The Devil's Guard Dog

Chapter six: Something in the Dark

Have you ever experienced phantom pain before? It’s a psychological phenomenon where you can still feel a missing limb after it’s been taken off, still feel like you’re moving it and if there was trauma involved, you still experience the pain from it. Some studies have even shown that the pain has physical aspects as well, your nerves straining and your brain not understanding that something is no longer there. Imagine that, and instead of just one limb, imagine it’s your entire body. A dull and intangible aching that starts in your chest, and then begins to radiate outwardly across your whole body, to the tips of your fingers and the bottoms of your feet.

The first thing I did when I opened my eyes was instinctively grab the back of my neck and began gasping for air. I fell to my knees and screamed, my mind telling me I was screaming, but no air came out. That’s just it, my mind was telling me I could feel the pain, I could still feel the cold air and the hard ground beneath me, however in reality, I couldn’t feel anything. This sent me into a brief bout of panic, the contradiction in my mind making me feel emotionally heavy, but even that weight was null. It took me a while to finally calm down, the tightness in my chest beginning to loosen as I looked up.

What I was seeing looked normal on first glance, however the more I focused on my surroundings, the more they contorted into the passive and fearful imaginings of my own mind. I was reminded of pareidolia, seeing faces everywhere as I struggled to make sense of it all, however the thing that disturbed me the most was seeing my own body.

I understood now why Dicaius had me over the sink. Blood was pouring from the hole in the back of my neck like a pool with a hole in it, and my body seized up and jerked as he wrapped one arm under my shoulder to hold me and placed his other hand over the hole to try and slow the bleeding. “Christ… You better fucking come back. If you can hear me and you don’t, I’ll end myself just to come over there and kick your ass… Just hurry.” Dicaius grumbled, now moving me to lay on the ground as he quickly took off the jacket and used it to apply pressure to the wound.

I was calling out to him, but he didn’t seem to hear me, I even placed my hand on his shoulder, and he didn’t give any hint of a reaction. However, he was right, I needed to move, and I needed to be quick, there was no time to ponder over the experience. I had two minutes to look around and find a way out, and I’d need time to get back. “One-one thousand… two-one thousand… three-one thousand… four-one thousand…” I began counting, rounding up and adding twenty seconds to account for my freak out before bolting.

Something I learned very quickly was there were rules to being dead.

One: I couldn’t fly. This was a bit of a pain as I was on a time crunch, but flight was impossible. However on that note, I could walk on walls, and the only reason I found this out was because in one of the round tunnels, I didn’t even notice I was upside-down until I came upon a torch that was attached to the wall and burning towards the ground.

And two: I couldn’t just move through any wall I wanted. I could move through solid objects, but only if I could see the other side of them. This was another hitch as I couldn’t just walk through the steal door, I had to run through the bars and make my way circling back to find the proper path.


“Twenty-five one thousand… twenty-six one thousand…” I continued on, running through the darkness and keeping myself to the right, or at least trying to as this place was extremely disorienting, but hoping that by keeping in the same direction as the door, that I would eventually come up on the other side of it. However, I never did.

It felt like I was running forever. I was thankful that I couldn’t get winded from all the running, however I was starting to get worried.

This place was a maze from hell, every turn leading to more forks in the road, every branching passageway having that many more branching paths that all ran in different directions. The place was a nightmare, and even after turning back, I very quickly found myself lost. I spun in a circle, looking around at the blank and identical walls before falling against one of them and letting my arms fall limp at my sides. “You’ve got to be kidding me…” I muttered to myself, not knowing which way to go or where I’d come from, this place being deceptively large on the inside, and so far, entirely empty. Not only that, but I was running out of time. A full minute had already passed, and I was stuck.

I looked down at my hands, seeing them but also not seeing them, a strange glowing halo of light around my entire body, and yet still entirely see-through.

I thought about being like this forever, just a wondering ghost in these halls. It wasn’t exactly the more ideal outcome, but at the very least, I wasn’t in any pain anymore. Maybe I’d forget how to feel emotion all together and I’d just be indifferent to it all in time. It’s not like I’d be leaving anything behind, Dicaius maybe, but I couldn’t do anything for him with my body anyway.

I thought about my mother, an older woman in the beginning stages of dementia, the same conversation we’d have every week about when I would graduate from college. She’d probably forget me too in time, or not even remember why she was making that phone call to begin with, even the number slipping from her mind. No one was coming for me, and although that may seem like a depressing thought, it was actually a peaceful one.

No one would worry, I wasn’t leaving anyone in pain if I didn’t come home. I didn’t have to dwell on the thought of someone waiting for me, I could just pass and that would be the end of it, the end of me.

I don’t know how long I thought over this, just sitting in the silence, however I could hear something from down one of the halls, and I turned to face that direction when I realized it sounded like something getting closer. “Um, hello?” I called faintly, but there was no response.

At first I assumed it was probably a couple of cultists, living people who couldn’t see me. But as they began to get closer, I came to the conclusion that it was definitely not people, however something large, heavy, something that breathed large gasps of air that whistled as it reached its lungs, something that clicked and growled, something that dragged along the ground and something that although unseen, conjured up the very image of a beast that could swallow me whole.

”Fuck…” I muttered to myself, quickly looking around before slowly getting to my feet, not making a sound as I made my way out of its path and into a different tunnel. I peeked around the corner, trying to steady myself as I watched down the hall, and right when it came into my field of vision, the torch on the wall sparked blue.

It crawled out of the tunnel like a centipede on the prowl, it’s body very similar as its mandibles clicked against one another, the entire body of the thing covered in a thick layer of armored scales that sat jet black over its skin. Its skin underneath was silver, giving it a strange iridescence as it crawled over to the spot where I once was, sniffing the ground in large huffs of air, it’s mandibles splitting to reveal a circular mouth hidden behind, filled with layer upon layer of sharp black teeth. Its body was so long that it wrapped around the top of the tunnel and back down to the ground, a strange, shadow like mist irradiating from it like smoldering coals, and each part of its segmented body sat flattened wings like that of a dragonfly, all barely visible against its black skin, but there all the same.

I couldn’t describe the amount of shear and horrible fear I was experiencing; the creature was massive in size and powerful in stature, yet the living embodiment of a walking nightmare. However, the one detail that made every hair on my body stand straight up as though I were about to be struck by lightening, ghost or not, were its eyes. There were six in total, three on each side of its head, and all a very familiar, glowing white.

It continued to sniff, opening its maw as streams of drool dripped from between its teeth. “Fleeetcheeer… Where are yoooou Fletcher?” It howled with the voice of a banshee, and I quickly covered my mouth and pressed myself against the wall of the tunnel, praying it didn’t see me.

“You can come out, it’s safe here.”

“Follow my voicccce, there’s nothing to fear.”

“We’re waiting for you, just step into the light.”

“Follow the liiight, come out where we can seeeee you.”

It spoke in several different voices now, and I stood completely still as it looked around, crawling on the ceiling and twisting it’s head to look at the ground below before continuing to crawl along the tunnel. Even if I couldn’t breathe, I felt like I was hyperventilating. I was frozen still, just watching each of its hundreds of legs moved in synchronization with one another as it went into the darkness, but before I could turn, I was quickly grabbed by my shoulder and nearly jumped out of my skin as a soft voice came from behind me. “Quickly, follow me.”

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it wasn’t just only another ghost down here, but it was her, the woman I saw change outside my cell. “I… how?”

“Shhh! It’ll be back, we have to go. Come on.” She said in a hushed tone as she began dragging me behind her, and I didn’t resist. I had several questions, but if this meant getting away from the insect, then I would gladly follow.

She ran with me down a series of tunnels before we came out into what looked like a cell identical to mine. She and I moved through the bars, and as we did, I saw her sigh in relief. “What were you thinking calling out to that thing? It could have killed you!”

“Whoa, whoa, now hold up. How are you even here? I watched you-“

“Die? Yes, I know.” She said, pointing down to a woman in the corner. The woman was identical to her, curled up and sleeping as she looked back to me. “I am dead, not gone, just dead...”

“But are you telling me that your body is now a- “

“Host?” She cut me off again. “Yes, and my body is home to a Duskling now. That other one out there in the tunnels is bad news. I’ve been hiding from it for a while. They’re persistent, but I’ve managed to keep myself away so far. He prefers to stay around the ritual room, so we should be safe here for a moment at least.”

I took a deep breath, taking a moment before nodding. I thought over what she said, looking down at the woman in the corner as I remembered what happened to her. “Are you in any pain?” I asked as I looked back up at her.

She smiled sweetly at that, brushing her long blonde hair behind her ears. “You’re sweet to be concerned, but I promise I’m ok. I came to terms with everything that happened a few days ago, and I’m alright. My name is Alice.”

“I’m uh… I’m fletcher.” I said, watching her eyes as I was at a little loss for words. It wasn’t just because of everything that happened, it was because she seemed to be content with it all, and if I was completely honest, she was stunning. Early 20s, large dolly eyes, long hair, a soft and kind smile and a stunning figure. Honestly if it weren’t for the circumstances, I would probably be asking her out right about now. “Oh, and thank you for saving me too. I was a little lost back there.”

“Don’t mention it.” She said before glancing back at the bars of the cell. I was taken off guard when she walked up to me and took my hand, but I wasn’t exactly complaining either. “Come on, you don’t have a lot of time.” She said, once more beginning to lead me down through the halls as we passed through the bars.

“Time… Wait, oh shit! It’s been over two minutes, Dicaius will have already brought me back by now!”

“Hey, don’t panic, it’s ok. Time works differently here, but that doesn’t mean you have a lot of it either. If you hurry, you can make it.”

“Wait, how do you know about that?”

“You really think I’ve spent all this time in my cell? No, absolutely not, I’ve been wandering all over this place. I’ve been in just about every room, including your cell with your friend. I overheard what you were planning and when I saw you wandering around, I thought I’d lend a hand.”

“So, you know a way out?!”

“Yes, and I’m going to show you.” She said, and I felt instant relief when I found out she knew where we were going, and now that I had help, I focused in on it and actually felt hopeful for the first time since I’d been here.

We twisted and turned down darker corridors before coming to a pair of large metal doors that were slightly ajar, and as we walked through, I quickly realized where I was. This was the ritual room, the large stone pillar still there, but as I looked around, I came to the realization that it wasn’t a room at all. The place was dug down into what looked like a stone tomb, the top completely open to the night sky as a soft and warm breeze blew. No wonder I couldn’t see the ceiling before, and as I recalled what happened I remembered seeing the eyes, but now looking up I realized what I was seeing wasn’t eyes at all, but a dark sky filled with thousands of stars, free of light pollution as they sparkled high above us.

“This is the back entrance to this place, across the way are the main cells where your friend is, and where we came from is where they house the rest of us.”

“So how do I get back?”

“Just follow the torches through the tunnels and keep right, if you come from the other way, you keep left and you’ll end up back here. Go any other direction and you’ll likely just end up getting lost again as there’s several paths that interconnect with one another. There are several main cells down there, but yours is the one at the very end, you can’t miss it. This isn’t the main entrance, their leader has the keys to that door, so this is the easiest way to get out if you can climb the walls to the top.”

“Ok, I’ll just have to find a way out of the cell, and we’re golden… holy shit I can’t believe it, Dicaius’s plan actually worked! We’re going to get out of here!” I said, genuine excitement in my voice, however it faded when I looked back to her. She was smiling for me, the dimples in her cheeks showing as she looked up at me, her eyes reflecting the stars, and my heart dropped. “…You can’t come with, can you?”

She shook her head, but to my surprise, her smile never faltered. “No, but you shouldn’t be sad, you’re going to get to go home, you should be happy.”

“But you’ll be left here, alone. Isn’t there something we can do? Maybe you could follow us, and we can find a way to fix you, find a way to get the Duskling out of you and free the others.”

“That’s the thing about a ghost Fletcher, eventually we fade away. Ghosts don’t last forever, the memories can, but for us, the pain goes away with time and soon, so do we. You know, the cultists here were right about one thing, after everything that happened, I do understand something now.” She said as she moved closer to me, placing her hands on my shoulders. “Sometimes just being nice to someone is all we need. The pain dies, but the good parts live on in the people around us. My life wasn’t good before this, I did a lot of bad things that I regret… But the light will always be stronger than the dark, it’s not about how many good or bad things you do in life, it’s how much a simple act means to that person. I know I’m not going to make it, but if you do, then maybe this one good deed will live on. The pain is what we hold onto, but the good is what keeps us moving forward, no matter how small that light is, it’ll always be shining.”

I was choked up as I looked down at her, listening to her words. She was a stranger to me, but she was kind with a good heart, her words warm and gentile, and most importantly, she was right. It reminded me of that contrast Dicaius spoke about, those extreme darks to those brighter lights. She understood that a simple act of kindness could mean the world to someone, and that someone just happened to be me. All she did was show me the way, and through that it didn’t matter what kind of person she may have been, she saved my life, and that meant moving forward, no longer being stuck in the pain. In other words, I guess sometimes you have to go through a lot of pain to appreciate the little things in life, understanding the dark and shining brightly through it.

I wiped my eyes, realizing that was stupid as I couldn’t cry, but the feeling was there all the same. “You don’t deserve this…”

“Maybe or maybe not, but it’s too late for that now. No matter where I end up, I’ll be ok, I promise you. Now...” She began, reaching up and placing her hand against my cheek. “Go, hurry, it’s not your time yet. It’s time to go home.”

I wanted to say more, maybe beg her to come with, not wanting to accept that she was going to be left behind and not wanting to walk away from her, however my attention quickly turned to the door where we came in.

I whipped my head in that direction as it crashed open, revealing darkness on the other side, the torches that were once behind us had gone out, only leaving a black maw in its wake, and six narrowed eyes to peer out from it. I went to grab Alice’s hand and run, however when I turned back, she was already gone.

The creature from the door lowered its head as it slinked out from its hiding place, its mandibles twitching and its wings vibrating as it locked onto me, the sound rattling in my ears as I backed up. “Oh… Shit.” I said as I stared it down, and it reared its back as it went to lunge, its wings extending and propelling it forward like a shot fired from a gun, mandibles open as it went to grab me.

I leaped out of its direction, however it managed to nick me with one of its clawed legs, the sensation feeling like white hot fire. I didn’t waste any time to scramble to my feet, turn, and run. The creature growled and moved with a speed I’d never seen. Within a second it was in front of me, going to strike like a demonic cobra as I ducked to avoid it, falling to the ground as I moved under its body and scrambled to the pillar in the center of the room.

The agility of this creature far outmatched mine, it’s body coiling around the pillar and coming over the top. I watched it’s movements closely, trying to figure out what it was going to do next. Its wings vibrated again, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to avoid it this time if it went for me, so instead of running away, I ran to the pillar and placed myself flat against it.

Its body twisted to bite me, but when I got close to the pillar it was coiled around, the gigantic beast missed from the awkward angle, twisting uncomfortably as it bit down on one of its own legs. It shrieked as blue smoke erupted from the wound, and I took the opportunity to run to the tunnel on the other side of the room. As I looked back, I saw it crawl down from the pillar, a long and sickly black tongue coming from its tube-shaped mouth and licking over its leg. The smoke began to slow to a stop, and it looked back at me, its tongue lapping over its mandibles like a lion licking its lips. “Great job Fletcher, you pissed it off…” I muttered to myself as I continued to run, the creature coming after and hot on my heals as it gave chase, and the hunt was on.

The sound of this thing running was like a heard of horses thundering down the path, however from its massive size it wasn’t able to cut corners as quickly as I was, crawling on the ceiling and growling in frustration every time it would come inches from getting me before I ducked into a tunnel. It couldn’t fly or use its wings in here, another small advantage, however it twisted over the walls and ceiling, and quickly found that it could get even closer to me by predicting which direction I would take.
I had to get back to the cell, and because of that I had no choice but to keep taking each right turn that came up, and every time the creature would get a little closer, even with its size, it was catching up.

I took one more right turn and could see the door at the end of the tunnel, one more home stretch to the finish line. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, me running as quickly as my legs possibly could, and the thunderous sound of the creature getting ever closer behind me, at least twenty steps accompanying every one of mine. About thirty feet from the door, the creature went to strike, pushing itself forward and falling short at getting my head, but snagging the back of my ankle as I went flying forward.

I fell hard onto the ground and my body rolled from the momentum, slamming into the door on the other side. I’d made it, at the last second, I’d made it, however I forgot one critical thing. The door was completely solid. I looked up at it, and it was only solid metal in front of me, no way to look through to the other side, no clear path to pass through.

I sank against the door, that hope fading, complete and utter defeat replacing it as I looked down the corridor, seeing the creature before me.

This was it; the creature had won… game over. “Dicaius…” I muttered as the beast got closer to me. It knew it had won, lowering its head and slowly approaching me, taking its time now that I was trapped. “Dicaius, I’m sorry… I know that you probably can’t hear me but, just know that I tried… I’m so sorry Dicaius… goodbye my friend, and thanks… thanks for trying to help me…” I said to myself, trying to make peace with what little time I had left. I closed my eyes, feeling the hot and stale breath of the creature against my face, waiting for it to bite down and end me.

…A couple seconds passed, then a few more, and after a bit I couldn’t help but open my eyes. I expected this thing to kill me, eat me like Dicaius had said they did, but it was just looking down at me on the ground, watching me, almost studying me. “Well, what are you waiting for? Do it.” I said as I looked up at it, and I was shocked as it moved away a little.

I slowly got to my feet as I watched it, scanning its eyes as it scanned mine, and I was amazed as I could have sworn I saw something in its gaze, something almost human. “Wait, can you understand me?” I asked. It didn’t respond verbally; however, it closed its eyes as it bowed its head. I looked at it, then back to the door, then back to the creature, and it finally clicked. Dusklings, Dicaius was a Duskling! He was one of these things, it must have known his name, and it was entirely possible that this creature knew him as well. Dicaius said they all lived in large groups, of course it would know him. Not only that, but with this particular creature, I had a hunch.

That spark of hope came back as I got to my feet, looking at the creature. “You’re the one the cultists tried to force inside of me, aren’t you? That’s why you hung around the ritual room.”

It bowed its head once more, letting out a long huff of air that almost seemed stressed about what I’d brought up. “Listen, I know what these cultists are doing, Dicaius told me everything. I’m trying to help, I can get him out of here and stop this, but I can’t do much from here.” I said as I looked back to the door. “Do you think you could give me a hand?”

The creature just sat there, watching me, its wings flicking a bit before it slowly approached. I flinched when it opened its mouth, and it clasped its mandibles around me, but was being surprisingly gentile with its actions now. It lifted me and moved forward, and before I knew it, I was on the other side of the door. It set me down and I looked over, seeing Dicaius sitting next to my body as I was rolled on my side, him holding his head with a clear expression of stress as the wound on my neck was healing. I’d made it just in time, despite all the odds.

I looked back at the creature, muttering a quick, “Thank you.” As I did, the creature watched me, looking over at Dicaius and bowing again before disappearing back behind the door. I quickly went over to my body, not exactly knowing how to get back in and a little worried this wouldn’t work, but out of impulse I just reached down and grabbed my own arm. The moment I made contact, my ear began ringing, and my world flashed white.

“Come on, kid… Come on, wake up.” I heard Dicaius speak, sounding just as stressed as he looked. Coming back into my body wasn’t exactly fun. I felt heavy and tired, my ears still ringing, and once I began to wake up, I shot up into a sitting position, gasping for air. I was so cold that I couldn’t feel my fingers; shaking violently as Dicaius quickly scooted over to me. He was still sitting next to me as I began coughing like a smoker, hacking and choking from how dry my mouth was. Dicaius quickly took the jacket I’d given him and wrapped it around my shoulders, rubbing them to help with the blood flow. “Thank God you’re ok… Take it easy, you’re going to feel sick for a couple minutes.”

“No shit.” I said, and actually started laughing a little at his words. I wasn’t exactly painful, but the best way I could describe the feeling, was like when walking into a warm house after being out in a snowstorm, my entire body filled with pins and needles as the blood began to flow once again. However, I could have sworn Dicaius sounded relieved. After all the shit he gave me, he sounded happy that I was back. “Is that excitement I hear? You really did miss me, didn’t you?”

“Don’t push your luck.” He snapped, going right back to his typical nature when I called him out, but I had to admit, I was glad to see him too. “But did it work? Did you find an exit?”

I looked up at him as the shaking began to subside. “Had some help along the way, but yeah, you bet your ass I did, and I know the way. Tomorrow, we’re getting the fuck out of here.”