Don't Go Into | the Devil's Den (Book One)

Five | Fish Out Of Water

"No!" Belial bellowed in hateful rage. "You're going to pay dearly for what you've done! I shall smite you down in the name of Lord Lucifer!" He tried mending it back together with his clawed hands, but found no success.

Fortunately, that small explosion moved him close to his totaled SUV. After staggering ten yards into the woods, he managed to rummage through the shattered glass, metal and cushioning to retrieve the large golden key. I will figure out what to do with you, Key.

As Belial recouped, he noticed the Detective beelining it down the road toward Repentance. "Run, run, little human!" He hunched over onto his hands and charged after him like a true bull. On all fours, he'd catch up to him in no time.

Detective Grant's legs desperately churned quicker by the second. It almost felt as though his feet weren't striking the ground. Sprinting with a dislocated shoulder proved quite frustrating because he couldn't reach his full speed. As Belial closed in, he narrowed in on the church.

Belial swiped at his legs and Detective Grant tripped up, crashing violently into the dirt yet again, sending his handgun skittering into the woods. Defenseless and out of options, the Detective did his best to crawl away.

"Jarod Grant," Belial laughed. "You have fight. This will be my second attempt at destroying you in a matter of minutes. What a marvelous achievement. Tell Lord Lucifer, that his son sent you to visit him for eternity in Hell!"

Detective Grant didn't hear a word as his senses blared out-of-control. A backpack of lead weighed him down. Belial's dark energy made him want to give up. He didn't want to continue living. He wanted to be slain. Rolling to his back, he stared at the blurred image of the giant demon.

"Belial the Worthless, I command you to leave this place!" shouted a nearby voice. It was Father Elron. "In Christ's name, you have no dominion here! I rebuke you!" Holding up Jesus' crucifix and the Bible, he radiated a light blue hue.

Belial's body started to seize up. His voice grew deeper as his frenzied shrieks of horror echoed across the land. "I should've known not venture near here, filthy Elron!" His body writhed and rattled with the mighty power of Father Elron. "I'll return! You better pray that your God keeps me anchored down, because when I return I'm sending all of Hell's demons into the Devil's Den!"

Elron continued the onslaught of rebuking, yelling louder. And with a loud metal-grinding noise, Belial burst into nothing.

A weight lifted from the Detective's shoulders. He no longer felt bound to worthlessness and anxiety. He neared exhaustion but was in good spirits. Father Elron helped him off the ground.

"Detective, I'm severely sorry for my outlandish behavior," Father Elron admitted. "I'd lost my patience, but I spoke with our Father, and he told me to stay diligent and help the lost, not turn them away."

Detective Grant, confused, gave him an uncertain expression. "You're fine, I was just scared," he admitted, then paused and stared at the church. "The demon on the mural... was that Belial?" Belial the Worthless. Wow, so close. Not even fair.

"Yes, you're somewhat connected to him here," Father Elron said. "He's one of the highest-ranking demons of Hell, an Archduke."

"How long has he been here?"

"Perhaps a couple years now."

Something clicked in Detective Grant's head. He'd been here much longer than originally thought. "I've been wandering around for... Laney," he said with a blank stare, "I know where she is!"

As if planned, a blood-curdling scream erupted somewhere deep into the woods. It sounded like a little girl. Detective Grant frantically dug into his waistband and pulled out the golden key. "I know how to save her."

Father Elron smirked. "Here, take this." He handed the Detective the crucifix. "Just in case."

Detective Grant nodded then placed the gold crucifix into his pocket.

"Make sure you find what you're looking for before midnight," he warned. "If you don't, I fear that your work here would be for nothing."

With that, he ran westward into the thick woods. Maneuvering around the roots, plants, bushes, and vinery was even more difficult due to his injured shoulder. He fought to stay upright as he grew tired and falling more often as his steps became clumsy and off-balance.

The woods reeled him in like trout caught on the hook. The smell of burning wood ran across his nostrils . Campfire. Who else could it be?

Breaking out from the brush, he found himself in a clearing about the size of a pond. The scream must've come from here. He studied his surroundings, observing nothing out of the ordinary. Something on his left caught his eye and he jerked his head around to see. It was a single shoe, lying there in the long grass. Size 7. The sole...still warm inside. Knowing that Laney was close was reason enough to put it back down.

He trudged deeper into the woods. Some places were too thick to walk through; branches intertwined with each other and some trees laid atop others. A downed tree blocked his path, and he lost his balance and fell while trying to leap over it. He shook his head. All this wandering made him tense–he had covered miles without hearing or seeing a single thing.

Resting against a boulder, he called out to the girl. 

No response.

When the Sun set, he found himself in a predicament. Make sure you find what you're looking for before midnight, he remembered Elron saying. His cellphone was trashed along with his SUV, leaving him only to estimate the time. He knew that late summers in the Eastern Time Zone yielded later sunsets, around 8PM. That meant he only had a few hours before whatever would happen. His body ached with every movement, slowing his progress. 

Not good. 

Hearing Laney's cry confirmed his theory, so he couldn't bear the thought of quitting.

The burning wood scent picked up again. He followed it closely. Is someone toying with me? A campfire had to be nearby. Under the Sun, he'd more likely miss a flame, but at night, a fire would stick-out like a sore thumb. Especially in a dark environment like this.

"You seem lost," a feminine voice spoke. "What are you looking for?"