Prologue

The infamous lord of The Cenobites, Pinhead, had been affected by weariness. He thought, that besides when some mortal solved the puzzlebox, The Lament Configuration, there wasn't so much to do in Hell.

And now, actually no one had opened the puzzlebox in a while, so the gateway to earth had not been opened.

Pinhead had never been this bored, or not since he became a cenobite, about 80 years ago.

He didn't feel inclined to go and torment any of the tortured souls who were trapped in Hell, because he had done it so much, that it was no longer interesting.

Then what would be interesting?

To tease Angelique, perhaps... No, wait. It was not a good idea. She was Leviathan's little favourite, so if Pinhead did something to her, she sure would tell Leviathan, and he would get in trouble instead.

But Leviathan was very pleased with him too, of course, otherwise he would not keep post as their leader. But he hated Angelique.

Pinhead knew, that it was his own fault, that she was here, in first place. He brought her to Hell, to make her to a cenobite. So he had to stand her, then. Damn!

Pinhead could do almost anything to get it undone. Almost.

He wondered what Dreamer was doing. She was actually the only cenobite of them all, he was really close to. Sure he came along fine with them all, (except Angelique) but Chatterer and Butterball were quite silent, and the Female Cenobite was also okay; she was a loyal companion when they went to get someone who had solved the box, but Dreamer's best. She and Pinhead understood each other completely. He was very glad, that he had made, a few years earlier.

- Dreamer? he called.

No answer.

- Dreamer? he called again, louder this time. What are you dreaming of now?

(The name can tell, she dreams a lot.)

- Pinhead? Dreamer appeared in the doorway to Pinheads private chamber. She was the only cenobite, (but himself) who was allowed to come in there.

- You called me, she said. What did you want?

- Ah! Nothing, I guess. Just come in here, and keep me company.

- Angelique teased me again, she told when she came in.

- Really? What did she do?

- She said she was gonna take your job. And then she said I no longer could dream when she had taken over!

- Does she really believe that herself? I just wish she was out of here...

- Who doesn't?

- Leviathan. If it wasn't for him, I would had taken care of here a long time ago. Now here is nothing to do. Damn, this is boring! Don't you think, Dreamer?

- What? That you can't take care of Angelique?

- No, not just that. Everything. No one has opened the puzzlebox in... I don't know how long! I haven't got a new soul to torture in eternity!

Pinhead sighed deeply.

- Pinhead? How are you? I haven't seen you like this before. Did something special happen?

- No, I'm just... bored, he replied.

Actually, Dreamer was the only one of the lower ranked cenobites, who called Pinhead by his name. The others said usually "master" or "sir". But since they had been so close friends, it was more personal to call each other by names.

- Here? You want one? Dreamer took up a packet of vanilla cookies, that she loved. She had loved them as a human, and she had not stopped doing that, even if she became a cenobite.

Dreamer took two cookies from the packet and gave the other one to Pinhead. she swallowed her cookie rapidly, and she took instantly up a new one.

Pinhead, on the other hand, only crunched his cookie. He liked them, but he wasn't crazy about them, like Dreamer.

- You know, Dreamer, I could even kiss Angelique, if just someone opened the gateway.

Dreamer burst out laughing.

- Kiss Angelique? You got to be pretty desperate!

Pinhead nodded slowly.

- Yeah. You can start asking, if not something has happened to the Lament Configuration.

- No. The box is as good as indestructible.

- But why doesn't the fucking gateway open, then?! Pinhead roared, and threw his half-eaten vanilla cookie right in the wall, and it blew in a thousand pieces. Crumbs flew for all directions.

Dreamer looked at him with a frightened look in her eyes.

- Eh... maybe I should go... Pinhead?

- Yes. Please go. I got to have some time to think.

Dreamer went towards the door, but before she left the room, she said:

- Hey, pity you threw that cookie away, or I could have got it, ha ha...

She walked off.

- Close the door! Pinhead called to her.

I could do anything, if just the gateway opened, Pinhead thought. Anything.

Chapter 1

Jennifer was a single woman in the early forties.

She lived in a quite big, red house in the country, which she had inherited from her parents, who died four years ago.

Jennifer's nearest neighbour lived more than ten miles away, and to nearest town, it was more than fifteen miles. But it didn't trouble Jennifer much.

She was comfortable with her loneliness, and she didn't need any human company. Her cat was more than enough. But Jennifer's great passion was her garden. She loved to take care of all the flowers and plants, she had raised with great care. Sometimes, she could potter about in the garden for hours.

Another reason, why Jennifer didn't care so much for other people, was that she was almost deaf for two years back. She had a very severe inflammation in both ears, and since she hadn't gone for medical care in time, she got deaf in both ears.

But it didn't worry her so much. Her plants didn't ask for hearing.

Now, a sunny afternoon, in June 1999, Jennifer was weeding her tomato-land. She did it every week, so her darlings would be extra big and shining!

And it was just her love for the plants, and maybe that she was deaf, that were the reasons to the sad destiny, that would affect her, in a little while.

But how unlikely it may seem, the innocent, unknowing Jennifer didn't just mess up her own life, but another, too.

Who could that be? Shall we take a look?

* * * *

Jennifer had worked hard in her garden with her tomatoes for two hours, and half the land was finished, when she suddenly hit her hand against something hard, that was buried in the tomato-land.

Jennifer put her hand deeper, and pulled up a cube-shaped box, which sides were about three inches long. It was kind of heavy, and there were golden patterns engraved on its sides. But now it was a little dirty.

Wow! Jennifer thought. It must be worth a lot! If I just clean it up a little, I'm sure I can sell it for a good price! but how did it get in my garden?

She shook her head and started to examine the box more accurately.

Who's was it? No idea.

But now it's mine, because I found it in my garden, Jennifer decided. She turned it in her hands. Could you open it? It didn't seem like that...

She soaked her index finger, and started to rub the box' sides, to see the patterns clearer.

Then it happened.

The box changed its shape. It fell out of Jennifer's hands, and continued to open itself on the ground. Jennifer stared at it with an amazing look in her eyes.

It was just like it wanted to be opened; she had only helped it a little. And when the box had gone through its complete transmission, it no longer had the same shape as before.

Jennifer picked up the box in her hands, when suddenly, she saw a bright light a few feet in front of her, and that was the last thing she saw, before something terrible came from behind, and sucked her up in the thin air.

Jennifer screamed, and held the box with desperate effort in her hands, when she was pulled higher and higher up towards the sky...

Chapter 2

Pinhead almost decided to go to Leviathan and complain about, that there was nothing to do.

But he changed his mind rapidly. It would be silly; Leviathan didn't decide who and when and where the gateway was opened.

Pinhead wondered, if the other cenobites felt like him.

Din Angelique? Probably not. She kept herself busy by teasing other cenobites, including himself and Dreamer. Angelique was just too much to handle.

Then Pinhead made his decision.

If - or when - the gateway to earth opened next time, he would go alone to get the poor puzzle solver. It was because he was convinced, that no other cenobite had been so bored as he, and it wouldn't be more than right, that he would get the great honour all by himself.

Really!

In case, he did not even want to take Dreamer. He liked her and he sure wouldn't mind sharing the honour with her, but in some strange way, Dreamer always managed to embarrass him when they were getting somebody.

Not on purpose, but when she was around, they were never taken seriously. It was presumably, because she could start giggling silly, when you absolutely should keep the mouth shut, and one time, she brought her cookies with her, and offered the victim, and that ended up with that the victim laughed at them instead of being paralysed by fear, like they used to be, generally.

No, Dreamer was not a good cenobite to take with when they got victims. She was too nice, that's all. But here in Hell, Pinhead would not know what to do without Dreamer.

And to go with Angelique was of course out of question. That would end up with them fighting each other, and the victim running off, (well, it happened, once,) and of course it had been Angelique who started, and about a silly thing like she would be the one who told the victim what would happen, 'cause according to her, she had a much scarier voice than Pinhead.

That was the most stupid thing Pinhead ever heard. Angelique sounded like a creepy little hyena!

If only the gateway opened, Pinhead would go alone and torture his victim even more than he used to, only because ha hadn't got a new soul to torture in a while.

Then it happened. Someone had solved the box, because the gateway opened, and Pinhead dashed through it to earth, without even thinking. His only thought was, that he would enjoy something really special this time!

Chapter 3

Poor Pinhead!

In the same second when he threw himself through the gateway, something terrible grabbed him, and tore him up in the air.

But just one thousand of a second before this happened, he saw a glimpse of a woman, who like himself, was dragged up by "what ever it was".

The woman screamed, and Pinhead screamed too, but he couldn't hear himself, because of the roaring thunder. What was this?!

Pinhead didn't have much time to think of that, before something hit his head, and he fainted.

* * * *

Pinhead woke up - nobody knows how much time had passed - and found himself hanging from a tree, about 100 feet above the ground.

- Oh shit, he mumbled slowly to himself.

What really happened?

Where did the person who solved the box go? Did she hang from a tree too, some-where?

Or... First and foremost, he would have to get down from here. Pinhead grabbed the branch closest to him, and decided it would be safer to climb, not jump.

The fall couldn't kill him, but it would be best not to take any chances. So he started to climb.

But poor Pinhead's bad luck wasn't over yet. His suit got stuck in a branch, and he fell floundering all the way down to the ground, where he landed heavily on his back.

The fall really hurt, but didn't cause him any severe injuries.

Pinhead looked around.

Who had knocked him unconscious and hung him in the tree? But when he had looked around around a little while, things started to clear up.

Many trees had fallen down on a quite big area, and a few hundred feet away, he could see the rests of a house that had been blown to pieces.

Now it was suddenly so clear to him. It wasn't "who" that had thrown him up in the tree, this was the results of some natural disaster. Probably a whirlwind, a tornado.

That made Pinhead even angrier, than if it had been a living being, for then he at least could have tried to find the one who did it, and pay back, but he couldn't bring the tornado to Hell, and that made him pissed!

Then suddenly, he thought of another thing. The victim. What had happened to her? He hoped she was still alive, so he could take her and return to Hell. Because he knew that a cenobite couldn't return to Hell without taking someone with him.

And since ha seemed to be right in the middle of some bush, so here were probably no other humans than the puzzlesolver. It must have been her house the tornado ripped in pieces.

If she was inside the house, she was dead, out of question. But no, she had been out when she solved the box. He remembered that, before the tornado took them both with it.

He didn't need to search for the victim very long. She laid on the ground a few feet from the tree Pinhead had hung in. Dead.

He could not take her soul; it had already gone a long time ago

It, and the fact, that she faintly reminded of Julia Cotton, made him so angry, that he tore her dead body apart with his bare hands.

The he saw that she actually held the puzzlebox, The Lament Configuration in her dead hands. But it didn't matter. It could not help him now.

Pinhead got frustrated. What would he do now? He got to have a victim, or otherwise he would have to wait until someone in Hell began to miss him. How long would that take?

Dreamer would start missing him already after a short while, but nobody would take her seriously.

God Damn!

Pinhead had no-one but himself to blame. If he hadn't, head over heels, rushed through the gateway, without looking out, he might have been able to avoid this. Maybe he could have avoided the tornado, only if he had been prepared. Damn this!

But. It was no idea to think of that now. Now, in first place, he had to manage to get home again.

Leviathan wouldn't be glad if he came without a victim, but surely he would understand, if Pinhead explained why this happened.

He let his hands sweep over his head, and then he noticed it. One of his pins was missing. No!!! He knew what that meant.

He was no longer a fully adequate cenobite!

What would happen next? Pinhead didn't want to know. He felt week in his knees and fell down on the ground.

- This just can't be true! he howled.

Pinhead, leader of the cenobites, there must be something you can do to at least get yourself home again!

This was embarrassing!

Then suddenly, he knew it. The thought came like a bolt from the blue.

The puzzlebox. The Lament Configuration. He could take the box, make it close, and like that, force himself back to Hell.

Would it work? It worked when other humans did it, so why not?

Pinhead hurried for the box and try his idea.

Chapter 4

Dreamer started to get worried now. She hadn't heard from Pinhead in three days.

But asch, I'm just silly, she thought.

Pinhead if someone could take care of himself. There was no need to be worried about him.

Dreamer noticed, that the packet with vanilla cookies was empty. She sighed, and got up to get a new one, but when she reached the door, Angelique stood in ambush there, waiting for her. She blocked Dreamer's way, by stretching her arms across the doorway.

A black leather bracelet with nails, dangled from her wrist.

- Excuse me, Angelique, Dreamer said in a chilly voice. I must get pass.

Angelique giggled annoyingly, and didn't move her arms.

- You know, Dreamer, she began, I haven't seen Pinhead in a few days now, so I thought that you might tell me where he is.

- I don't know that! Dreamer said, quite annoyed. He can be where ever he wants.

Angelique pretended to get surprised.

- That's odd! she exclaimed. You're his best friend! I thought you told each other everything. Or did you have a fight? Oh, sorry, I didn't know! she said in a feigned compassioned voice.

- We didn't have a fight! Dreamer snapped. She started to get pissed at that false, supercilious Angelique.

- No, no, sorry then, Angelique said gently. I just thought it might have happened something to him. Aren't you worried?

- No, I'm not, Dreamer said.

- Not? You don't seem to care about him. What kind of best friend are you?

- I didn't say so, because I don't care about him, I said it because there's no need to worry! Dreamer cried.

Angelique nearly teased her to death.

- Okay, okay, Angelique answered. You don't have to shout, I can hear.

- Sorry then, but can you...

- Who has given you permission to be here? I thought this was Pinhead's private chamber.

- Pinhead himself, of course. But you are not allowed in here, so you can leave now!

- I don't understand why he gives you such privileges... Let me ask... are you sleeping with him?

Dreamer got so astounded by the indecent question, so she couldn't say anything at first.

- Absolutely no! she spit, and tried to come up with something else to say. You're sick!

Angelique whisked to Dreamer with her long eyelashes.

- Don't be shy, Dreamer.

- It's not that I'm shy, Dreamer replied sharply. But I'm not sleeping with Pinhead. We're friends, Angelique, and only because you don't know what that means, so...

- Well, well, Dreamer. Calm down. I didn't mean anything bad.

Angelique smiled affectedly.

- But maybe you just say so, because you know how chocked everyone would be, if this got out, she continued.

Most of all Dreamer would have liked to give the bitch a wicked right hook, but she couldn't, of course. Angelique was a higher ranked cenobite, so if Dreamer did anything to her, she would get in trouble.

But at least she could pay back the same.

- You know Angelique, you shouldn't say anything about Pinhead and me, because I've seen by myself, how you make fuss about Leviathan! Don't you?

Angelique's face got white of anger.

- You little...

She lost control of herself for a moment. Dreamer saw her chance, and pushed herself pass her.

- Excuse me, but I must get more vanilla cookies! she called over her shoulder.

- I'll really try to forget what you just said, dear Dreamer, Angelique said in a forced voice.

- That about the cookies? Dreamer teased her.

- Yes, that too. You really should stop eating those cookies, because it's not so proper, that you here in Hell, are going around and smelling vanilla. It's improperly!

"Bitch"! Dreamer murmured when she got out of earshot.

Chapter 5

Pinhead hunted up the puzzlebox, to try if his plan worked. It hadn't happened before that a cenobite sent himself back to Hell, but right now there wasn't anything else to do.

He picked up the box, and started to rub it. That's what you were suppose to do, right?

Pinhead wasn't sure, because there hadn't been need for him to do like this before. And after a while of rubbing, it actually worked. The box changed its shape, fell out of his hands to the ground, where it continued its closing.

Pinhead knew what would come next. This was not a comfortable way to travel back, but unfortunately, the only way right now.

Pinhead screamed when the box swallowed him, it hurt; and he lost his breath. But when he opened his eyes again, he was in his own chamber, home in Hell.

Almost instantly, he heard footsteps at his door. It was Dreamer.

She gave out a cry when she saw him, and rushed towards him and gave him a great hug.

- Oh, Pinhead, I'm so glad you're here, you know what, I almost thought I'd never see you again.

Pinhead almost didn't have the courage to ask.

- How..., how long have I been gone? he stuttered anxiously.

- But Pinhead, don't you know? Dreamer asked and looked at him, very surprised.

He shook his head.

- No, tell me.

- Well, I haven't seen you in three days.

- Three days... he moaned. That means, I hung there in that tree for three days?!

- Which tree? What are you talking about?

Pinhead didn't answer. Suddenly he thought of that pin he had lost. He felt if it was really gone. It was one behind his left ear.

Oh yes, it was. Pinhead sighed.

What did no longer work correctly in him? Was it the strength?. He could test that right here, right now.

So he grabbed Dreamer (Pinhead hated to test on Dreamer, he had much more wanted it to bee Angelique, but Dreamer was the only one within reach) and pushed her up against the wall. Her feet dangled helplessly at least four inches above the floor. It didn't seem like she could get loose.

- What are you doing? she hissed in a startled voice.

Pinhead sighed and dropped her. Since he still was a bit stronger than Dreamer, it meant that his strength was fine. (A normal cenobite is about five times as strong as a human.)

- What did you do that for? Dreamer asked.

- I'm so sorry, Dreamer, but I was just testing if my strengths were working like they should.

- Why wouldn't they?

- You're not gonna believe it, but... during the while I was up there, I lost a pin.

- You're kidding?! Dreamer exclaimed.

- You can't tell anybody! Pinhead said, very scared.

- No, of course, but are you serious?

- Yes. Look for yourself.

He showed her the place where the pin was missing.

- Oh dear me, she said. Not good. What are you gonna do? Are you gonna tell Leviathan?

- Never! Hell no! And you can't do either! Promise me. With a little luck, he maybe won't notice it.

- But... how did it happen?

- It was a tornado, Pinhead explained. A second after I had gone through the gateway, I was sucked up into it. Then, I hung in a tree for three days, and since the puzzlesolver died in the tornado, I couldn't go back, for there was no other human in that bush I could take. Did you notice that I had no-one with me?

- No, not first, but when you say so... By the way, how did you get back here?

- I send myself back with The Lament Configuration.

- Could you?

- Well, since I'm here, I guess I could.

- Pinhead, I'm just so glad you're back, it's been terrible here without you!

Pinhead smiled at her.

- Did you miss me?

- Of course I did!

She gave him another great hug, to really prove how much she had missed him.

Pinhead leaned heavily against her. Oh Dreamer...

Then he heard how someone released a spiteful giggle from the doorway. Pinhead knew already before he looked up who it was. Angelique.

Dreamer had heard it too. They both looked up. Angelique grinned shrewdly at them with her read lips. Pinhead got annoyed by seeing her.

- What the hell are you doing in my private chamber? he snapped.

- Oh dear me! Angelique sneered. What's she doing in tour private chamber?

She pointed at Dreamer.

- It's up to me who can be here and who can't. And you can't, so bye, Angelique!

Angelique's shrewd grin turned into a big, complacent smile.

- It's okay, she said happily. I already know what I need to know!

She blinked at them, and then she turned her heel and walked away.

- Such a conceited little idiot, Pinhead muttered when Angelique had gone away. Someone should do something about her. She's out of her mind.

- Do you think she heard us talking? Dreamer said in a frightened voice.

- No, I don't, Pinhead replied. She's just fucking with us, like she always does.

- Mm, Dreamer agreed. You can never guess what she said to med earlier today.

- No, what did she say?

- She thinks I'm... No, forget it, really.

- No, what? Tell me.

- It was nothing. Dreamer turned around to leave, but Pinhead grabbed her by the wrist.

- Not so fast. I'm your superior, and now I'm ordering you to tell me, what that idiotic little fool told you!

Dreamer sighed.

- She thinks I'm sleeping with you.

- What?! Did she say that?! Did she say that to you?

- yes, Dreamer said in a low voice. She says, you like me only because I'm sleeping with you.

- That's... that's insane! Pinhead exclaimed. Did she go around spreading rumours about that?

- I don't know, Dreamer said in a sad voice.

Pinhead's eyes got black with anger.

- Now she's gone to far! I'll have a word with her!

- No, then she only thinks it's really true!

- But she has spread out a rumour!

- We don't know that, Dreamer reminded him. As long as nobody else mentions it, we'll let it be. Okay? By the way, you have other things to dial with! What if Leviathan finds out about your pin?

- He won't, if not someone tells him. And you're not gonna tell him?

- No, not me, but Angelique might.

- Angelique doesn't know.

- Not yet, perhaps, but little miss "Know-All" is an expert of finding out secrets.

- Can't we talk bout something else? Pinhead asked.

- Sure, Dreamer answered cheerfully. Would you like some vanilla cookies?

- Sure.

- Wait here a second. Dreamer went out for a moment, and came back after a little while with a new packet filled with vanilla cookies. She handed him a cookie.

- Here. Help yourself.

She took one to herself too, and they sat on the floor, with the cookies between them. (There were not so many furnitures in the room, except Pinhead's throne, which was made of human flesh and bones. It was made for one alone individual, so that's why they sat on the floor.)

After a couple of minutes, there were not one single cookie left, and that made Dreamer a little surprised, and a little pissed, when she reached for her third cookie. From the beginning, there had been 20 of them.

- Pinhead! she exclaimed. You've taken all of them! You know, that wasn't very nice, for did you think of, that it actually were my cookies!

No, Pinhead hadn't thought of that at all.

Chapter 6

Dreamer got a little sulky because of the cookie-thing, so she left Pinhead alone for a moment. Pinhead didn't mind. He needed to be alone for a while. He needed to think.

Leviathan must not find out about the pin. Or neither did Angelique. Because then Leviathan would also know, after a few minutes. He wasn't worried about that Dreamer would tattle, but...

Pinhead's thoughts were interrupted by someone who knocked on the door.

- Who's there? he asked calmly.

- It's me, Dreamer's voice said. Let me in. I must tell you something.

- It's open, Pinhead answered. He sat on his throne, waiting for her to come in. She did. But her otherwise happy features were now grave. Something had happened.

- Pinhead, she began. She let the rest of the sentence trail off.

- Yes? He looked at her with a puzzled look.

- Leviathan wants to talk to you, she whispered.

- Leviathan? What does he want?

Dreamer shrugged her shoulders.

- I have no idea. Then she added: "He didn't sound so glad..."

Pinhead suddenly felt sick. Dreamer saw he looked insecure.

- Do you want me to come with? she offered.

He shook his head.

- No, I'm going alone. But I'll tell you what it was about.

She nodded for answer.

- But don't look so gloomy! Maybe he's only going to praise you!

- Yeah. Sure, Pinhead answered sarcastically.

- You don't know before you go there.

- I don't want to go there.

- Don't you want me to come with, after all?

- No, Dreamer. I'm fine.

Pinhead snorted dislikingly to himself. "I'm not such a coward, that I don't dare speaking with my own boss?!"

He started walking against the Labyrinth, where Leviathan was. On the way, he met Female Cenobite.

They weren't close friends, so he just greeted her, and continued walking. She smiled, but didn't say anything.

In fact, Pinhead felt sorry for her, because she didn't have a real name. But when she got here, female cenobites were so unusual, so everyone just called her "female cenobite" That was the only name she answered to, today.

Pinhead continued towards the Labyrinth, and met Angelique on his way. It didn't make him feel better. He saw her walking along the narrow passage which led to the Labyrinth. She let out a shout of triumph when she saw him.

- Pinhead, she chirped. It wasn't very nice of you to destroy the fun for me today. I almost thought you wouldn't return at all.

- Never think I would give you that pleasure, Pinhead replied shortly.

Angelique gave a wicked laugh.

- No, that would be too much to ask. On your way to Leviathan, I see? she continued.

- Yeah, if you must know.

- Why?

- I don't know, I haven't been there yet.

- Oh. She nodded like that explained everything.

Now they had both gotten so far, so they only stood a few inches from each other. The passage was so narrow, that one of them would be forced to let the other one pass.

Pinhead wouldn't let Angelique pass. He was higher ranked than she was, so it wasn't more than right, that she would let him pass first.

But Angelique wasn't going to step aside, either.

- I'm waiting, he said in a chilly voice.

- For what? For the end of the world, huh?

- No, for you to let me pass.

Angelique snorted at him.

- Pinhead, have you never heard of "ladies first"?

- Are you in counted as a lady?

She picked him in the shoulder with her long, shining black fingernail. She started to get impatient.

- Come on, move aside now.

Pinhead sighed angrily.

Angelique would never give up. He placed himself with the back against the tunnel wall, to let her pass.

Angelique smiled, very pleased over her victory.

- Excuse me, Pinhead, she said in an affected friendly voice, but do you think you could hold in your stomach a little bit? It's difficult to get pass you, but oh, it depends on all those giant vanilla cookies you and Dreamer like to gobble! You have to look out, or soon you'll be like Butterball. And Dreamer! Do you still want her as your mistress if she gains a hundred pounds?

Angelique gave him a light push, and also a dirty, mean look.

Pinhead considered to say something, but before he had a chance to respond, she had crawled her way pass him, and kept going.

He thought of running after her and blow her up, but he didn't. She wasn't worth a confrontation.

Now he had a confrontation in front of him, with the ruler of the Labyrinth, Leviathan.

Pinhead was not in a good mood when he continued against Leviathan.

Chapter 7

Pinhead was looking around in the Labyrinth. Now his destiny would be determined. He felt sick of nervous tension, and he had to strain, not to throw up those 18 vanilla cookies he had eaten just a few hours ago.

- Master? he called, very insecurely. You wanted to see me...?

No answer. That made Pinhead feel even worse.

First it was boring to stand there. Then it became embarrassing. He knew Leviathan could see him, and he surely had a very good time, seeing Pinhead stand there like an idiot, alone, scared and insecure.

Pinhead had been counting the minutes, exactly eight minutes had passed since he came here, and he had not yet got an answer from Leviathan.

"One more minute, and I'm off, " he decided.

That minute passed, and he turned his heel to go back, when a big, diamond shaped being appeared floating above the Labyrinth.

That was the shape Leviathan used to appear in. A short while after, his voice also heard.

- My dear Pinhead, so nice of you to come.

Pinhead thought: So nice of you to notice me. But he didn't say that.

- It's always a great honour to be here, he mumbled instead. What have I done to get so lucky?

- It's actually one thing I'd like to discuss with you.

Leviathan's voice was coming from all directions, so Pinhead didn't really know where to turn.

- What, master?

- I've heard you had a little accident, Pinhead. Is that correct?

- Eh... yes, Pinhead admitted nervously. It was a tornado, and I was pulled inside of it, and...

- You came back without a victim?

- Yeah... she died before I had a chance to take her, so...

- I see. You couldn't help it.

- No master, that's right!

Pinhead hove a deep sigh of relief. Maybe he could get through this, after all.

- Did something else happen? Leviathan asked.

- What?

- Something else you should tell me?

- No! I mean, no, nothing.

- No? What about the pin you dropped?

Pinhead didn't know what to answer on that. He was actually not gonna tell his master about the pin.

Oh no! What would he answer on that? If you only could melt because of pure horror, Pinhead would have been a pool on the floor.

- How about the pin? Leviathan asked again.

Pinhead tried to play stupid.

- What pin? he said and tried to look innocent.

- Have you lost a pin? Yes or no!

He knew lying wouldn't help.

- Yes. I lost a pin. But I didn't do it on purpose, I promise.

- It seems like you were not gonna tell me?

- Oh yes! I just didn't have time... to do it...

- That's crap, Pinhead, I think you know that. Angelique said, she had heard you say: "Leviathan must absolutely not know this"

Pinhead gnashed his teeth on the sly.

Angelique, of course! She had eavesdropped at him when he told Dreamer. That bitch was a menace!

- This wasn't good, at all, Leviathan proceeded. Why didn't you wanna tell me? You know, that if you get any problems, always come to me first.

Oh yes, that was the first thing Pinhead had heard when he became the leadercenobite. "Always come to me, if you get any problems."

- I have faith in you, Pinhead. And if you're gonna work for me, I demand, you also have faith in me.

Pinhead nodded, pretty sick at heart. He almost died of shame.

- But I have faith in you, he said in a low voice.

- I gave you the leader job, because I thought you were the one who could handle it best. But now you failed me.

Pinhead felt like the worst specimen of the cenobite-race, in the whole world. He stared down at his feet.

- So... I'm fired now? he whispered quietly.

- No, not at all. You're just gonna have to prove you really are best at this job.

- What do you want me to do?

Pinhead was ready to do almost anything to keep his job.

- You must find the pin you have lost, Leviathan replied. And you must do it within a week.

- One week?! How am I suppose to do that? It's impossible! The pin is gone already. A long time ago! It was a tornado, here!

- Tornado or no, you must find the pin.

- Master, listen do me, please? I hung there, for three days, unconscious in a tree. The pin does no longer exist. Isn't there anything else I can do?

- Pinhead, are you happy with your job here?

- Yes, of course I am.

- The I suggest you do what I tell you to do.

- Sure, Master. I'll try.

- Now prove, you're worthy the leader job.

- But... what if I don't find the pin?

- I'm sorry, but then I'll have to replace you with another cenobite.

- Who would that be?

- Angelique, probably.

- Yes, of course Angelique, Pinhead replied.

Lucky for him, that Leviathan didn't get the ironical tone in his voice.

- She was the one who unveiled me, wasn't she?

- I wouldn't call it a bad thing. She did the right thing by telling me. We can't have a leadercenobite who's not fully functioning!

- No, no, I see.

- Good. Hey, I'm gonna open the gateway for you in about five hours. During the time you can tell everyone what you're gonna do. Angelique will lead the clan if someone solves the box and opens the gateway. She'll handle it just fine. And Pinhead, you can use this to get back home again.

Pinhead noticed that Leviathan had dropped something at his feet. It was an exact copy of The Lament Configuration.

He bended down and picked it up.

- You want me to send myself back with this?

- Just right. hey you, remember, it's no idea to come back before your week has gone if you haven't found the pin.

- Okay. I get it. Shall I go like this? Don't you think I would pay a little too much attention among people?

- Hm... If you like; I can give you your human shape during the time you're there. You want me to?

- I think so. I could have some trouble if I don't.

- Okay. About five hours, sharp, I'm gonna open the gateway, and you, by yourself, will go through.

- By myself? So no-one can help me?

- No, you're on your own. And remember... one week.

Leviathan dismissed Pinhead.

Chapter 8

When Pinhead came back from his little chat with Leviathan, he totally lost control. He rushed blindly to his own chamber, banged the door, and leaned out against it.

- What am I suppose to do? I'll never find the pin. And Angelique will take my job! I can't handle that. If she'll be the boss, I'm going to hand in my resignation. And she was the one who unveiled me! Of course! Who else?

He was talking to himself. He usually didn't do that. This was a sign of something was terrible wrong.

He stood leaning against his door, but suddenly someone pulled the door open, and Pinhead wasn't prepared for that, so he tumbled right into the arms of that person.

They both fell down. It was Dreamer. She gave out a cry, and got a piece of vanilla cookie in her throat.

Pinhead struggled up on his feet.

- And what the fuck do you think you're doing? he snapped angrily.

- Pinhead... sorry.... but I... didn't... know you... Dreamer tried to explain between her attacks of coughing.

He reached out his hand and pulled her up on her feet.

- Tell me now! What did Leviathan say? Dreamer asked.

Pinhead hardly listened. He had other things in his mind. That's why he went out of the room, not to answer her questions.

But Dreamer followed him stubbornly.

- But tell me! What did Leviathan say?

They were outside Pinhead's chamber now, and Dreamer didn't know a bit yet. She grabbed his arm.

Pinhead was dizzy, and found it hard to breath. And he didn't want Dreamer hanging after him.

- Tell me! She just wasn't able to give up.

- Let me go! he snapped, and pulled the arm to him. Can't you see I want to be left alone?

- Don't overact, Dreamer said. Sorry I asked.

- Stop doing that, then!

- Yeah, I will. What's the matter with you?

- Nothing! I just wannabe alone!

- You're so odd!

Normally, the intercourse between Pinhead and Dreamer, was easy and quiet. But now they stood in the centre of the Great Hall and snapped at each other. It was so unusual, that everyone flocked curiously around them. Pinhead felt stared at.

He was ashamed.

- Leave me alone! he snapped at Dreamer and looked angrily at her. It was meant that she would be scared and leave him alone, but it didn't work on Dreamer. She grabbed his arm again, and pulled him with her, to a corner where they could talk in private.

- What's the matter with you? She lowed her voice to a whisper. It's Leviathan, isn't it? You got in trouble?

- Yes, it is, Pinhead replied in a low voice. You know what he said? You know what happened?

Dreamer shook her head. - No, tell me.

- Angelique eavesdropped on us when I told you about the pin. And she told Leviathan.

- No!

- She did. And now Leviathan thinks, I've failed him, because ha didn't hear it from me first. That bitch Angelique did it before me. And instead of giving me a new pin, I must find the one I dropped. If I don't find it in a week, Angelique will get my job! That's it, Dreamer. Do you see why I'm not so happy?! I'm gonna lose my job!

Dreamer looked at him with her eyes wide open.

- You must find the pin, she said.

- And that's just so fucking easy! he hissed. I can't, I'm screwed! You'll get a new leader!

- Stop breathing like that! You sound hysterical. You'll faint soon. This isn't the end of the world. You must start searching. I'm helping you, of course.

- No, baby, you can't help me. I must do this on my own to prove, I'm really worth the leader job. You understand?

Dreamer got mad.

- It's crazy! You if anyone is "worthy"! It was really a depraved thing to do by Angelique.

- Yes, it sure was, Pinhead snarled. He felt inclined to go and rip her head off, at once.

- If she becomes the leader, I'm out of here, I'll quit, Dreamer said. I can't work with her.

- Hm, me too, Pinhead said. I'm also out of here if she gets my job. We can take of together.

- What did you really think of when you dragged that parasite to over here? Dreamer asked Pinhead. The last three years have been menacing!

- That's a question I ask myself every day, he replied. I wish I could have it undone.

- So do I... Dreamer didn't complete the sentence.

Angelique's itinerant spy, Eel, slipped pass them, suspiciously close.

- Get off here, you curious piece of shit! Dreamer snapped. Don't you know the word "private life"? Did your mom teach you to peek through keyholes, too? Get out!

Eel, who was as slippery as an eel, got away without saying a word.

When he got out of earshot, Dreamer continued:

- I know I can't help you, but can I do something else?

- Yes, you can tell the others what has happened to me. I can't, it's too embarrassing.

- Sure, okay. Anything else?

- No, Pinhead sighed. Leviathan is gonna open the gateway for me in about... 4,5 hours from now.

- You must find the pin, Dreamer insisted. For your own sake, but also for me, and all the others. We don't want Angelique as our leader.

- I know... I'll do my best. You know she's gonna lead the clan if someone solves the box during the while I'm gone?

- Hope nobody will open it, in that case, Dreamer giggled.

- Exactly! Or... or like, I hope the box falls into a volcano, which is just having an eruption, or something. That would teach Angelique, that natural forces are nothing to joke about!

Then Pinhead saw, that Dreamer crunched another vanilla cookie.

- Stop eating those so much, you'll get fat! he snapped.

Dreamer began to laugh.

- Hey! Who just ate 18 cookies in five minutes earlier today? You!

- Okay, sorry, then. Take as many as you like.

- Do you think I'm fat?

- No, you're just like you should be. Don't worry. I didn't mean that. Forget it.

- If you just find the pin, I promise, I'll give you whatever you want.

- What else have you to give away than cookies?

- I haven't, but you can have as many as you like.

Even Pinhead managed to give a faint smile.

- Funny. A little more than four hours before I have to leave. Can't we do something fun before I disappear?

- What do you mean "disappear"? Let's go tease Angelique. Come on!

- But she might...

- Who gives a shit! It can't be worse than it already is. Let's knock out the bitch!

Chapter 9

Pinhead swallowed. The gateway would open for him in about a few minutes.

Shit!

Finding the pin would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. No, wait. Harder. - Dreamer! he cried in a broken voice.

She ran towards him, gasping.

- What? What is it?

- I can't, I can't do this, I'm gonna go to Leviathan and say he can make Angelique to leader at once.

- No, you're certainly not gonna do that! Dreamer protested. You will try atleast, damn you!

- Right, okay. But it'll never work. I know.

- You can't know before you've looked.

Pinhead held the copy of the Lament Configuration firmly in his hands. And the gateway opened suddenly.

Both him and Dreamer twitched.

- I have to go, Dreamer, Pinhead whispered. He grabbed Dreamer and embraced her softly.

- Try to find the pin, she whispered back.

- I'll find it, he promised.

- That's better! Go now. Good luck! And don't come back before you have it!

- I'll be back in week. Try to survive with Angelique until that.

Then he kissed Dreamer's forehead and stepped through the gateway. It closed instantly after him.

Chapter 10

When Pinhead stepped through the gateway to earth, he came to the same place, where the tornado had thrown him up in the tree three days earlier.

It looked just the same, as it had done when he left, about half a day ago.

And what now? Search, of course. For a pin. It was unfair by Leviathan to send him to look for something he could never find.

Pinhead saw, that the remains of the woman still were there. But they had started to rot now, or some animal had eaten bits of them.

He didn't know, and he didn't care, either. It was the woman's fault, he had gotten into this mess, from the beginning. If only she hadn't solved the box, he... he had still been sitting down there, bored to death.

"No, I don't know," Pinhead thought. Now, I can at least blame that I'm bored any longer! On the other hand, a little too much had happened lately.

He started looking. At first, he examined the area around the tree, but without luck. Up in the tree, he didn't wanted to climb; it hadn't been so well last time, so he wouldn't go up there, if it not would be absolutely necessary. But the chance was quite big, that the pin was in the tree, but...

The house! The woman's house. He must search through that place. The whole place was turned into pieces, of course, but there was a quite big chance, that the pin was there.

It had already passed an hour of the valuable week, and there were no time to lose. So Pinhead rushed to the rests, which were remaining of the house, and started searching there.

Everything was in level with the ground, but there were distinct rests of broken furnitures and other things. Was the pin somewhere? Hard to say, but...

He suddenly treaded on something sharp, which hurt his foot. He looked down to see what it was.

A mirror. Or at least, parts of a mirror.

Pinhead picked up the fragments of the broken mirror, and saw his own reflection in it. He didn't look like he used to, no, he looked exactly like he had looked before he became the cenobite Pinhead, and his name had been Elliot Spenser.

- Oh, long time, no see, he said to his own reflection. But he noticed something else, too, something he hadn't seen until now. He had no clothes. No, he was a without a stitch of clothing, and that made him pretty pissed.

- Leviathan! he cried angrily right in the air. This was a rotten thing to do! I didn't ask for this!

The scream reverberated in the forest.

Angrily, he kicked down even more things, and in fact hurt himself a little. But he didn't care.

Pinhead got frustrated. I must have clothes, he thought. But how? And where from? Wait... The bitch who owned the house, must have had a clothes closet? But it was also gone now. Damn it!

He looked at the copy of the Lament Configuration, which he held in his hands. Maybe as good to send himself back at once. he could never find the pin, he would only embarrass himself. And without clothes, now!

Or no. Pinhead considered his decision. He would not give up. Finding some clothes couldn't be that hard?

And it wasn't. But you couldn't be too selective, of course... Because all he found of the woman's clothes were a rosy sweater and a pair of pyjama pants. The rest of the clothes had either disappeared or been ripped into pieces.

Pinhead saw that the woman's name was embroidered on the sweater.

Jennifer Barnes.

He laughed by himself.

- Hey, you, Jennifer Barnes, I hope you don't mind me borrowing your clothes? No, right, I forgot, you're dead!

Since Pinhead was kind of slender and lean, the woman's clothes were quite fitting for him. He felt pretty ridiculous in that outfit, but it was absolutely better than nothing.

Now the searching could begin seriously!

Chapter 11

Pinhead followed the traces of the tornado, and searched there. Since the tornado had taken the pin, it would probably be some place where the tornado had passed, he thought.

Pinhead had it clear to himself, that he couldn't search through every single inch of the earth, but he did his best.

Once he thought he had found the pin, but he got disappointed quickly. It was just a piece of steel wire.

Two days passed. Almost a third of his valuable week had gone, and not a single trace of the pin. But, he thought, there's still time to find it.

And he also tried to avoid not to run in to some humans. He wasn't here to take victims now, so curious humans would just be in the way. But he hadn't seen any humans yet. Just bush, bush, bush and bush. And if someone would stand in his way, Pinhead wouldn't hesitate to kill him or her. But he hoped there wasn't gonna be need to do it. Besides how all thought, Pinhead didn't kill people unnecessarily.

And when he killed, he did it because it was his job, or if someone annoyed, disturbed and in some cases, threatened him.

Otherwise, Pinhead was a quite indifferent individual.

He had five more days. Pinhead wanted to take good care of that time. He had to.

For a second, he imagined, that if he only searched thoroughly, Leviathan would let him keep his job.

Nope. A sad hope. Leviathan was not the type who made compromises. The choices were to find the pin, or let Angelique be the boss. Angelique? Boss? Ha!

She neither had the experience or competence enough for that job, and besides, she was so... so... self-righteous and mean! She would not give a damn about the lower ranked cenobites, like Pinhead cared. he never looked down at them because of that, but Angelique would just sit on her high horses and command and not care a shit about anything else than herself. Just a great leader!

If now Leviathan was so foolish he chose her to leader, it would be a terrible mistake they all were gonna have to pay for.

God, Angelique had only been in Hell for about three years! She hardly knew how things worked yet! That made a big contrast to Pinhead's almost 80 years, and besides that, Angelique had wrong disposition for the leader job. She was too stuck-up.

But it was Leviathan's decision, so all Pinhead could do for now, was to keep searching.

Chapter 12

And the searching didn't end up so well, either. The most unbelievable happened.

Pinhead noticed, that the sky began to blacken, and soon he even saw a lightning brighten up the dark sky. Thunder. There was thunder.

What would happen now? He knew the risk, that the flash would strike him, was minimal.

But who knew, with his bad luck!

But no, Pinhead was not struck by the lightning. But the bad luck kept following him. Only a few minutes later, he heard a strong noise behind him, and when he turned around, he just got the chock of his life.

A new tornado was coming towards him, less than 500 feet away.

Pinhead looked with screwed up eyes. Could this be true? Could it be possible? He wasn't dreaming?

But no, he didn't dream. The tornado was real, and it kept coming closer and closer every second! To run away would of course be in no use. Even for him. And he had no time to solve the copy of the puzzlebox before it would come. No, the only thing he could do, was to hope it would go better this time, than a few days ago. He didn't want to wake up in a tree, once again. But now he at least had no pins to lose.

Pinhead held the box firmly in his hands, and waited for the tornado, to take him. Again.

This time he didn't faint at once. No, he was fully aware the whole time, and that was actually much, much worse.

The thunder was like the noise of an engine in an airplane, just a hundred times stronger, and the suction was so huge, that it felt like his body would be torn to pieces, and his head would explode.

All he could do was to stop the tornado from prying his fingers open, so he wouldn't drop his box.

A mortal human wouldn't have survived in there, in the tornado, and Pinhead almost wished he had been a mortal, so he wouldn't have been thrown around alive in there.

In the end, he still lost his consciousness, and it did no longer matter where ever he was thrown...

* * * *

Pinhead didn't get so happy when he found out where he was when he woke up again.

He was lying on a bunk at some kind of hospital. No, wait. No hospital would have bars in front of the windows, and a wrought iron gate with a lock in the doorway.

It looked like some kind of a cell. A prison.

And that's exactly what it was. He was on the hospital ward of the Juniper Hill-prison, but Pinhead didn't know that yet. He was just about to jump down from the bunk, when a human, a man, unlocked the cell door and came in.

The man was a doctor, and introduced himself as Dr Talbot. An unpleasant memory of Dr Channard emerged in Pinhead's head. He didn't like doctors.

- I'm here to examine you, Dr Talbot said and took a step closer to Pinhead.

- What? Where am I ? What is this place?

- Take it easy. You're at the Juniper Hill-prison's hospital ward. The tornado threw you to the backyard of the prison, and I'm here to see if you're all right.

- I'm fine, Pinhead slurred. Let me out of here.

- Oh no. Can you please sit down?

- Let me out! Pinhead hissed desperately.

- Now we calm down. You had yourself a proper knock, my friend, and I suspect you might have gotten a brain concussion. Just calm down.

Pinhead shook his head aggressively and pushed Dr Talbot out of the way, trying to find a way out. And when the doctor reached out his hand and grabbed his arm, Pinhead lost his self control totally.

He grabbed the doctor and threw him up against the wall. The back of his head hit the wall with a bang, and you could here a nasty, cracking noise, when the skull was shattered.

He fell to the floor with the back of his head all smashed, and the spasms were telling that he had gotten a severe brain damage, and would probably not survive.

Pinhead didn't give a shit. All he wanted was to come out.

There was a wrought iron gate where the should have been. With a lock. But the bars could not be broke open. Not even Pinhead could, even if he owned superhuman strengths. What could he do?

Maybe he could destroy the lock. And yes, he could; already after two kicks against the lock, it broke so much, that Pinhead could push the cell door open.

But out there, were armed guards, who almost instantly pointed their guns at him.

- Stop! Freeze! they roared.

But Pinhead didn't care. He ran right towards them, ignoring the guns that were aimed at him. There was a door behind the guards, so if he only could get through them, he sure could come out more easily.

- Stop! Or we'll shoot! one of them cried again.

Pinhead ignored them, so then they shot. A bullet hit his chest on the right side. He staggered, but didn't fall down, bullets can't kill a cenobite; they just hurt like hell!

He screamed of pain, but continued stubbornly towards the door.

Locked. Even this door was locked. Pinhead knew he didn't have time to break this door too, the guards would catch him.

Keys. He needed keys. God, how stupid he had been! The doctor, Talbot, surely had a bunch of keys on him, with keys to every, fucking cell door, but it was too late to think of that now. He couldn't run back to pick them. He would be forced to take the keys from one of the guards.

The guards no longer fired at him, instead they had decided to catch him.

A big, muscular guard, maybe twice as big as Pinhead, grabbed him planning to catch him, but the guard got himself a nasty surprise.

Pinhead pushed him away, with such strength, that he flew away, and made a dent in the wall.

- Never touch me, you fucking gorilla! Pinhead hissed.

The two other guards, shot at him, but missed. They rushed towards Pinhead, and one of them threw himself upon him, but Pinhead grabbed his hand, and wrenched the gun out of his grip, and then knocked him unconscious with it. He kicked the other guard in the face, so he at least broke his nose and cracked some teeth.

He took the keys from one of them, and hurried against the door, but he didn't make it all the way to it.

The big guard, who he had thrown into the wall half a minute earlier, threw himself over him, and pushed him down on the floor with his massive bodyweight.

Pinhead screamed, and crawled like a snake under him, trying desperately to get loose.

Now he couldn't get a really good grip to throw him off with, but he managed to get the guard's own gun, pointed the pistol muzzle against his face and pulled the trigger. The head exploded, and Pinhead got blood and brain substance all over him. The dead body lied heavily upon him.

Pinhead struggled the way up on his feet, took the gun and keys with him, when he ran towards the door.

Then he remembered. The box! He must have his box! But where was it? he hadn't time to search through the whole place. Sure someone had heard the gunshots, and there would soon bee more guards.

But he could always check the room where he had killed the doctor.

He ran quickly back in there, and there, on a table beside the bunk where ha had lain, his box was.

He gave a little cry of happiness, grabbed the box and hurried to the door, which he easily unlocked with the keys he had taken from the guards.

And after that, things went quite easily for Pinhead. There were no guards, who were either strong or fast enough to catch him. And now when he had the gun, he just could shoot them who tried to stop him.

He was forced to shoot one more human.

Now he was outside the main building. The yard could cause more serious trouble.

There were a watchtower with armed guards in each corner of the yard. Well, bullets couldn't kill him, so why hesitate?

He started to run across the prison yard. He was fired from the watchtowers, but they were obviously lousy shooters, because of all bullets only one hit him, and that was in his left shoulder, so it didn't stop him very much.

Around the prison yard, there were at least 10 feet of barbed wire fence, which he could have to climb over.

There was agate, too, but he didn't have time to start fumbling with any keys now, so he just raised over the fence. Since Pinhead was so light and slender, he easily could climb over the fence.

He sure got a little sting in his hand, by the barbed wire, but that was all. Safely down on the other side, he continued running away from the prison.

Not before he was far away, he saw himself still holding the gun and the keys. He threw away the keys, he had no use for them any longer. But the gun could be good to have around. That's why he kept it and proceeded.

Pinhead felt exhausted. He wouldn't search more that day, that was something sure!

He needed a place to sleep, and he needed also new and clean clothes. His rosy sweater and blue pyjama pants were plastered over with blood and smear from the brain.

In Hell, it wouldn't have been so bad, but here up on earth, it wasn't so nice. That's why Pinhead began to look for a place where he could both sleep and get cleaned.

Chapter 13

He didn't need to search very long. There was a solitary house somewhere a few miles from the prison.

It was a nice house, looked well-kept, and was quite large.

"I'm staying here over the night," Pinhead decided.

He hoped there wouldn't be anybody in the house. Because if there were, he would have to kill them. And he didn't want to do that. They weren't worth neither the trouble or the risk. Besides, he felt like he had been killing enough for today.

But there were not any lights anywhere, so the inmates of the house were probably not there right now.

Pinhead got relived. The coast was clear.

He broke a window in the glass door and opened from the inside. So he went in.

It was a very beautiful and big house, three floors and at least twelve rooms.

Pinhead dragged himself upstairs; he looked for the bathroom, so he could get cleaned.

There was a bathroom on the third floor. A big, magnificent bathroom, with a big washbasin and a big tub. When Pinhead saw the tub, he decided: he wanted to take a bath. Absolutely.

He went out to bring some new clothes to wear after the bath. There were many different doors to all kind of different rooms, and Pinhead knew, that most people had their clothes closet in the bedroom.

And even this human had. There was a simple bed in the room, so probably here only lived one alone individual, in this big house.

Probably a woman. A lot of skirts and blouses hung in the closet. Pinhead got disappointed.

There had to be something that even he could wear, without looking ridiculous?

Oh yes, a black robe, made of silk. It would be perfect for him to wear after the bath. That's why he took it with him, and also a big, soft towel to wipe himself in.

So he went back in to the bathroom, he put the gun and the puzzlebox copy on the floor. Then he filled the tub with steaming, hot water, undressed himself, threw the bloody clothes away, and stepped into the water.

Pinhead gasped of well-being. he hadn't got the opportunity to take a bath, in see... 78 years! Non since he became a cenobite. There were no possibilities to do that in Hell.

The bullet wounds in his chest and shoulder hurt a little. Nothing serious. They had already started healing. In the next morning, they would be all gone.

Pinhead almost fell asleep, when he heard some noise from the floor below. He got wide awake instantly.

What was that? Best to go down and have a look. He got out of the bath, wiped himself, and put on the robe.

Quietly, he pattered down the stairs. He didn't turn on the lights. His senses were still razor sharp. He had not imagined that sound!

He waited a few minutes. Nothing. He was just about to turn around and go up again, when someone - or something - with enormous strength grabbed him and threw him up against the wall.

Chapter 14

Dreamer crunched another vanilla cookie.

She was nervous. Would Pinhead find his pin and keep his job? It would be awful if he failed. To everyone except Angelique.

Angelique! Dreamer hated her. Hated her.

She was stuck up, inflated, delusive, mean, derisive, arrogant, and she obviously thought he was better than everybody else. Ha! If she became boss, Dreamer and Pinhead was going to leave. That's what they decided last time, anyway.

Wasn't there any good side in Angelique? No, or Dreamer couldn't find any.

Suddenly, she heard someone knocking on her door.

- Come in, Dreamer said.

It was Angelique. She came in and gave Dreamer a wicked smile. The she said:

- The first thing I'm gonna do, when I'll be the leader, is to forbid you from eating those silly cookies.

- If you'll be the leader, Dreamer reminded her. Pinhead may find his pin.

- No, sweaty, he won't. I know.

She seemed quite sure.

- You don't know that. He actually has four more days to search.

Angelique shook her head.

- Yeah, he can search, but he won't find it!

- Oh yeah, really? Are you some kind of a seer?

- You don't have to be a seer to get it, sweaty!

Angelique's grin got bigger.

- When I'll be the boss, you'll know that you no longer will be discriminated like you've been so far. But it's just because you're letting Pinhead fuck you, isn't it?

Dreamer felt herself fleshing.

- And what the hell do you know about it? she snarled.

That was another one of Angelique's stupid ideas. During the past few days, Dreamer had heard it from - almost - every cenobite at least once. And from Piston at least ten. She had almost started to hate him, too. Angelique had spread out a rumour.

- I just know! Angelique sneered. Why would he like you if you didn't?

- Take off that imbecilic rumour, Dreamer said.

- Rumour? Don't you think they have the right to know?

- If that was true, we would dare to stand for it.

- It doesn't seem like that. By the way, I know why you're so grumpy; you haven't been laid now when Pinhead's gone!

- You leave now! Get out! Out now!

Dreamer made a gesture against the door. But Angelique had seen something that she instantly snatched to her. It was Dreamer's diary.

She gave out a little cry, and started to skim through it.

- Oj oj oj! So it's here you've written all the dirty details, about you and Pinhead...

She didn't finish the sentence.

Dreamer flew up on her feet.

- Give it here! she screamed, and tried to take it from Angelique, but Angelique quickly held it beyond her reach. She giggled meanly.

- Now I'll have some exiting things to read! Maybe I'll copy the best pages and distribute them. Then everybody will know what you're thinking!

Angelique sneaked out of the room before Dreamer could get her diary back.

- Give it back! she screamed after her.

But Angelique wouldn't give it back, of course. Dreamer got despaired. The bitch just couldn't read it! Not because there were any "dirty details" about some sexual intercourses with Pinhead, but still! It was private, and it would be insulting if others read it.

That's when Dreamer decided what to do. She would bring her diary back! Angelique would never give it back voluntarily, so that was the only thing to do.

She would sneak in to Angelique's chamber, look for it, find it, and go out before anybody saw her. If she got caught, it wouldn't be so brilliant...

But Dreamer was willing to take the risk.

Chapter 15

Pinhead turned his eyes at the one who had attacked him. Even if it was dark in the room, he immediately saw who it was.

Frank. Yes, it was Frank Cotton, who had gotten in to the house, and attacked him.

Pinhead pressed himself against the wall. Frank stood a few feet away, snnering annoyingly at him.

Frank in a new shape. Yeah, even he didn't look at all like the original Frank, Pinhead knew directly it was him. And the last doubt did go away when hew started to speak.

- Pinhead! It's really a pleasure to see you again!

He took a step closer to Pinhead. Pinhead backed. Frank in this shape was big, powerful, almost 7 foot tall. And he sure weighed over 300 lbs.

And he was horridly strong! Pinhead got afraid. He knew, that in a close combat, he wouldn't have a chance against this giant!

Frank kept coming closer to him. Pinhead kept backing.

- Frank, he wailed. What are you doing here?

- I came for you, Frank replied.

- Why?

He still smiled. It was a predatory smile. Threatening.

- I've searched for you. Just wanna get you!

His voice sounded rough and threatening. He kept coming towards him. Slowly. No hurry. Why would he? He probably knew that Pinhead wouldn't have a chance.

Frank sneered more than ever, when he saw in Pinhead's eyes that he knew what was going to happen.

He was gonna kill him! That's what Frank had wanted to do since he escaped from Hell, second time. Frank was "the one who had gotten away".

He always showed up in new shapes, trying to kill Pinhead. But Pinhead always killed him. And Frank always came back. He had an ability to manage to come back from the grave. And he was like drifting to Pinhead.

Frank knew he had an advantage now. Now, this time, it was different; Pinhead was alone, and he had nothing to defend himself with. And besides, he was scared. Just the sight of Frank had turned his body into rubber!

Pinhead backed towards the living room. Frank followed him. Pinhead was scared to death. He knew he had nothing to defend himself with, and he desperately tried to come up with something.

He backed by the fireplace, and tended to grab the poker which was made of brass. But he realized he wouldn't be quick enough to defend himself with that. Frank was big, fast and strong; he would throw himself over him, and take the poker away from him, before he even got a chance to swing it.

No, he had to come up with something else, better, that at least would give him some time. Besides, he didn't even know if it would have helped to hit him with a poker. All of Frank's shapes were different.

Pinhead hit against a sofa, which he quickly went pass, and established in a big relief, that he at least had it between himself and Frank.

Frank reached out his big hands against Pinhead.

- Pretty, he said.

- What?

- Pretty. You're really pretty without that nail-outfit.

- No! Leave me alone! Get out of here!

- No, Pinhead. I'm not gonna leave you alone. I'll torture you, just like you tortured me, remember? And this time, this time, I'll get you. I'll gut your skinny ass once and for all! You'll suffer, just like I did, the second time, in Larry Cotton's attic room twelve years ago! Do you remember?! Fucking sadist! You did it for pleasure!

- No, no Frank, I'm not a sadist! It was my job to do it! You take this far too personal, it was my job to do it, I just tried to do...

Pinhead's back hit the wall. He had nowhere to go. Frank had him. Frank was over him. He reached out his big arms to grab him, but Pinhead pushed his hand away and ran behind the sofa.

Frank didn't try to follow. The enjoyed the tension, and he was just playing with Pinhead.

- Run, run, you're not getting away!

Suddenly Pinhead got furious; he was scared but the anger took over. Was he afraid of someone like Frank? Would he let himself be chased by someone like Frank? No!

Instead of running away, he decided to do like he always did; strike back with maximum effort. Even if it may seem hopeless at the time.

He growled like an animal. He was angry. Scared, but angry!

There was a table with some fancy goods next to the sofa He knew exactly what to do. He grabbed an almost one foot long porcelain figure, and threw it towards Frank.

But Frank ducked, and the china figure flew over his head and shattered against the wall behind.

- Try again, please, he sneered.

Pinhead grabbed a new thing from the table. It was an empty beer bottle. He raised he hand to throw it, but then he changed his mind. Would Frank duck again? Obviously. He must come up with something else, that could trick Frank a little.

Pinhead screwed up his eyes against Frank, raised his hand again, and pretended to throw the beer bottle.

Frank was lured by the faint. He ducked again, and the Pinhead threw the bottle, before he got a chance to react a second time.

It hit his head, and exploited like a bomb. He staggered, but he didn't fall, no, he wasn't injured. But it probably had hurt, because now Frank wasn't on the mood for games anymore!

The smile disappeared from his lips. The pain had transferred him. He strained the muscles in his massive body, and growled like an angry animal. Ready to attack.

Pinhead had nothing more to throw. He expected that Frank would come sneaking around the sofa, and then try to catch him.

Pinhead thought of, what he would have done, if some of his victims had begun to make trouble. Obviously try to outwit them, and then strike. But if Frank thought the same way, he didn't know, of course. And it didn't seem like he did.

Pinhead planned to go around the sofa, the whole time have it between himself and Frank, and while passing, maybe he could grab something else to throw.

But Frank did not the way Pinhead thought he would. Instead of sneaking, he grabbed the sofa, and threw it away like it only weighed a few pounds It was a clumsy thing to do, because he fell over the sofa himself, and that gave Pinhead time to run around him, and go on towards the stairs.

It was his only chance. The gun. It laid on the bathroom floor.

If he could rush up there, take it, and then run out of the bathroom again, he would have the time to shoot Frank before he could catch him.

Frank was just a few steps behind him. He could hear Frank's heavy breathing in his neck.

When he reached the hell on the second floor, he had to seek with his eyes after the stairs. And then Frank got up with him.

He grabbed Pinhead's right shoulder and pulled him towards himself. Pinhead screamed, but he didn't begin to struggle, or try to get loose, like Frank had expected him to do. Instead Pinhead turned against him, pressed himself close to him, before Frank could get a really good grip of him. Then Pinhead thrust his knee harshly between Frank's legs.

It worked on Frank too, because he reacted like he had been hit by the lightning.

He howled and lost his grip of Pinhead, tumbled backwards, and fell down on the floor.

Frank made an unsuccessful attempt to grab Pinhead's legs, but Pinhead pulled himself away rapidly, and kept going towards the third floor.

Obviously Frank hadn't been prepared for that Pinhead would defend himself so effectively. He had lured him twice. Frank apparently thought he could pick him like a little flower. But it wasn't as easy as he thought.

Pinhead rushed upstairs and dashed in to the bathroom. The gun laid there, and he grabbed it instantly. Then he rushed in to the bedroom, turned the lights on, and bolted the door, exactly when he heard tramping steps outside. Next second, he also heard someone pulling the door. Frank now knew where he was.

He sure could rip away the door if he liked. Pinhead backed away deeper in to the room. His hands that held the gun shook violently.

He saw his own refection in the full figure mirror, which hung on the wall next to him. He was hollow-eyed and pale as a sheet in the face. Almost as pale as he used to be in his ordinary "nail-outfit".

Frank kicked at the door. One, single kick was enough. The door flew wide open, and Frank tumbled in. His hands were clenched and his face all red. he looked wild and mad.

- You'll regret that kick! he snarled.

Pinhead aimed the gun at him. His hands shook

- I'm gonna fire! I swear I'll fire! Pinhead screamed wildly.

- Go on, then!

- Go back!

- Shoot me, then!

- Frank, please.

- That won't do any good. It won't help to shoot me. That gun can't save you.

Pinhead continued pointing at him.

- You lie!

- Shoot me. We'll see if I lie.

He came closer and closer. Now there were no more than five feet between them.

- Go back! I mean it. I'll pull the trigger.

Pinhead kept backing until his back hit the wall. He didn't want to pull the trigger; not that he would mind killing Frank, but by fear, that the bullets wouldn't have an effect on him.

That's what Frank himself had told. But he might be bluffing. They would find out soon enough.

- Please Frank, be wise. I won't shoot if you go away right now!

Frank ignored him completely. He took another step. Then Pinhead fired. One, two, five times.

He didn't know how many shots hit Frank, but he could hear his screams of rage and pain. Obviously, he had been hit.

He had fallen behind the bed, so Pinhead couldn't see him. He moved ahead, carefully, went around the bed, and found Frank lying on the stomach, with his face down.

There weren't much blood, if there were any at all.

Slowly Pinhead went closer to him. Not so close, he would risk anything, but still close enough to see if he really was dead.

- Frank? Pinhead asked. He still pointed the gun at him. Nothing.

- You know, Frank, I think I'll drain the whole magazine in you, just in case, he said loudly.

The idea was, that if Frank was still alive, and heard what Pinhead was saying, he would get so scared, that he would stop pretending. But he didn't react now either. Probably he was really dead.

Pinhead poked him in the back with the pistol muzzle.

Dead. He was dead. Pinhead relaxed, and did no longer hold the gun spasmodically hard. He stepped over Frank's body to get out of the room.

Suddenly Frank was no longer dead.

Just when Pinhead was taking the step over him, he got up, grabbed Pinhead's ankle and pulled him down. Pinhead screamed when Frank laid over him, and hit away his whisking hands, and the he put his big, strong hands around Pinhead's throat and started to strangle him.

The gun had flown out of Pinhead's grip when he was pulled down, and he could never get it now.

Frank was like a beast over him, crushing him with his enormous weight and staring at him with eyes filled of hatred.

Pinhead could see that he at least had been hit by two shots, there was a bullet hole above right clavicle, and another a few inches lower.

Then Pinhead got an idea. He managed to get in a hand between them, and put his finger straight into one of the bullet holes. Frank screamed of pain, and backed away just enough for Pinhead to get the gun which laid on the floor next to them.

He pressed the pistol muzzle against Frank's neck. Frank's strong hands were still scaled around his neck. But he could feel them trembling. The bastard was scared!

Pinhead got some new strength by knowing that. He pressed the gun harder.

- Get off! Get off! Or I'll blow your fucking head off! he snapped.

Frank's big hands trembled. And his face was twitching. He was scared!

- Now I want you to get up...slowly. And I'll come with you. Can you do that?

Frank nodded, and did what he was told. With overdoing cautiousness, he pulled his hands away and got up. Pinhead held the gun pressed against his neck.

- Okay. Lie down on the floor over there. He made a nervous gesture with the gun. But Frank sat down on the bed, instead.

- No! I said lie down!

- Why?

- Lie down.

- I'm not gonna attack you.

- Just lie down.

- No, I'm sitting right over here.

- Lie down, damn it! I'm gonna shoot you!

Pinhead wanted to give Frank no opportunity to pull him down again.

- Then shoot me. I'm sitting here.

- Okay, Pinhead said aversely. But if you get up, I'm gonna put the whole magazine in you. You see?

- I see. I'm not going to come near you. Okay.

- Now I'm going out of here. I don't want you to move before I'm out of the building. All right?

Suddenly the phone, which was on the table next o the bed, rang. Pinhead jerked nervously, and almost dropped the gun.

Frank got up. Pinhead pointed the gun at him.

- Stop! Sit down!

- No. I'm going out of here.

- No, you're not. Sit down.

- I'm gonna go. I'm not gonna attack you.

- So in the hell you will! Sit down... I'm gonna shoot, if you... He tried to keep the gun still.

- You're not gonna shoot me if I leave? I promise, I'll leave you alone, Pinhead. Don't be scared, I won't hurt you.

Pinhead considered the situation.

- All right. Get out! Out! Leave out of here!

Frank nodded and raised his hand. He went towards the doorway. He stepped out of the room, and felt Pinhead's raving eyes in his back. Pinhead heard him tumble downstairs, and then he heard Frank bang the front door.

He sneaked down to see if he really had gone. Because ha could have banged the door without leaving, and then attack Pinhead again, later.

But no, he had really gone.

Pinhead heaved a sigh of relief, went back in to the bathroom, put the gun on the table, beside the phone, which had stopped ringing now.

It wasn't until now, he rally saw, how lucky he had been. He could have been dead by now. Frank could have gutted him. But he had been lucky.

Suddenly tears came into his eyes. He fought to hold them back. He was Pinhead, and Pinhead didn't weep. Not ever. Pinhead was strong. And tough. Pinhead could take a lot without breaking down. Even if he struggled, the tears kept coming, they were flowing down his cheeks, and dripped down his chin.

First, he cried quietly, but then he gave up, and let the tears come. He blew and spit out the saliva, that made that he almost couldn't breathe.

Pinhead embraced himself. He wished that someone had been there to comfort him. But who would like to do that? Everybody expected the cenobite leader to do fine without comforting.

He didn't cry because Frank had hurt him, no he hadn't had time to hurt him. But he had been offended and desecrated. Even if his throat hurt a little after the strangulation...

Suddenly he thought of one thing. What if Frank came back? No, not "what if". He would come back. He would come back tonight when he was assured that Pinhead was asleep.

Pinhead's first thought was to get out of there. Run. But he didn't want to run. It would be like hiding from Frank. And Pinhead wasn't such a coward. He was brave. And he was proud of that.

He would rather fight and die, than run like some funk. He never ran from anyone or anything.

Whatever was after him, he would defend himself. Fight back. And that was what he was going to do now, too.

The gun. He had the gun.

Frank wasn't invulnerable. Pinhead remembered the nervous twitching when he had pointed the gun against his neck. But Pin head was no expert of shooting, of course.

Of all the bullets he had fired, only two had hit Frank.

How lousy was he, really? Better to try that.

He would shoot down a vase about 30 feet away. The vase stood on a table in the hallway, and Pinhead aimed at it. So... He pulled the trigger.

Click. The gun said click. Click, click, click, click, click. The bullets were out. There were no more.

Please, no! No! It only meant one thing. He wouldn't be able to defend himself if Frank came back!

Damn, damn, damn! The mere thought of one thing made Pinhead jerk. The gun had already been empty when he pressed it against Frank's neck! What a blessing that he didn't pull the trigger then, because then Frank had understood what was going on.

He could try to fool him, maybe...

No. It would never work. He wasn't such a good actor. Frank would notice that something was wrong, and it would come out that the gun was empty.

He had to get himself a new weapon.

With a little luck, maybe the inmates of this house would have a gun somewhere.

Pinhead searched, but he didn't find any. He went down to the kitchen to look through the kitchen drawers.

There were several different knives he could have. The big butcher's knife looked worst and most dangerous; it was the same type of knife that Michael Myers used, but in Pinhead's tiny little hand it was ungainly.

Frank would throw himself over him, and wring it off his hand, before he even would have a chance to swing it.

He needed something that was smaller, and not so fully discernible, but something that still was big enough to hurt Frank.

Not that he was an expert of using knives. But what kind of choice did he have? Either a knife or nothing.

Finally, he decided to take a small, collapsible pocket knife. It was small enough to have in the pocket of his robe, and easy to get if it was needed. The blade was around four inches long.

Pinhead went back up to the bathroom.

The water had gotten cold, and it was no longer so comfortable to bath in. And he didn't want to fill up with any new water. It was not a very good thing to be in the bathroom if Frank came back. there wasn't any window, so he would be easily caught in there.

So he let the water go, took the puzzlebox copy, and decided to go and lock himself in in to the guestroom on the second floor.

He put the gun in a drawer in the bedroom. He had no use for it any longer.

The guestroom had the same type of door as the bedroom, with the same type of locker, and Pinhead dragged a steady looking drawer which he put in front of the door as a barricade.

So Pinhead would at least notice if someone would try to break through. He knew he needed to get some sleep, but did he dare to take the risk?

Frank could get him more easily if he slept, but he had to take the risk.

He crawled down to the bed and stared at the door with the drawer in front of it, for a moment.

He had put the knife on the table next to the bed.

There was an alarm clock, too. The time was 01.45. Late. A few hours of sleep would do him good.

And 02.00 o'clock Pinhead was asleep.

Chapter 16

Frank stood in the garden of the house, watching it. There was a faint light somewhere on the second floor.

So there he was now! Pinhead. The sadist. The little fuck would not get away this time. That's what Frank had believed, already when he threw Pinhead against the wall a few hours earlier.

But besides that he was alone, and besides that ha was as tiny as a shrimp, he had defended himself surprisingly effective. Frank hadn't believed that about him. He had to admit, that he actually was scared of him. But he would try again.

Pinhead had shot him. And wounded him. Frank had thought that bullets couldn't hurt him in this shape, but he had been wrong.

That's why he had to be extra cautious. He must calmly wait for an opportunity to surprise Pinhead.

What he did here on earth in his human shape, Frank didn't know, or neither did he care. All he cared about, was to see him dead.

In his own mind, he asked himself why Pinhead was still in the house. Not even he was so stupid, that he really believed what Frank had said about leaving him alone. Or maybe he was. However, it was good that he was still there.

Frank had no weapons. It was like a challenge to fix Pinhead without weapons. And that's what he would, too.

He had no problems getting inside the house. Instead of using the main door, he found the key to the backdoor in a flowerpot, and without making a sound, he unlocked the door, and stood now in the laundry, and from there it was a door, which led to the kitchen.

Intently he listened after sound which meant that Pinhead heard him coming. Everything was quiet.

He smiled. Not even that fuck was all-seeing and all-knowing!

As soundless as possible, he tried to get upstairs to the room where Pinhead was. It was pitch-dark in the house, but Frank still knew where to put his feet.

On the second floor, there was a room, where it leaked out a little light underneath the door.

There he was. The door was certainly locked. And obviously he even had put something in front of the door, trying to keep Frank away.

It meant he was afraid of him. The thought made Frank excited. Pinhead was afraid of him.

He sure had superhuman strengths, but he sure wasn't immortal, he could die, just not as easy as an ordinary human. The cenobitefuck could die.

And he would, too, soon.

It was very quiet in the room. Did he sleep? Nope, he was too scared to sleep. Apparently he sat in the bed, holding the gun.

Terrified.

Frank would wait for him to come out.

In the morning, perhaps, when he felt safe enough to come out, Frank would get him. He would grab him, and throw himself over him, before he even got a chance to react.

But he had to wait. Patiently. He sat down outside the door, keeping watch. Listened to every single little noise, that came from the room.

Pinhead wouldn't have a chance. The best thing to do, was to break his neck, and then rip his body into pieces, to be sure he wouldn't survive.

And that was what Frank would do.

He waited patiently all night long.

Chapter 17

Pinhead woke up at 08.05 AM next morning.

He looked around. Frank hadn't come. Maybe he wouldn't, either. Perhaps Pinhead had just thought he would come back.

The barricade looked silly. Pinhead sighed and decided to move the drawer away.

Now he was just going to look for real, good clothes to himself, and then he'd leave. He moved the drawer away, and was just going to unlock the door, when he remembered.

The knife.

He went back to the table, and took the knife in his hand. He realized how silly he had been, when he thought he could have defended himself himself with it. Close combat against Frank.

Pinhead now saw, that he wouldn't have the slightest chance in such a battle. Frank was many times stronger than he was. The gun had saved him yesterday.

He was going to put the knife back into its drawer in the kitchen, so he unlocked the door, stepped out in to the hall, and gave out a scream, when Frank grabbed him and threw him up against the wall.

His head hit the plaster with a rough bang, and for a moment, everything went black for him. He fought to stay conscious.

Frank grabbed him by the throat with his right hand, and nailed him to the wall. With his left hand, he tried to hold Pinhead's arms, that were throwing wide.

For a moment, they looked in each others eyes. Frank looked covetous and mad. And excited. He really enjoyed this.

- Whore! he hissed between his teeth.

Calling Pinhead "whore" was totally absurd, but that's probably the best Frank came up with right then.

He moved up his left hand, and closed it around Pinhead's neck. Pinhead couldn't do anything; Frank had spread his legs, so he couldn't even try to kick. But suddenly he realized, that he was still holding the knife in his hand.

Frank wasn't prepared for that, he obviously hadn't even seen it, since he hadn't tried to take it away from Pinhead.

Pinhead thrust the four inches long blade into Frank's stomach. At first Frank didn't even seem to notice anything, but when Pinhead pulled the knife out, and stabbed him one more time, an little higher this time, Frank got a different expression on his face.

He roared and lost his grip of Pinhead, and tumbled backwards until he hit another wall.

The knife had gone deep. Frank had severe injuries. He looked down at himself, surprisingly. The blood gushed from him. He turned his eyes up towards Pinhead.

- You fucking...damn...whore...you'll...You'll die...

Frank was seriously hurt, but not deadly hurt. He had still enough of his strength left to hurt Pinhead.

Pinhead knew, and rushed down the stairs to get a more dangerous knife. The butcher's knife. It would be big enough to hurt Frank or perhaps even kill him.

Pinhead searched desperately in the kitchen drawers. Where was the knife?

When he finally got it, he could hear Frank come tramping down the stairs. He must hide. Where?

The laundry. It was the only place possible. He sneaked in there, and tried to close the door to the kitchen as quiet as possible. He saw that it actually led a door out to the freedom, also.

He could run! No, he wouldn't run! He would finish Frank. Or try at least. He peeked through the keyhole to the laundry door.

Frank had made it to the kitchen now. He stood crouched down, holding his hand against the wound which bled the most. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. But his eyes were searching for Pinhead. It was just a matter of time, before he would get it, and Pinhead knew. He kept his knife ready.

You couldn't lock the laundry door. But it was just good, if Frank had in mind to go around the house and attack him from the door that was leading outside. Then it would be important to get out quickly.

Suddenly Frank got a big smile in his tormented face. He was reaching out his hand against the knob of the laundry door, and snatched it open.

Then Pinhead struck. He thrust the over one foot long blade right through Frank's chest. Right through the heart.

Frank opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth, and gave out a gurgling sound. So he fell down on his knees, and was left lying down on the floor. Dead. Probably really dead this time. The knife was still attached to him. Pinhead gave out a sigh of relief.

Frank was dead. For now. He would come back from the grave again, but not today, and not tomorrow, either. Not even in a week.

But he would come back. That was a promise.

Pinhead stepped over his corpse, and went upstairs to get his things. Things and things. Well, it was just the box, that really belonged to him. He took it with him, and left the house.

He left Frank's body on the floor in the kitchen. He smiled to himself.

What a chock the inmate of the house would get, when she found the body! That would sure be terrific to watch, but unfortunately. Pinhead couldn't stick around to see it. He had to continue the hopeless search for the pin. Four more days left. Barely.

Chapter 18

Dreamer laid in wait outside Angelique's chamber.

When the coat was clear, she would sneak in, and get her diary back. She watched up carefully not to seen.

When she hadn't seen Angelique for half an hour, she stepped forward, knocking at the door.

- Hello? Angelique? Are you in there?

No answer. But Angelique was maybe just fucking, when she heard it was Dreamer.

Dreamer felt cautiously at the door. Unlocked. She went inside. Angelique wasn't there. But she could come back any second.

Dreamer knew, and she also knew, that she had nowhere to go if Angelique came in. But she still sneaked inside, and started search for her diary.

"She must have put it here somewhere," Dreamer thought.

But she didn't find any diary. Damn it! What the fuck did the bitch do to it?! She continued searching persistently.

One cabinet was locked. Dreamer understood instantly, that the diary was inside that cabinet. She couldn't break the lock, because Angelique would see that someone had been there, and immediately see it was Dreamer.

The key. She needed the key. But suddenly Dreamer saw, that the cabinet wasn't locked, it was only bolted. She disengaged the bolt, and opened the cabinet.

The diary. Was it there?

Dreamer tried to look, without messing things too much. She didn't find her diary, but she found something else.

A pin. An about three inches long pin, which she instantly knew who it belonged to. Pinhead. It was Pinhead's! Absolutely!

The pin was here, and poor Pinhead was up on the earth looking for it! he was saved, and he didn't even know it yet!

Dreamer felt like she could jump up and down by happiness, when she suddenly thought of one thing.

How did the pin get into Angelique's cabinet? The answer was simple. Angelique had put it there. But how? And when? And why?

How did she get it?

Dreamer didn't know, but she knew one thing; If Angelique had it the entire time, with out telling Pinhead and Leviathan, she would be in deep shit, if Leviathan found out. She did, even if she was Leviathan's little pet.

Dreamer was looking at the pin in her hand. Her first thought was to go to Leviathan right now, but she changed her mind.

Then it would also come out how she had got it, and she would have to admit she had gone to Angelique's chamber to dig.

Not good. Better to wait a few days, until Pinhead came back. She would let him decide, and also Dreamer thought that he had the right to find out first. It actually was his pin.

She wished there was a way to let Pinhead know that his pin was here. But there was none. She had to wait.

Angelique! She had taken it! Dreamer had to admit, that she hadn't believed such a thing even about Angelique. How rotten! But she would have to pay.

Pinhead would be furious. Probably he would find Angelique, and beat her up. Because that's what she deserved.

Dreamer thought of that for a moment, but then she remembered, that she had to get out of there. Angelique would sure come back soon. Was she going to tell her that she had found the pin?

No! Angelique didn't have to know yet. Dreamer rushed out of her chamber, and kept going in full speed towards her own, to hide the pin in a safe place until Pinhead came back.

On her way she met Angelique.

- What's wrong with you? she asked in a surprised voice when she saw how overstrained Dreamer looked.

- Eh...nothing! Dreamer stuttered and forced her way pass her, trying to avoid a confrontation.

Dreamer hid the pin in an empty packet of vanilla cookies. Hope not Angelique would notice that she had been there!

Then she remembered that she had forgotten her diary entirely. Oops!

Chapter 19

Pinhead had one more hour to search. He hadn't been so lucky, really. No pin. He would return to Hell empty-handed.

He and Dreamer would quit. he was basically only going to Hell To hand in his resignation.

Pinhead no longer wanted to stay. Where he would go, he hadn't decided yet. But he always had Dreamer. That was a big plus. Pinhead didn't want to stay any more. One hour more or less.

He started to rub the copy of the box, trying to get it open. It was done in a while, and Pinhead got sucked back to Hell. He arrived in the Great Hall, in his normal shape, and of course, his normal outfit.

EyeCam walked pass him.

- Master? How about the pin? Cammy asked.

- Not so well, Pinhead replied in a not too friendly voice. Suddenly he heard a big cry from someone, and in the next second Dreamer flew around his neck with such speed, that he almost fell.

- Ah, Pinhead! Finally, how I've missed you! You know...

- Shall we go to Leviathan, now then?

- What for?

- I didn't find the pin. Angelique's gonna be the leader. We agreed about quitting, if she...

Dreamer shook her head.

- Nope, we're not. Angelique's not gonna be the leader. You can keep your job, Pinhead.

- But I didn't find the pin! he exclaimed in a surprised voice.

Dreamer smiled insidiously.

- No, you didn't, but you know what? I...

A lot of cenobites had flocked around them. Dreamer grabbed Pinhead'd hand and said:

- Come, we'll go to your chamber, so we can speak in private. This is really important.

When they came to Pinhead's chamber, Dreamer closed the door, so absolutely nobody could hear.

- What's so important? Pinhead asked.

- I've found the pin.

- No?!

- Yes, I sure did. You wanna see it? She took it out from the empty cookie packet, and gave it to him.

- It's yours, isn't it?

Pinhead nodded in silence. Slowly. Staring at the pin.

- How could it be? Where did you find it?

- You really wanna know where?

- But of course I do! Tell me!

- You won't be happy.

- Come on!

- Okay. I'll start from the beginning. Angelique stole my diary, and a few days ago, I went to her room to search for it, and... then I found your pin instead.

- At Angelique? Did she have it in her room?

Dreamer nodded. - Yes. I don't know how she got it, but there it was.

- Does she know you have it?

- No! Do you think I'd tell her?

- Does Leviathan know?

- I don't think he does. She would be in deep shit if he did.

- The fucking bitch! Pinhead snarled.

- What are you gonna do?

- I'm gonna have a word with Angelique, Pinhead responded in a sinister voice.

Dreamer made no objections, except one.

- Pinhead!

- Yes?

- Can you please don't tell her that I found it? She'd be, you know... Oh, by the way, do you know that she has spread stories about us?

- What do you mean "stories"?

- That we...you know. That's why she took the diary. She thought it said something about that in it.

- She's just getting more and more insane. But now she's gonna pay. I promise.

- But don't tell her that I found the pin!

- Sure not. You have my word.

Pinhead went to confront Angelique. She was in deep shit. For the first time, in a long, long time, he made a visit at her place. And he found Angelique very pleased with something.

- No, Pinhead, hi! she twittered, and stepped aside to let him in. Have you come to congratulate me for my new job?

- Not quite, Pinhead answered in a chilly voice.

- No? What do you have in mind, then?

- It's one thing I'd like to...

- You know Dreamer's been going crazy without you. Have you done it yet?

- I haven't come to discuss that, Pinhead said shortly. I came to show you something I found in your chamber.

He held the pin visible to her.

Angelique just stared at it with an empty look in her eyes, first. Then her face got all red. She made a rapid movement with her hand, to grab the pin, but Pinhead quickly held it beyond her reach.

Angelique didn't dare to look him in his eyes. She stared down at her feet. Pinhead waited for her to say something.

A little while after, she turned her head towards him, and said in a thick voice:

- So, what are you gonna do with that?

- I haven't decided that, yet.

- I suppose you're gonna go to Leviathan an dishonour me in front of everybody, aren't you?

- Don't you think you deserve it? Pinhead said in a cold voice.

He got a praying look from Angelique's delusive, blue eyes.

- Don't, Pinhead.

- Give me one good reason, why not.

- But... Leviathan would be really pissed.

- Yeah, I know that. Trying to lure oneself to higher ranking, is not a good method.

- Don't expose me! Angelique prayed. I wanted to be the leader so desperately... And I... When you were gone such a long time, Dreamer got worried and went to Leviathan. Then he sent me up to earth to look for you: And when I saw you hang in that tree, I... I had that idea to take the pin. It was meant as a joke, but then I came up with that... you know... I climbed up and took it.

- And what did you tell Leviathan when you came back?

- I said I hadn't seen you, of course.

- So you took the pin, and then just let me hang in that tree! You're worse than I thought!

- Please, Pinhead! Don't tell Leviathan... I can have sex with you, I'll do anything you want, just if you...

Angelique started to weep. Pinhead didn't like to see it.

- I don't want your body, he said contemptuously. But there is one thing, you must do. You must take back that stupid rumour you've spread about Dreamer and me. You must personally tell everybody, that it was just a rumour created by you, without any truths.

- It was just a joke, Angelique sobbed.

- I was no joke to lie about it.

- You're so...abrupt.

Angelique tried to swallow her tears.

- It was just a joke. I told Eel, and he must have told the others, and...

- Don't blame him for this! You're responsible!

- I... I didn't know you'd take it so seriously... Of course I'm gonna tell the truth, if you just don't...

- Good. if you've told everyone during the next 24 hours, I won't tell Leviathan that you took my pin.

- But... how can I guarantee that you keep your promise?

- You have no guarantee. You just have to try not to piss me off from now on. We'll see.

He turned around to leave, but then he remembered one more thing.

- Hey... You give Dreamer her diary back, right now!

- Sure, hold on... Angelique dug up the diary from somewhere and gave it to Pinhead. Here. Give it to her and tell her I'm sorry.

He took it without saying a word, and then he left Angelique's chamber. Smiling. He had beaten her! And he held the thing in his hand, that would assure him his job.

He went straight to Leviathan.

- You've done well, Leviathan praised him. I'm proud of you.

- Thank you, master, Pinhead answered with a great smile on his lips.

- You've proved that you're more than worthy the leader's job.

- I sure have.

- You should get a reward. I know...you can choose your own successor. Who can take your place if something would happen to you?

- I think I know, Pinhead replied.

He hurried to put his pin back on the place where he had been missing one.

- My successor will be...-

Chapter 20

When Pinhead came back from Leviathan, Dreamer was after him like a mosquito.

- What did Angelique say? And Leviathan? Did you tell him about the pin? Tell me now!

- I can keep my job, Pinhead informed her.

- More? What happens with Angelique?

- I had more power. I can pick my own successor.

Dreamer burst out laughing.

- And that'll be...?

- I haven't really decided that yet...

Dreamer's happy expression was erased.

- But of course I chose you, dummy! Pinhead laughed.

Dreamer laughed also.

- You'd better! Or... Did Angelique get fired.

- No.

- Does Leviathan let her stay besides what she did?

- He doesn't know. I didn't say anything about that.

- No? But we could have got rid of her!

- I know. She offered me favours to keep me quiet.

- What kind of favours?

- She offered me to have sex with her.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- You didn't agree with that?

- Are you crazy? She must do something else instead.

- What?

- She has to take back the rumour she spread about you and me. And besides, I have something for you.

He gave her the diary.

- My diary! Did she read it?

- I've no idea.

- Did you read it?

- Me? No. Would you mind if I had?

- Of course! Not even you can touch my private diary!

- Thank you, Dreamer!

- For what?

- Everything. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't found my pin.

- Never mind. What do you have friends for?

They gave each other a great hug.

Suddenly they heard someone coming. It was Piston. He had a piston pumping through his head, so he made a lot of noise, wherever he went.

He smiled at them.

- That's good you found the pin, master. I don't know how Angelique had been, now when she...

- Worse than Pinhead, Dreamer replied. A lot worse.

- How about Angelique? Piston asked.

- She's not gonna be the leadercenobite, that's for sure. Come Dreamer, let's celebrate.

Pinhead took her hand, and here would be arranged a really hellish party!

Chapter 21

Pinhead and Dreamer were going to Pinhead's chamber. Dreamer could tell, that Pinhead was really pleased with something. And that something, was probably himself.

But what, he had the right to be. He had done well. Dreamer thought, that he had every right to be pleased with himself.

She was very happy, herself.

- Isn't it a beautiful day? Pinhead said radiantly.

- Yeah, it sure is. As "beautiful" a day can be in Hell.

But almost the second after they entered Pinhead's chamber, Angelique dashed in there.

- You bluffer! Angelique cried.

She rushed towards Pinhead.

- You've destroyed everything for me! I hate you!

Even for Angelique with her sharp tongue, this was a real outburst. Pinhead was riveted on the spot. He was so chocked, he couldn't move.

- Angelique? he said in a voice, like he didn't recognize the furious cenobite.

- Don't play stupid on me. Angelique placed herself in front of Pinhead, looking up in his face. You, she began, broke your promise. You're false and dishonest, and besides I did what you told me, you went and told Leviathan! Just the sight of you makes me feel sick!

She poked him roughly in the chest with her index finger.

Pinhead earned to get praised, because he didn't back, bend or yield. He stood there, looking down at Angelique.

- I don't know what you're talking about, he said slowly. I didn't expose you.

- Don't you lie. I know you went to Leviathan.

- Yeah, but do you think I was wasting my time talking about you?

Many cenobites had flocked there to witness the squabble.

Dreamer defended Pinhead.

- He never said anything about you, she said.

- Who asked you? Angelique hissed, with burning blue eyes. Leviathan knows it all. He's furious at me. And only because you, Pinhead, told even if you promised not to. Everything is your fault!

- I never said anything to Leviathan, Pinhead opposed. If I promise something, I sure keep my word.

Dreamer really admired him in that moment. Even other cenobites did.

- Get her, Pinhead! Cammy (EyeCam) screamed.

But Angelique didn't let herself be taken down.

- Who else could it be? You think I'm stupid?

- I don't know. However, it was your own fault. I haven't said anything, so you can't blame your mistake on me!

Piston came and placed himself on Pinhead's side.

- You know that's true, Angelique, he said. Pinhead didn't talk to Leviathan, he had a personal conversation with Dreamer.

- Did you eavesdrop? both Pinhead and Dreamer screamed at the same time. They stared accusingly at Angelique. Then Pinhead had a strange expression on his face. He turned to Piston.

- You were eavesdropping also!

Piston had no answer on that. He actually had been eavesdropping.

- That's not the point, Angelique continued, turned towards Pinhead. The point is, that we agreed to keep this between us. But now suddenly everyone knows, including Leviathan! How do you think that feels?! You think you're better than everyone else, just because you're the "leader", but you're not. Not a bit. I admit, that what I did, wasn't so kind, but what you did to me was even worse! I hate you! You're not worthy the leader job! You should get fired! And I'm instantly going to Leviathan to tell him that!

Angelique turned her hell, to march out.

Dreamer felt sorry for Pinhead. And she actually felt sorry for Angelique, too.

- WAIT! Pinhead's voice thundered right across the room. That voice made even furious Angelique to stop.

Pinhead tramped right through a surprised crowd of cenobites, and placed himself in front of Angelique.

- Never mind, Angelique. You don't need to go to Leviathan. He can't help you, because he knows that I didn't tell him about you. I don't know who did it, and I don't care, either.

Two small, red spots appeared on his cheeks, and it hurt inside Dreamer to see him so humiliated. He pushed his way pass everybody, tramping out of his chamber. Dreamer ran after him.

- Pinhead! Wait! She placed herself in front of him, stopping him from going any further.

- Don't you mind her. It's not your fault she messes up for herself and then blames that on others.

- I didn't tell Leviathan, Pinhead said.

- No, I know that. Who do you think did?

- I don't know. Piston, perhaps. He heard us talking about it.

- It doesn't need to be Piston himself. You know how he is. If he finds out something he spreads it out in two seconds. Who do you think would wanna mess with Angelique?

- All of them. I can't say, I feel sorry for her, really.

- I did. Just a little.

- Give it a break!

- Very little. This little.

Dreamer showed with her fingers how little she meant.

- What really happened? Pinhead asked.

- Leviathan blew up Angelique. It explains why she was so angry and sad.

- 'Cause someone told that she had taken my pin?

- Obviously. Leviathan is really mad at her. Not a big loss, if you wanna know what I think!

- It was to Angelique. Leviathan was the only one who liked her. But I can't see why. Angelique is a real goose. I don't see why Leviathan cared about her. Not that I told anything, but if Leviathan had asked me, I'd told what I feel about that goose.

- Someone did it before you.

- Yeah, someone did. I wonder who it was.

- We'll never know.

- No, obviously not.

- We could ask Leviathan.

- That would be rude.

- You think?

- Yeah.

Suddenly the gateway opened. It meant that some poor human had solved the puzzlebox.

Dreamer looked at Pinhead.

- Shall we?

- Just don't embarrass me.

- I promise.

- No vanilla cookies.

- I promise.

So they went to bring the puzzlesolver to Hell.

THE END