Casey McCloud Escapes from Hell

Episode VII: Fighting The Knight of Mare

As Casey came in and out of consciousness, she remembered one thing: looking into Tre's eyes as he said, "Hold on, Casey McCloud. This may hurt your heart."

She was in a car.    

The backseat. Her head was resting gingerly against the window. She could see her dark-skinned little sister sitting to the right, laughing next to her. He mother was driving, and her father was in the passenger's seat. He said something, and her sister laughed. Casey smiled. Family... this wasn't her family, but it had been so long since she'd had one, she felt contempt with pretending for a while.

"Calvin's asleep," her mother said as she looked at Casey through the rearview mirror.

"Almost," Casey replied.

"Get some sleep," said Mom. "We'll be there soon."

Casey closed her eyes.

Nightmares. Flashes of darkness. Skulls and blood, hands coming towards her, reaching out, trying to grab her.

"Is Calvin okay?" Her mom's voice asked.

"MIRANDA, THE ROAD!" Her father screamed.

Then she heard the squeal of car breaks. A loud, crashing sound.

She saw four graves. Mom, dad, sister, herself. Tears began to stream down her face. A voice spoke to her, in her mind.

"You dreamt of terror as you life was taken away from you. Your mind wants to be mine. It beckons me. You are no longer Calvin Thompson. You are now Treii Pi'datiÔn. You are now my nightmare."

Casey opened her eyes. The air was cold, the wind chilling. She had been here before. A familiar shape stood before her in the darkness. The Knight of Mare.

"Casey!" A voice behind her. A boy.

She turned and saw Tre, sitting there, an arrow in his side. The same arrow that had struck Casey. His potted plant was lying beside him, broken and dying. The boy was gasping for breath.

"Fight him!" Tre wheezed.

Casey pulled her sword out of its sheath. The knight charged.

"Out of the Night that covers me...

Black as the pit from pole to pole...

I thank whatever gods may be...

For my unconquerable soul..."

Casey lifted her blade. Steel on steel. She blocked his first attack, felt the vibrations run down her hand. She ducked low, avoiding his second strike.

"In the fell clutch of circumstance...

I have not winced nor cried aloud...

And under the bludgeoning of chance...

My head is bloody, not unbowed...

The Knight's imaged flickered in frustration. It swung its sword wide, and Casey backed away. The tip of his steel left a scratch on Casey's armor. The Knight yelled in rage as Casey charged.

"Beyond this place of wrath and tears...

Looms but the horrors of the shade...

And yet the menace of the years...

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid..."

Her sword collided with the Knight's chest, and he backed away, a nice new scratch in his armor. Casey put out her hand. The Precious Flame leapt forth, encasing the Knight of Mare in an inferno of heat. He roared and dropped his sword; his arms here flailing as he attempted to bat away the fire that encased him. Finally, Casey closed her hand into a fist. The fire returned to her.

The knight fell to the ground, breathing heavily. Casey approached him.

She know the poem. It was called Invictus. It had been written by William Earnest Henley. She had memorized it years ago because she thought it sounded cool. And now she finished it for the knight:

"It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul."

And then she lifted her sword and said, "I am Casey McCloud, and I am your doom." She brought the blade down.

The death of the Knight of Mare shook the land of Hell. Earthquakes commenced and volcanoes erupted. The soil seemed to scream and writhe in pain. And yet, if you looked up at the sky, it almost seemed to be a brighter shade of black than usual.

Casey McCloud awoke.

She sat up straight, gasping for breath. She felt somebody's hand leave her forehead. She watched Calvin fall backwards, landing in the grass next to her. Casey noticed she was ow wearing a red cape. The Knight of Mare's red cape. There was silence. Then Winston said, "Was all that you, Sugarpie?"

Casey was sitting on the cold, uneven ground. Winston, Jewel, and Gersato were all staring at her. And Calvin...

Calvin was lying before her. His plant was nowhere to be seen. He was staring up at the sky and breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" Casey asked. Calvin looked at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He said. "I feel less gloomy and more... heavenly." As he spoke those words, he began to glow.

"Thank you, Casey," He said. "For freeing me."

"Thank you for being useful," she said as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Winston the Fly, Jewel the Hellhound, Gersato the Great, thank you. I'll put a good word in for you." Calvin was so bright; it was hard to look at him.

"A good word?" Winston asked. 'Where the Hell do you think you're going?"

"Away from Hell," he said. And with that, Calvin disappeared with a flash of light, into Heaven, to join his family. Casey felt like crying. He was going to a better place, and she was glad. Gersato looked upwards happily, and Jewel let out a bark off delight. Casey smiled. Despite what she had thought, Calvin had been useful, and important. In fact, all would have failed without him. He had done well, and deserved his place up in Heaven.

Casey, Gersato, and Jewel all let out sounds of relief.

"I am so confused right now," Winston said.