The Devil's Guard Dog

Chapter two: Black Robes, and Darker Teeth

I have no idea how long I slept. It could have been an hour, could have been a day, however I quickly realized how much I took the light for granted when I couldn’t tell how long I’d been out. It’s strange how your perception of time gets so skewed and turned around when you have no way of telling it, missing the ticking of clocks or the sounds of songbirds in the morning. For me, I’d grown accustomed to waking up to the drilling sounds of my alarm clock, a signal that it was once again time to get up and head in to work in the small morning hours. Now, opening my eyes without that sound in my ears, it felt like I’d been taken out of time completely. That routine occurrence and signature of normality taken from me, breaking the pattern and filling me with a strange anxiety that only grew the more I woke up.

There was a sharp pulling in my neck from sleeping while sitting up, and the pain in my shoulder quickly reminded me where I was. I lifted my head from my knees and leaned back against the wall, wincing from the cold and the pain as I felt over my shoulder. What was once just a small bit of blood isolated to my head, was now a plethora of dried scabs that dripped down over my shoulder and chest, and as I felt around, I could feel at least ten very distinct holes in my shoulder from the bite I’d received.

I was painful, still in a bit of shock, but I found it a bit easier to focus now that the migraine had dulled, and I was able to see clearly.

Looking over to the far side of the room, the man still lay there, still on the ground with parts and pieces of the table strewn around his limp body. I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat as I thought over what happened, and although I may have been somewhat relieved that this monster wasn’t attacking me anymore, the very real dread from the realization that I could have very well committed murder put a sour taste in my mouth. Part of me wanted to get up and see if he was alive, and part of me never wanted him to get up again, a conflict of emotional distress as I watched him with a wary eye. My eyes had become accustomed to the dim lighting, and as I looked closely, my stomach dropped. Even from this distance, I could see he was breathing.

I didn’t have a lot of time to think over it before he began to slowly move, first his fingers, then his arms, and before long he lifted himself up onto his elbows, seeming to shake his head as he was waking up, same as I had.

The table leg I’d used as a makeshift weapon was still laying by his side, and I cursed myself for not taking it with me as I knew there was no possible way I could pull off another lucky escape from this thing’s assault again. He looked around a little, seemingly in a daze before his gaze quickly shifted to me. I caught a glimpse of his beady eyes reflecting the light before I quickly closed my own, staying completely still. It may not have been the best idea to pretend I was asleep, but what else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t fight back, couldn’t run, so for the time I prayed he wouldn’t attack if I just kept myself still, more treating this like an encounter with a wild animal and fighting not to make any sudden motion, even if my brain was screaming at me to run.

I could hear him get up, clearly the blow to his leg doing quite a bit of damage as I could tell he was walking with an uneven gate, however that didn’t stop my heart from racing as I could tell he was moving closer to me. I continued to listen, my mouth growing dry as every step closer put my nerves on the fritz, and before long he’d walked up and stopped right in front of me. Silence followed, and dread filled my mind as I waited for him to lunge and finish what he’d started, however I was waiting for a blow that surprisingly never came. Instead, I could hear him sigh under his breath, and take a few shaky steps to move beside me before I heard the rush of water. He’d moved to the sink, soft splashing sounds coming as I slightly opened my eyes to see exactly what he was doing.

To my shock, he seemed to be cleaning the blood off of his head. He wasn’t growling, he wasn’t trying to rip my shoulder off, no, he was acting shockingly calm, simply moving his hair and washing off the dried blood. From my angle, I couldn’t see a lot, however I managed to see one detail that made me a little curious. He wasn’t just washing the wounds, he was licking his fingers and then running them over the gash on the side of his head. I was amazed as I watched the flesh beginning to almost weave itself back together, healing more the more he did it, and before long there wasn’t anything there at all, not even a scar to show where he’d been hit. My fear was replaced by a sense of awe from what I was witnessing, however that feeling was quickly snuffed out when he turned to me again, those white eyes catching mine.

I quickly closed my eyes once more, hoping he didn’t see me watching him, and to my relief, he didn’t seem to notice as he began slowly shambling back to the other side of the room. I breathed deeply as my nerves seemed to settle when he moved away, however I opened my eyes again once I heard a thudding sound and quickly looked over. He’d practically collapsed in one of the darker corners of our large cell, holding his leg and panting slightly. I guessed I’d done more damage than I’d thought, and despite what I’d just seen him do, it seemed that he couldn’t manage to fix his leg the same way.

I took a risk and moved to get a little more comfortable as I watched, but the moment I made any sort of noise, he looked back over at me, and this time I definitely couldn’t fake being asleep to avoid his gaze. “So, you are awake. Thought you were.” He said, his voice surprisingly having a soft and deep tone, however I couldn’t ignore the growl that carried at the end of his words.

I was at a loss for words, glancing around as though I thought he’d spoken to someone else, however I knew that was impossible. He just shook his head when I didn’t respond, turning his gaze to the ceiling as he rested his head back. “Did anyone ever teach you that staring is impolite?” He spoke again. This time I stumbled over my words, not exactly sure if I should apologize or not as I turned away from him. When I did, he seemed to chuckle, a sound that sent every hair on the back of my neck on point. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? You seemed to be rather keen on helping me the other night.”

“You attacked me, fuck you.” I spoke before my mind could catch up with me, immediately regretting what I said, however it only seemed to make this creature chuckle more.

“You’re alive, aren’t you? You got in a lucky shot; you should be happy you were able to get me off before I went further. Your kind does taste rather addicting after all, so sweet to the pallet, warm to the touch.”

My stomach turned from his words, feeling sickened by how he talked about me like I was a meal. “Shut up.” I snapped, starting to get my voice back to some extent, trying not to cross any lines, but feeling bitter and angry about what happened, and what was happening.

He went quiet after that, still watching the ceiling as he clicked his claws against the stone floor, the sound feeding my imagination with images of large bugs skittering across stone. There was a long pause of awkward silence, and I started to calm down a little knowing he wasn’t going to try to kill me, at least not yet.

Cautiously, I stood up, nervously crossing my arms over my stomach and leaning against the wall, looking down at him over in the corner. It took me a minute, but I eventually spoke up again. “What are you?”

“Does it matter?” he asked, this time seeming less amused than he was before as he looked up at me. “You are a human, and I am not. There’s really not a lot you’ll gain from learning more about me. And besides.” He glanced around the room, looking at the bars and stone walls. “It seems to me you’ve got bigger problems if you found yourself in here of all places.” 

I couldn’t exactly argue with that, I still couldn’t remember how I got here or why, and even if he was a threat, that didn’t change the fact that I was very much trapped like he was, and that was more of a problem even without him in the mix. I took a deep breath and released a shaky sigh, nodding in agreement. “Do you have a name?”

“Dicaius, and you?”

“Fletcher.” I said simply, not exactly thrilled to be acquainted with this creature, but it’s not like I had much of a choice, that and the slow and uncomfortable conversation was definitely better than him coming for my throat.

I wanted to ask more, but my attention was quickly turned to the outside of the cell as a large metal door swung open. I’d been so distracted by everything that I hadn’t even realized someone had walked down to where the door was. It opened from a cutout in the stone, a completely solid metal door that had a large lock and bolt on the inside of it. After what I saw from Dicaius last night, I could understand why.

A hooded figure in black robes walked in, setting down what looked like a covered tray before quickly turning to walk out. “Wait! Don’t go yet I need to talk with you!” I yelled as I ran over to the door, only to have it slammed in my face, the sound of the heavy bolt sliding into place coming from the other side. “Hey come back! You can’t fucking do this to people! You have to let me go!” I yelled, pounding against the large, heavy door.

“Don’t bother. These people don’t exactly talk much when they’re not babbling about their religious crap, especially to someone who they use for their little games. Trust me, I would know.” Dicaius said as he leaned forward a little, looking down at the platter on the floor and narrowing his eyes. “Seems they’ve decided to keep you alive for a little longer at the least, must have caught their interest. You truly are a deep well of luck my friend… Well, either that or they’re being nice and keeping the food fresh.”

“What is wrong with you?! Would you knock it off with the creepy cannibal talk already?”

“Or what? Are you going to kick me again? Break my ribs and cave in my scull? Maybe paint the walls with my blood as I gag on my own intestines?”

“Shut up!” I screamed, looking over at him and feeling my temperature go up, fighting not to tackle the bastard. He watched me and turned his head, almost looking confused as he did a once over on me.

“A little testy for a murderer, aren’t you? What? big bad killer gets all butt hurt when a more powerful one starts talking about the art of death? Or are you one of those piss ants who doesn’t like the sight of blood after they’ve done the deed?”

“The fuck are you on about? I haven’t killed anyone, hell I haven’t even started a fight in my life.” He once again turned his head, like a dog not understanding what I was saying to him. This shift in tone was strange, and I couldn’t help but feel like he was being genuine, so this time, I asked a different question. “Who do you think I am?” I asked in a far gentler tone than before, once more feeling nervous as his expression seemed to reflect a very similar emotion.

“I… no that’s not right. I have been in this exact room more times than I can count, seen many cross my path and yet none, and I repeat, none haven’t tasted blood at least to some extent in their lifetime.” He sat up a little straighter, blinking a few times as he thought over his words. “So, you’re saying, you’re innocent?”

“I was never guilty. I live in a small flat in California, I’m going to college, I work at a shitty little fast-food joint at the end of town, and my sixty-year-old mom calls me every weekend to ask when I’m going to graduate. My life isn’t exactly special.” I said, watching him closely. He curled up closer to the wall, letting out a sigh of stress as he turned away from me, rubbing his broken knee that didn’t exactly seem to be sitting at the right angle.

Knowing that I probably wasn’t going to get any more out of him, I walked over to the tray and picked it up, lifting the lid to see what was inside. It was a simple meal, something I’d imagine being served in a prison. A sectioned off tray with beans, potatoes, some kind of meat I couldn’t recognize, and a small plastic fork sitting on the side. Reluctantly I went back to my original spot and sat down, taking small bites of the food. It wasn’t that I wasn’t hungry, truthfully I was starving, but my stomach didn’t seem to be settling down anytime soon.

“Dusklings…” I heard Dicaius speak softly, raising my head from my food to look over at him.

“What did you say?”

“Dusklings… You asked, they call us Dusklings.” Just as he finished, I could hear heavy footsteps approaching, and saw him perk his head up and look over at the door. “Here they come again…” He said with a disapproving tone, and before I could even respond, the metal door flung open with a heavy thud as it slammed against the stone.

Four hooded figures walked in and over to me, not even skipping a beat as they grabbed my arms and lifted me from the ground. I shrieked as the wound on my shoulder pulled, struggling against their grasp. “Hey! Don’t you put your hands on me!” I screamed, a futile attempt to get their attention as they began dragging me away and out of the open door, all the while not saying a word. I looked back at Dicaius, being met with a grim expression as he curled up on the floor, my sight of him being broken as the door shut.

I looked around in the dark tunnel, the smell of wet dirt hitting my nose as I struggled to keep up with them. I couldn’t see where we were going, but these people walked with purpose, like they didn’t even need to see as they made their way through this place effortlessly. A torch came into view up ahead, looking ominous in the distance, and bringing with it the sounds of more movement, along with the sharp clanking of metal. “Where are you taking me?” I asked; however, they still didn’t respond, only continued forward as a sense of dread began to grow in the pit of my stomach. I was terrified.

Before long the maze of dark tunnels gave way to a large room. The vaulted ceiling stretched up so far that I couldn’t even make out the top of it. The walls were lined with torches that now burned a ghostly blue, and I immediately noticed the smell of ozone in the air, as if a storm was rolling in, even within a closed-off chamber. In the center of the room was a single cylindrical pillar that jutted out of the center of a set of stairs, and at the top hung several chains that had medieval looking shackles at the ends of them.

I fought back, but I was already drained, the food doing very little to give me any energy as they led me up the stone steps. “You will understand soon enough, this must happen, it is his will.” One of the robed figures spoke.

“Who’s will? You’re not making any sense, let me go you freaks!” I thrashed again, however as soon as my attempt to get away started, it was quickly put to a stop as one of them raised their hand and smacked me hard in the back of the head.

“You dare not speak back to our leader in that tone, his word is law, and you will be willing to listen, or we will make you.” He said; a cold and dark threat as he turned me around and pushed my back against the stone. Chains were clasped around my body, and my hands bound as I was secured to the pillar.

“Easy now brother, he’s young, no need to correct one who doesn’t know our ways yet.” Another spoke, presumably the leader, however with the identical attire, I honestly couldn’t tell them apart. “It is an honor to take part in our teachings, for those who are willing to listen, are willing to understand, and those who understand, are willing to see the light.” He began, talking like a preacher giving a sermon as he checked the restraints. “The light guides and teaches us all, and the light shines down on you tonight my son, your soul shines brightly to all of us, and we are happy to see its light. Illumination from within is a gift, but with every blessing comes sacrifice.” My heart jumped at that as I looked up at him, and although I couldn’t see his face, I could have sworn he was smiling. “All life is only borrowed dear child, and one day we must give it back. But corruption, that is the key to the light, the yin to the yang, as above so below, what is within you is outside of you, and the through the most ebony blackness comes the brightest stars.”

I felt like I was going to puke up what little food I’d gotten into my stomach, and before I could manage to even so much as scream for help, he said something more, something that made me turn pale as he brushed his hand through my hair. “Through the corruption of innocence, comes the strongest of souls after all. One must only know pain to understand it. One must know the truth of the eclipse, and of the dead sun.”

A sharp pain surged through my side, feeling like I’d just been stabbed by a hot dagger as I screamed, crying out as the feeling of fire began to pump through my veins, traveling up my side and into my chest.

I instantly vomited as the leader stepped back, sobbing as the pain shot through my other side, my body seizing up as I pulled on the chains that bound me. I couldn’t tell what they were doing to me, and I didn’t want to know, keeping my gaze at the ceiling as they all began to chant the same thing over and over again. “Corruption of the innocence, as we walk through the dark. Corruption of the body, brings the gateway to the sun. Death of the mind, brings the soul to the door. Opening the door, shines the path to the light.” My vision began to fade in and out, screaming until my throat was raw and my voice strained. I felt hopeless, wanting this to end, willing to give anything just for it to stop, however my inner pleas did nothing as the ravaging of my body continued.

My body grew limp in the restraints as I began to lose consciousness, only held up by the steal chains that pulled tightly on my wrists as I collapsed to my knees. I was blacking out from the pain, my world fading away around me, however as I looked up at them, even under their dark hoods, I could have sworn I saw white, cat-like eyes staring down at me, and behind them lurked thousands more.