; for a moment Frank saw the old Julia, the one before all this had started. He saw fear of the unknown; she wore the same look of terror on her face when she had first seen him in his reformed state. He approached her.
"It’s alright baby," he said soothingly, "Come to daddy." She seemed to regain her air of authority and she smiled at him as he took her into an embrace.
"We’ve nearly arrived," she spoke into his ear. He reached up and brushed his hand against her face; the blood from her staining his freshly grown skin. He was complete and soon she would be too. And then they would be together always.
"Through here," Julia called to him, finally stopping after what seemed hours of walking. He came up and looked through the arch way but all he could see was blackness.
"Are you sure?" he asked; after getting this far he didn’t want it to end in failure. Julia simply smiled at him and stepped through and vanished into the black. Forcing down all hints of fear Frank followed.
The darkness enveloped him; he could feel nothing.
"Julia?" he called out.
"I’m here Frank," he heard her call back from somewhere ahead of him. Nervously he pressed forward desperate for his freedom. Suddenly a bright blue light shot out through the darkness dazzling him.
"What the hell?" he cried as his eyes were blinded. The light dimmed away and as he opened his eyes he became more aware of his surrounding. He was standing on a ledge over looking the labyrinth of Hell; the massive form of a giant puzzle box spinning before him. He turned around but all he saw was a blank wall, he was trapped. Looking forward he saw Julia approaching him, with skin and dressed once again in a regal blue gown.
"Welcome Frank," she said softly, a smile forming on her lips. What had she done, had she deliberately led them to the centre of Hell itself?
"What are you doing you stupid bitch!" he screamed at her.
"My duty," she sneered, "Even without the Cenobites did you really think you could escape your personal Hell? It was a test."
"A test..?" he managed to stutter.
"Of course," she explained, "A test of my loyalty. Leviathan freed you and led you to my Hell; he knew you would seek my aid in escaping." The truth began to dawn on Frank and he felt a wave of anger swarm over his body.
"Bitch!" he spat surging forward. He was stopped as six chains shot out of the wall and dug into him, holding him back.
"I failed Leviathan but he was willing to give me another chance," Julia went on seemingly unaware of Franks attempted attack, "I proved myself loyal by bringing you to him and now I have regained my status. Leviathan needs many souls to regain energy and, if your lucky, you may get be the first." Julia looked upwards.
Frank followed her gaze too find hooks flying down towards him. He screamed in agony as his flesh was torn and twisted and he realised then and there that he would never again be free.
Julia stood on and watched as the chains she controlled tore him to pieces.
"It’s nothing personal," she whispered to herself. She was once again one of the Children of Leviathan and many changes would be occurring soon; she and the great God above her could feel it…
She slowly lifted herself up; she was whole again. The five of them had arrived; banished back to hell by that stupid news reporter. She sensed the Lord had not come; somehow he had managed to escape banishment and was still in the mortal world.
"Hey, baby," she heard a twisted voice call down to her; she heard the engine of some mechanical device driving on. It was, of course, JP; her boyfriend and fellow Cenobite. She looked up from where she knelt and saw him holding a hand out to her. She took it and he helped her get to her feet.
"This place…" she whispered as she looked about. The five of them stood on a stone ledge over looking a vast labyrinth. A giant version of the puzzle box floated, slowly revolving, in the sky above them.
"Not what you were expecting is it," JP snarled, "Can’t believe we’ve been sent to this shit-hole." She looked over to the other Cenobites: Doc, the club DJ and club Barman; she didn’t know there names. They stood sill looking around them in confusion like lost lambs; they were direction-less without their master.
"Are we stuck here?" Terri asked JP and she took a drag on the cigarette she had pulled from her throat. She hated the idea of staying in Hell forever; they had been so close to having the entire world and now they had nothing.
"Looks it," he said with a moan as the machine driving through his skull induced a spasm of pleasure throughout his body. Terri couldn’t believe that Joey had managed this; that bitch had ruined everything.
"So what now?" she tried. JP looked over at her.
"We wait. The Lord will free us soon," he hissed, "He needs us." Terri suddenly her a female laugh come from the shadows behind her; she spun around but no one was there.
"What was that?" a deep electronic voice inquired. Doc was wandering slowly over to them with the other two following close behind.
"I don’t know," Terri whispered. She felt s tinge of fear begin to creep back into her but it soon vanished. Fear was something they had gone beyond; the Lord had told them that as Cenobites they had nothing to fear. She knew he was telling her the truth; she saw it in her dreams, dreams of wonders and miracles no person had privy too before her. Her dreams would enter her mind always and give her experiences beyond those normal humans could take; dreams so dark, so wonderful that they could drive a man insane. And they were all thanks to the Lord; everything they were was thanks to him.
"Cenobites." Terri turned to look where the female voice had come from. Where there had previously been a rock cliff face a doorway had formed and in that doorway stood a tall figure.
"Who are you?" Terri asked as she stepped forward menacingly. The women laughed gently and stepped forward into the blue light revealing her flowing blue dress and long red curls.
"I’m Julia," the woman smiled.
Julia looked at the figures before her. So, the Pillar of Souls had unleashed the spirit of a Cenobite on Earth and, it seemed, it had begun creating more of its kind. Of course without the equipment of Hell and the transformation chambers these creatures were only partially transformed and made for their need rather than their suitability. Still, they were the only Cenobites in Hell now and she would have to begin to teach them the Order of things. Leviathan sensed much Chaos within them; they retained there memories of their lives but all feelings of guilt or remorse had been removed. They could be used; they just needed some proper guidance in the true ways of Hell…
Terri watched as the women approached them slowly.
"Welcome to hell," she said to them smoothly. JP began to advance on her.
"Why are you here?" he demanded as he lurched up to her. Terri wanted to know herself but she sensed a strong power emanating from the woman; a power she wanted to know more about before judging her too quickly. The woman looked up at JP and smiled. Suddenly she pushed him back to the floor and hooked chains flew down and pinned him. He yelled in agony which soon turned to pleasure.
"I am the emissary of Leviathan," she hissed, "Lord of Hell." Terri followed Julia’s gaze to the vats puzzle box in the sky. Was she saying that THIS was the being that ruled Hell; this is what created the Cenobites and not her Lord?
"I’m confused…" Terri began but Julia indicated her to be silent. JP and picked himself up and was now standing by Doc and the others seemingly waiting for instructions of some kind.
"I understand," she smiled, "You were not created here. You are not pure Cenobites. But don’t worry, Leviathan has a place for you all."
"What do you mean?" Terri asked; her interest beginning to increase.
"I mean you will be allowed to serve Leviathan," she began to explain, "But under a new Order; the God has realised it is time to begin preparing. More Cenobites will be created than ever before and the Order’s will be expanded. Yours will be the Order of the Tetch and you will lead it."
Terri saw images, dreams, fill her mind. She saw the past of Hell, the ways and rules and how it worked. Order was supreme; she felt the Lord Leviathan speaking in her mind, telling her she was to prepare the others for a new beginning. They would be altered and made more appropriate; some would have there memories wiped whilst she and JP would retain theirs as long as they remained loyal. Terri felt herself begin to smile; they would be pure and begin the new era in Hell. Leviathan needed much strength to escape his coma and they would have to help provide it. Now was the time.
A flash of light dazzled Julia and she turned to look behind her. Standing on the edge of the ledge was the Spenser Cenobite; the one who had created the others and leader of the Order of the Gash. He had changed though; she felt chaos and anger and ambition radiating from him. Things were definitely going to be interesting…
He saw it coming, he knew what would happen. The stone, thrown from the crowd, would trip him, he would fall and so would all his dreams of glory. Yet he didn’t stop, he never did; he knew this was the way it happened. He hit it and sprawled forward, he heard the sound of breaking bone and felt the surge of pain shooting up his leg. All over.
Daniel bolted up in bed, sweating. He looked across to the window, it was still dark out and the noises of the night filled the air. He’d had the nightmare again, the nightmare that haunted him every time he closed his eyes since that day five months ago; the day his life was ruined.
Sweeping his long, dark hair away from his eyes, Daniel lent forward and swept the bed covers off his legs and took in the sight of the plaster cast covering his right ankle. Broken. He would barely be able to walk again, let alone run. All his life he had dreamed but one dream, to be able to run for his country, to be out there on the tracks winning medals and becoming a hero to all. It had been his life ambition and yet now it was nothing but an impossibility.
He dragged himself into a sitting position on the edge of his bed and looked down at the clock. Almost three in the morning, sunrise would be soon. Usually he would be showering, preparing to jog from dawn till when the sun was fully visible in the sky above before returning for an athletes breakfast. But not any more, everything he ever thought about, ever cared about, had been taken from him. By some random person, someone who saw fit to throw a rock into his path and effectively end his life. One gesture and it was all over. All over.
Doctor Holloway sighed sadly. As always Daniel was completely unresponsive, he acted as if his whole life was over and yet he was only twenty-three. She slowly removed the old cast and felt the break around his ankle, he simply stared off into the distance.
"It’s healing," she tried but, as she expected, got no response. She really didn’t no whether she wanted to pity him or slap some sense into him; he acted as if he couldn’t walk at all at times and looked at his damaged ankle often in contempt.
"I know it must hurt," she sighed, "But you still have your whole life ahead of you. You may never be able to run again but…"
"Shut the Hell up!" His sudden out burst shocked her and, when she looked up at his face, she saw it had shocked him also. His mouth hung open and then he looked down, shaking his head mumbling how sorry he was. At that point she sensed just how important his career had been to him; he was one of those young boys who at the aged of five decided their future and stuck to it always. And she knew nothing she could do would be able to help him.
He was glad Doctor Holloway had finally gone; she did try to help but often all she managed was to make him feel even worse than he already did. He could now get back to watching whatever crap was on television, all he could do now.
Daniel was about to let himself collapse down on the sofa when he heard a loud rap at the door; hobbling over quickly he swung it open to reveal a tall, dark haired man holding a clip board. On the floor by his side sat a small parcel.
"Yes?" Daniel hissed, bitterly. The man didn’t seem to register this.
"Mr James?" the man asked.
"I’m Daniel, what of it, who are you?" The man sighed, obviously used to dealing with awkward people. He passed Daniel a small slip of paper; he was from delivery service.
"We’ve got a package for you," the man said as he lifted it up from the floor, "If you sign here I can let you have it." Eager to be left alone Daniel quickly jotted across the dotted line and excepted the parcel. He made sure to slam the door at the delivery man before turning and hobbling slowly back to his seat.
"Now," he whispered to himself, "What have we got here?" He collapsed down and grimaced at the pain; he knew walking would forever be a chore from now on and he loathed the fact. Ignoring his agony he tore at the brown paper revealing a small shoe box tied up by an elastic band. He eased the band off and pulled off the lid.
"Weird." He reached in and lifted it out the large, patterned cube that was contained within. He looked for a clue as to who had sent him the strange gift but could find no sign of one. All what was there was the show box, the paper wrapping and the mysterious cube.
"What the hell is this?" he whispered to himself as he felt around the object; it seemed to be solid enough yet he got the distinct impression that it could be opened. He couldn’t explain where the feeling came from but he was sure there was some sort way of opening the mysterious box. He glided his fingers along the smooth edges and rotated it in his hands, examining the patterns on the various surfaces. As he casually explored the strange gift the box suddenly responded by a small but audible ‘click’.
He was getting somewhere, this box was some kind of puzzle and solving it would open… what exactly? All he knew was it had come through the post anonymously and seemed solid; why was he so sure it would open? Why did he feel he had to open it? And why, despite these worries, were his fingers still dancing across the surface?
Daniel was about to place it down when he heard another, louder, click followed by the grating of small machinery; he looked down, stunned, as a portion of the box slipped upwards and slid forward. The puzzle clicked and vibrated slightly before the portion returned to its original position.
He couldn’t explain how he felt, his hands seemed to have a mind of there own as he turned the cube and began to trace around the large circular pattern in the centre of the box. He heard the mysterious mechanism inside working as he went and as he completed his 360 degree trail the box seemed to leap from his hands and strike the floor a metre away. He watched in wonder as a portion shifted up from the centre, rotated, and came down into a star-shaped construct.
Daniel wasn’t sure how long he had been staring in wonder at the box but eventually he forced himself up, as he placed his foot on the ground he felt waves of agony shoot up his leg. He hobbled over to the box and collapsed to the floor next to it; as he did he saw the central circle slowly opening. He peered over to see what would be revealed by the opening but he could see nothing but blackness. Suddenly, and without warning, something flew out the box and attacked him! No, not something, lot’s of things; hooks tore at his skin as he screamed in agony, metal scraped against his bone and spilt his blood onto the floor. He felt like he was falling, his vision was blurred by nothing but a bright, all encompassing blue light. He screamed out in agony over and over but the pain didn’t stop.
Almost as suddenly as they had come the hooks vanished and Daniel felt himself being forced backwards; he realised he was now standing but where he had no idea, all he could see what darkness. He reached out his hands and hit a wall, he was trapped in some kind of upright coffin; before he could gather his wits things launched themselves at him from above and he felt his hands and arms being pinned back. He screamed in agony as he felt something long, sharp and metallic stab into him followed by another; things were happening to him, he felt the more than the pain, he felt a change. Sharp metal hooks grabbed his lips and began to tear them back across his face, he tried to scream but all he could do was clash his teeth together; more hooks attacked him, stretching his flesh, pulling taunt across his face. And then, amongst the disfigurement and the stabbing he felt a sharp razor slice his head shoulders from the rest of his body, from the legs that had failed him and ruined his dreams and ambitions; cutting away, also, his last vestiges of humanity and, soon enough, his last memories of it too.
Angelique slowly lifted herself up from the floor. She shook her head groggily and looked up at her surroundings; what she saw was a sight she had not lain eyes on her hundreds of years, the labyrinth of Hell. She looked up at the massive form of Leviathan above her, a perfectly ordered diamond-shaped deity who ruled over this realm. She had been a servant of this God for Millennia, one of the last of hell’s pure breed of demons; over looking the Cenobites and teaching many in the art of torture. But then, using the recently built Lament Configuration, a French Noble had summoned her into the body of a human, trapping her true demonic form in a prison of meat and bone. She had been bound to the will of a human, forced to grant his every desire; the fool had no concept of the extreme and never dabbled in the art of pain so, when he had accidentally freed her, she had given the worthless being a demonstration before his death.
But now, after all this time, she had been brought back to Hell and to the God that she served. She got to her feet and looked up at Leviathan; she awaited his judgement, what was her Lord to do to her now she was in human form, her demon side only able to surface on occasion. She sensed someone behind her and turned to face another female, someone she did not know.
"Angelique," whispered Julia. This, then, was the famed princess of Hell, a demon lost centuries ago through the enactment of a Binding Puzzle; magic, of course, in the eyes of the human race.
"Who are you," hissed the women in her demonic voice, her eyes flashing black revealing the demon contained within. Julia smiled as she stepped forward.
"I am Julia, the Ambassador of Leviathan; I walk between the realms of Hell and earth and serve our Lord as you do. He speaks through me."
"A lot, indeed, has changed," she spoke back, "But what is to become of me, I am neither human or demon now."
This women, this Julia, was obviously powerful; she had somehow come to earn the favour of Leviathan and was making sure it stayed that way. Angelique almost felt fear in her presence.
"Hell has been through a time of Chaos. Things have been unstable and Leviathan weakened but now Order is returning. Xipe Totec has returned to our Lord’s control and more and more Cenobites are being created to swell the ranks of Hell. Ones that have lurked in the deeps, torturing those who have been here for centuries, are coming to the surface and we are preparing." Her tone was dark and her voice full of malice and evil, Angelique could tell why this human had become a consort of their God; she was ambitious but loyal and her mind was ordered in a way very few humans’ were.
"Preparing for what?" Angelique asked, though she knew. Something had happened in Hell, something that had harmed Leviathan; the God was pushing forward in the campaign for Order. They were preparing for war on the flesh, whether it came in hundred years or a thousand. Time didn’t matter here.
She and the Cenobite had attempted to open a portal forever; it was the very fact that the building was partially constructed that allowed the gateway to stay open at all once the victim was claimed! It had failed but it didn’t matter, it was a short cut and Leviathan’s patience was infinite.
Though she did sense something within the Cenobite Xipe Totec, a deeply buried sense of frustration and a lust for Chaos. But it was smothered with a human soul that was trapped within the body; whatever Leviathan’s reasons for keeping on such a potentially dangerous creature was she would not question it. But she would be wary, the Cenobite wielded great power and had ambition for more; would it truly be content serving the great God?
Julia didn’t answer, she knew Angelique knew the answer to her own question; it was obvious to all those who inhabited Hell. Leviathan had a place for the princess in things, she would become a Cenobite, a member of the Order of the Gash under the charge of Xipe Totec.
Hell had been in a state of flux for some time, ever since the year of 1987 when she had first become involved; she could just remember a time when she was little more than an excepting, redundant housewife. Those times were gone now; Larry, Kirsty, Frank, even Channard, they all meant nothing to her now. Things were moving forward, souls would be harvested more than ever and puzzles distributed across the earth. One day, Order would be all.
Xipe Totec looked out across the labyrinth. The great God Leviathan towered above him, resting, gaining energy, still recovering after the events in the earth realms year of 1987. He would serve his master and help in the recovery of strength, once the Earth realm was taken and converted to Order they could move on further; perhaps his God would even allow him his own Hell in which he could expand his knowledge and seek new heights of pleasure and pain.
For now the work must continue and Order must be expanded; Leviathan could never truly be defeated, not while Chaos still infected the world. And nor could he. Like the great God above he was forever.
The End.
By M. Adams.