That Horrible Moment Chapter 9
The Gates of Hell
By Donraj
Chell came to a halt. Although
he knew that speech was unnecessary, he addressed his undead minions
aloud.
“Wait.”
Closing his eyes, he vanished,
and reappeared a short distance away from the place they had taken as their
fortress.
It was an up thrust portion
of the forest, a hill coming close to fifty feet high. It was misshapen,
shifting randomly from flat surfaces to steep inclines. It looked as though
a giant hand had grabbed it and squeezed it like a lump of clay. Boulders
jutted out at odd angles, and scattered openings led to a small cave complex
within.
Chell remembered the fight
to wrest the place from the small goblin tribe that had held it, remembered
how he and Lanal had acted as forerunners, slipping into the cavern and killing
goblins in their sleep. He remembered how they had been forced to flee as
the goblins awoke and banded together against them. He remembered running
out of the place with a salivating goblin less then a foot behind
him.
Right into Drake’s waiting
troops.
It had been a massacre, the
ambushing troops falling on the blood-crazed goblins before they even realized
they were under
attack.
He dismissed the pleasant
memories and returned his attention to the current situation. He stepped
out from amid the trees, startling the sentries, who immediately brought
their weapons to
bear.
The weapons went back down
when they saw who he was. But their fear
increased.
“Take me to
Marcello.”
They gulped, then
complied.
Soon Chell was inside, the
sole remaining bandit officer standing before him. Marcello fidgeted nervously,
making a few, futile attempts to engage Chell in conversation. Finally, Chell
broke the
silence.
“We suffered severe
casualties on our last raid. The entire group was
slaughtered.”
Marcello started at him in
shock, then began to stammer a reply. Chell let him babble on for awhile,
not even bothering to listen to what the man was saying, then cut him
off.
“Fortunately, that is
not as much of a problem as you would think. I’ve come to realize something
Marcello. The living make poor soldiers, for they fear death. But what could
the dead have to
fear?”
“What do you mean
sir?”
Chell simply smiled, waiting
patiently. After a moment, a hideous scream reverberated from outside. Marcello,
a veteran of many brutal battles and atrocities, shuddered, and even Chell
was impressed. He had never heard such sheer
terror.
Chell’s hands snapped
out from his sleeves, wrapping themselves around Marcello’s throat in
a bony vise. With unnatural strength Chell lifted him from the ground, savoring
the man’s expression of horror as his air was cut off. Chell laughed
at
him.
“Do you see?” he
hissed. “Do you see how the living fear the
dead?”
Within minutes, it was all
over. Every man there was
dead.
Chell had his minions bring
the mutilated corpses together into one large pile. He looked at the masks
of horror their dead faces were twisted into without an ounce of guilt or
compassion, not caring in the least that he had lived and fought beside these
people. Focusing his will, he began an unholy chant. A blackness as dark
as the fires of Hell flickered into existence around his hands. Raising his
hands, he lifted his palms upward as if in benediction. Bits of dark flame
broke off and floated away, each one finding a body. The vile spirits sank
into the fresh corpses, and one by one they twitched and rose to horrifying
life.
Chell watched his new
abominations with macabre satisfaction, then turned and walked inside. He
grinned wickedly as he wondered how Drake and Lanal would
react.
*********************************************************************************
As the full moon rose high
above them, they were finally forced to halt and make camp for the night.
After unsaddling the chocobos Alberto had gotten them (no one dared ask how)
they rolled out their bedrolls and lit a small fire. After his watch ended
and Rosa’s began Gilliam slipped off into the forest, alone with his
thoughts.
He heard a sound from overhead.
A familiar tune was being hummed. Gilliam looked up to see Ellis siting in
the branches. She looked down at
him.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
she asked. Gilliam shook his
head.
“Mind if I join you?”
he asked. She nodded and he scrambled up to take a seat beside her. They
sat there in uncomfortable silence for several long moments, staring up at
the full moon. Finally, Gilliam
spoke.
“I need to ask you
something.”
Ellis turned her head sideways
towards him. “Go ahead.” Gilliam closed his
eyes.
I keep seeing it Ellis. I
keep seeing Drake kill my father, over and over. I can’t sleep, I
can’t eat, it’s driving me
insane.”
He looked at her, tears slipping
from his eyes, his body
trembling.
“I need to know how
you do it. How do you stop the pain? He did the same to your family; I need
you to tell me how you did it. How do you stop seeing
it?”
He looked at her desperately,
tears streaming down his
face.
“You kill
yourself.”
Gilliam stared at her in
shock.
“Part of yourself anyway.
You destroy the part of your heart that bleeds, that cries, that mourns.
You kill the part of yourself that feels pain, and you never let yourself
feel anything again. You forget about the past, and live only in the moment.
That’s how you stop it Gilliam. You
die.”
Gilliam looked into her eyes,
then nodded. Forcing his features straight, he wiped the tears
away.
“Thank you. I’ll
go
now.”
He started to jump down,
but Ellis grabbed his
arm.
“No,” she whispered.
“Please, don’t
go.”
Gilliam eased back and put
his arm around her. She leaned against his shoulder, and they looked up at
the full moon once
more.
In
silence.
*********************************************************************************
Hanlon jerked as he came
awake. Shock blasted away sleepiness as he realized that he had fallen asleep
on his watch. He looked up at the sky, trying to gauge how long he had been
out by the moon’s position. The trees made it difficult to see, but
he estimated it had been less then a
hour.
He looked to the bedrolls.
Katoi was gone from the place that he has been curled up. Wondering what
the creature was up to, he sprang to his feet. He caught the goblin’s
voice. Silently, he crept through the forest towards it. Crouching behind
a bush, he spied the reluctant guide standing with Alberto. The two seemed
to be in an animated
conversation.
“But if you kill them
with magic, how can you enjoy it?” Katoi said in its own language.
“How can you do so without the heat of their blood on your hands and
mouth, the feel of their bones snapping? What about the screams, the blood
spray?!”
Alberto replied in the same
tongue.
“It’s a loss, but
it’s worth it! Those things may be good, but seeing them burn is
better!”
Katoi seemed to consider
this for a moment, but still seemed
doubtful.
“But then how do you
eat their
hearts?”
The two seemed to be hitting
it off wonderfully. Hanlon listened in amazement as the conversation continued
along that vein. Finally, he shook his head and went back to his post. He
was starting to understand why these people were so nervous about the
mage!
Oblivious to Hanlon’s
spying, the two fast friends began to discuss the best way to kill Drake.
Katoi was unsure how to get past the armor, but Alberto assured him it would
not be a
problem.
“One lightning bolt,”
he promised. “It works even better on armor. He’ll fry in his armor
like bacon on a
grill!”
Alberto had to stop and explain
that last bit to the primitive goblin, who had always eaten his food raw.
Once he understood the concept he nodded and conceded that, in this one
situation, Alberto’s way was better. Feeling a rare sense of camaraderie,
Alberto clapped the scrawny creature on the back. Once again, Alberto decided
that being assigned to Ramza’s command was the best thing that had ever
happened to
him.
*********************************************************************************
Drake came to an abrupt halt.
It was evening, and they
had finally made it
home.
Something was wrong though.
Drake wasn’t sure what at first, but his instincts, refined by decades
of combat, shouted that something was wrong. Then it hit him. There was a
familiar, coppery smell in the
air.
Blood.
Lanal, oblivious to the
situation, continued his endless chatter, nearly smashing into Drake as he
abruptly stopped. Drake had long-ago given up any hope of ever getting him
to shut up and did his best to simply ignore his too valuable to kill
lieutenant’s annoying voice.
Lanal, realizing that Drake
had noticed something, mercifully fell silent as he edged away from the dragoon.
Fingering his concealed dagger’s hilt, he scanned the area for threats.
He caught the smell of blood as well, and realized what had caught Drake’s
attention.
After half a minute, no threat
presented itself. Wordlessly, Drake motioned forward. Lanal, having fought
beside the canny dragoon for many years, understood the gesture perfectly.
Crouching to reduce his profile, he slipped ahead, as silent as a snake.
Several minutes passed before
Lanal returned, so stealthily that even Drake’s hyper-alert senses failed
to notice him. Lanal spoke in a whisper, with an economy of words that was
the complete opposite of his normally loquacious
self.
“The sentries are dead.
No sign of what killed them. The base sounds deserted, but I did not go
in.”
Drake nodded. Hefting his
spear, he strode ahead. Not bothering to worry about noise, he trampled over
the underbrush. As he walked to the small main entrance, he saw the sentries
sprawled out on the ground. Fearlessly, he strode into his
domain.
They walked the corridors
in silence, finding dead bodies every now and then. A terrified
“Wark!” caught their attention. Taking a turn, they entered the
stables, where the handful of chocobos that had not been ridden into their
last battle were stabled.
They were wild with fear,
eyes wide with panic. They warked constantly in berserk terror, smashing
their heavy claws against the solid wooden fence that held them
caged.
Drake and Lanal looked at
the terrified creatures, the only things Chell had not yet killed yet, with
apprehension. Whatever it was that had so frightened them would likely be
coming for them next. Drake turned and walked out first, grimly determined
to find whatever it was that had invaded his stronghold.
As they rounded a corner,
they found Chell standing there. He waved his hand in a gesture of greeting.
Lanal gawked at the unnatural sight, and even Drake found himself unnerved.
Gathering his calm, Drake addressed
Chell.
“I assume that this
is you handiwork.”
It was not a question. Drake
had little doubt that his old comrade was behind
this.
“Indeed. Do you remember
how I said I knew a way to strengthen our forces? Well, I
have.”
Lanal looked about doubtfully.
“You have an unorthodox
way of doing so,” he commented
fliply.
Chell
smiled.
“Look behind
you.”
Lanal did just that, and
gasped in horror as he saw the bodies they had passed on the way in shambling
towards them. Drake lifted his spear and fell into a fighting posture as
he saw still more coming from behind Chell. Grimly, Drake realized just how
badly Chell had outmaneuvered him. They were surrounded, by undead creatures
that would not fear his lance or Lanal’s daggers and tricks. The low
ceiling denied him the advantage of maneuverability, and he doubted he would
even be able to move fast enough to take revenge on Chell before the wizard
teleported
away.
The necromancer
smiled.
“Come,” he invited,
“let us discuss our new
arrangement.”
*********************************************************************************
Dusk was falling as the party
reached the bandits’ stronghold. They had left the chocobos behind in
order to move quietly through the dense foliage. Katoi came to a stop. He
turned to the others, eyes bright at the prospect of
vengeance.
“We’re here. Past
these trees is my clan’s
lair.”
“You are sure you gave
us a full description of the layout?” Hanlon asked for the fifteenth
time. Katoi gave him an annoyed snarl. Hanlon
nodded.
“I’m sure you all
remember the plan, but let’s go over it one last time. Rosa, Alberto,
Katoi, the three of you will enter through the main entrance. Ellis, you
trail behind them and pick off anyone that tries to catch them from
behind.”
He turned to
Gilliam.
“While they draw their
attention to the main entrance, you and I will go around the side and scale
the hill. We’ll slip in through one of the side entrances and meet the
others inside. With luck, we’ll catch them from both sides before they
realize they’re under
attack.”
The old man looked at each
one of them, meeting their
eyes.
“You realize that we
could be overwhelmed. I’m only guessing that Drake brought most of his
men out with him. If we gamble wrong, if he has a sizable force with him,
we will all be
slaughtered.”
He let the words hang in
the air. Ellis broke the
silence.
“Life’s a bitch
and then you
die.”
That drew a startled laugh
from everyone. They found themselves nodding in agreement. Hanlon
smiled.
“Then let’s
go.”
*********************************************************************************
Chell sat in utter darkness,
legs crossed, eyes closed. The darkness was more then an external gloom.
Falling into his meditation, Chell sent his mind probing into that darkness,
seeking answers, trying to make sense of the power he had seen on the other
side of death.
In a deep trance, Chell sensed
a being of awesome, titanic power. Once he would have trembled, but somehow
he knew that the fiendish creature meant him no harm. A dark voice, resonating
with power, echoed through his
mind.
-Your enemies come. Be ready.-
Chell’s eyes flew open.
He rose, telepathically commanding his undead servants to take positions
for battle. Forming a mental map of the fortress, he moved his soldiers like
pawns on a chessboard, carefully calculating the best places to station
them.
As he did, he turned his
thoughts to the place where Drake and Lanal waited. It was time to move his
rook and
knight.
*********************************************************************************
Drake and Lanal watched through
the open doorway as the zombies that had been acting as their jailors shambled
away. They were in Drake’s private quarters. Chell had herded them there
and stationed a host of zombies in front of the only exit. Drake had realized
that even he would stand no chance of fighting his way through the unfeeling
sentinels, and so he waited, furious, wondering what Chell would do
next.
In a crackle of magic, Chell
was there, standing in the
doorway.
“The people we fought
at the caravan have come. Drake, head out the upper passages and attack them
from above. Lanal, go down below and slow their advance. Do not worry about
our soldiers, they will not trouble
you.”
With that, he
vanished.
Drake and Lanal looked at
each other. Lanal shrugged.
“Notice how he said
‘our
soldiers?”
Drake had. Perhaps this would
work out for them after
all.
Lanal sprinted off, Drake
marched in the opposite direction. What choice did they have but to
obey?
*********************************************************************************
Rosa’s skin crawled
as they walked past the dead sentries. Something was wrong with this place,
something about the very air. The stench of death hung heavily over the place,
and even Alberto retched slightly as they walked in. Something was
wrong.
They came to a crossroads
with three passages, two leading upwards, the other down. The intersection
was littered with bodies. Rosa started to consult Katoi for directions, but
before she could the corpses rose up and lunged at
them!
Horrified, Rosa, managed
to draw her sword and slash it deep into the throat of nearest zombie, cleaving
all the way through to its spine. A living man would have died, but the undead
creature barely even noticed the awful wound. Reaching past her sword, it
seized Rosa’s throat in an unnaturally strong grip. It shoved forward,
forcing her down under its
weight.
Alberto fared better. Lifting
his staff, he fired off a lightning bolt that sent chunks of zombie flesh
splattering against the
walls.
Katoi wasted no time leaping
atop one of them, knocking it to the ground with the force of his charge.
Grabbing it by the chin, Katoi twisted and pulled, snapping its neck all
the way around with a bone-breaking crack. Katoi let out a savage howl of
victory.
But the zombie did not even
feel it. Its head flopping and turned backward it still managed to wrap its
arms around Katoi in a crushing bear
hug.
Katoi squirmed free. Shoving
his weight forward, the goblin did a handstand, landing feet first atop the
zombie’s head. Its skull smashed under the impact, and Katoi reveled
in the sensation of its brain squishing amid his bare toes.
The creature still fought
on. Katoi backed away incredulously, his innate ferocity failing him for
the first time in his short and violent life. It was only the second time
he had ever felt afraid of an
opponent.
Alberto charged another lightning
bolt, but his arm was jerked up as a zombie grabbed him from behind. The
blast discharged into the ceiling, bring stone crashing down on them
all.
*********************************************************************************
Hanlon grunted as he climbed
the sheer stretch of the jagged hillside. Gilliam was close behind him, youthful
energy struggling to keep pace with Hanlon’s practiced skill. Not daring
to remove a hand to wipe his brow, Hanlon looked
up.
Drake was standing on the
ledge
above.
Hanlon looked down to
Gilliam.
“Kid?”
“What?”
“I’m
sorry.”
That said, Hanlon kicked
down at Gilliam, sending the young swordsman plummeting down. Hanlon knew
they were close enough to the ground that the boy would be alright. With
a burst of energy he hadn’t known he had in him, Hanlon scrambled up
the rest of the
way.
Drake watched him as he did,
making no move to attack him. As Hanlon stood, Drake
spoke.
“I have realized that
I know you. You fought as a mercenary for the nobles during the war. You
fought beside me many times, didn’t
you?”
“Yes,” Hanlon replied.
“You were every bit
as vicious as I was, weren’t you?”
When Hanlon made no move
to reply, Drake
continued.
“You were a murder.
You cared for nothing about nonsense such as honor or mercy. You were a beast,
and no amount of blood could satisfy
you.”
“Shut up!” Hanlon
shouted. Drake
snorted.
“You’re no better
then I
am.”
Hanlon charged the
dragoon.
“This is for every person
I
murdered!”
Drake readied his spear to
meet
him.
*********************************************************************************
Ellis stumbled as Alberto’s
magic rocked the fortress. Scrapping her knees painfully against the stone
floor, she barely managed to avoid falling flat on her
face.
Dust choked her as she regained
her footing. Two of the passages had been sealed off by the rock fall. Seeing
no other options, she walked up the remaining
passage.
As she did, Lanal entered
from the other side. Both froze in
shock.
Faster then she would have
thought possible, Ellis aimed and fired. The arrow razored across the side
of his neck as he turned and fled. Cursing, Ellis gave
chase.
Lanal led her through a maze
of passages, zigzagging erratically in an attempt to throw her of the trail.
Ellis clung to him doggedly, never letting up. Finally, she saw moonlight
drifting in from the passage Lanal had turned down. He had led her outside.
Blind with hatred, Ellis charged after
him.
As she exited Lanal sprang
at her from the side, dagger gleaming in the bright moonlight. She swung
her bow like a club in a desperate attempt to block. Clenching her fist,
she slammed a haymaker into his
midsection.
Lanal staggered towards the
edge of the ledge, gasping for breath. Wasting no time, Ellis drew another
arrow, pulled it and
released.
Nothing happened. Ellis slowly
looked at her bow. Lanal had slashed the string. She looked at
him.
Regaining his breath, Lanal
straightened. He smiled apologetically at her, then cocked his dagger hand
back to
throw.
Dropping her useless bow,
Ellis waited defenselessly for the killing
shot.
*********************************************************************************
“Kai!”
Hanlon came at Drake in a
wild rush, amazingly fast. Drake, caught off guard by the speed of the attack,
swung his spear in a horizontal block. Hanlon grabbed the shaft with both
hands. Not slowing a bit, he flipped right over Drake’s head. Spinning
even before he hit the ground, Hanlon smashed two iron blows into the back
of Drake’s armored skull. As Drake turned, Hanlon leapt into a spinning
kick that caught Drake square in the side of the face. The dragoon went crashing
to the ground, pencil-rolling to absorb the impact. His spear went clattering
from his
hands.
As he tried to stand, Hanlon
charged his again. His spear lost, Drake caught Hanlon by the shirt and fell
back, sending the old man flying. Retrieving his spear, Drake stood and
reexamined his
enemy.
The old man’s fighting
style was completely different from the way he had fought in their last
encounter. His attacks were frenzied, savage, almost animalistic. In fact,
he was fighting more like the vicious mercenary Drake remembered from the
war. Drake knew he was facing a deadly enemy, but he had not survived this
long without a few tricks up his
sleeve.
“Do you remember that
village on the border, just three years before the end of the war?”
he taunted. “Do you remember what we did there? Do you remember the
children? Surely you remember the
children!”
Predictably, Hanlon charged,
snarling with rage. Drake feinted with a straightforward spear thrust. As
Hanlon slipped past the tip of the weapon, Drake triggered a hidden catch
in his right gauntlet. A three foot long blade slid out. Stepping forward,
Drake removed one hand from the spear and stabbed the blade between
Hanlon’s ribs, skewering him with his own momentum. Eyes wide, Hanlon
looked down at the mortal wound, then up into the eye slits of Drake’s
helmet.
“You are just like
me,” Drake told him. “Only
weak.”
He pulled the bloody blade
back out. It retracted back into his gauntlet. Hanlon staggered, then fell
back. Drake leapt away, leaving him to die
alone.
Gilliam climbed onto the
ledge just in time to see it happen. He ran to Hanlon, catching him before
he hit the ground. Lowering him gently to the ground, Gilliam started to
reach for a bandage. Hanlon grabbed his arm and shook his head. It would
do no good, his wound was too
severe.
“Gilliam, listen to
me. I did more then just fight beside Drake during the
war.”
“Don’t talk,”
Gilliam hushed. Hanlon ignored
him.
“I killed many people,
soldiers, civilians, I didn’t care. Murder, rape, anything you can accuse
him of I did as well. I’m just as guilty as they are. Forgive
me…”
His chest rattling with his
last breath, Hanlon shuddered and died. Gilliam held him
close.
Gilliam looked up, seeing
Drake at the summit. Rising to his feet, he began to
climb.
*********************************************************************************
Alberto and Katoi coughed
as the dust from the cave in began to clear. They looked at the sealed passage,
amazed at their good fortune. They had come within mere feet of being buried
alive.
“Welcome.”
They turned to see Chell
standing patiently,
waiting.
“I believe we have
unfinished business,” he said calmly, casting a venomous glare at Alberto.
Katoi, caring nothing for the byplay, flung himself at the
wizard.
Chell raised his left hand,
black energy crackling around
it.
“Strip aside vanity
and show
reality!”
A line of pure destructive
energy pulsed out from his hand, striking Katoi in midair. The blast tore
right through him, burning through his chest and sending the diminutive creature
flying. He slammed into Alberto. The mage caught him. The goblin spasmed,
then went limp in the wizard’s
arms.
For the first time in his
life, Alberto felt a stab of grief. Trembling with rage, he lowered his friend
to the ground and stood. Sparks danced in his eyes, and in his mind he heard
Lich calling out to him once
more.
This time, he
accepted.
********************************************
As the oxygen to her brain
was cut off, Rosa’s vision went dark. As the world began to fade, she
felt a familiar presence enfold
her.
Xavier…
Light banished the darkness.
Radiance began to flare between her fingers as she grappled with the undead
creature, scorching the creature’s flesh. It fell back, screeching in
agony. Scooping her sword up, she fell on it in a frenzy, hacking at it over
and over, brutally chopping the hideous thing to
pieces.
When she was done, she turned
to the sole remaining exit. A dozen zombies blocked her
path.
There was no way she could
escape.