Devil's Gateway

Chapter Three

The overpowering smell of a thousand copper pennies infiltrated my nostrils, making me want to lose my breakfast. Before me stood a sea of blood, with a red aura hovering over the scarlet ripples.

In the center of the endless ocean, a hook hung down from the ceiling. The silver of its sharp hook glinted in the light. I scanned the room, unable to find a source of the illuminating glow. To the left of the endless sea, stood a concrete statue of a crying angel. Like a fountain, blood spewed from the eyes of the angel, circulating back into the crimson sea.

I turned back, hoping to flee from the nauseating room. Instead, I found that the door I had just passed through had vanished.

A familiar scratching sounded behind me, throwing my heart into the sea before me. With trembling hands, I turned around. A wall now standing erect behind the foreboding hook. With a sound like the crack of a whip, letters were lashed into the blank canvas.

Canst thou draw out Leviathan with an hook?

"What? What does that mean?" My voice echoed off the red surface.

He maketh the deep to boil like a pot.

"I don't understand these riddles! Please tell me!" Desperation seeped from my pores.

Movement and sound will draw him near.

Tarry too long and blood shall boil.

"Canst thou draw out Leviathan with an hook?" The disembodied female voice called from the waves. Silence fell over the room.

"Really?" I shouted, anger rising in my voice. "That's all the help I get?"

A deafening cry, comparable to the roar of a planes engine, sent waves soaring as high as the ceiling above my head. The blood came crashing down over me with a heavy force, strong enough to knock me off my feet. The powerful current whipped me into the ocean. The taste of iron flooded my taste buds. My nostrils screamed from the overpowering stench.

A loud gasp escaped my lips as my feeble attempts to pull myself to the surface prevailed. The residual waves threatened to pull me right back under. My limbs were already exhausted from the thickness of the blood.

The sea settled, leaving only the sound of my limbs treading the liquid. Bobbing on the ruby surface were rust colored bones. Skulls of both animals and humans, drifted with the small ripples my movements created.

Movement to the left caught my eye. Two large, white spikes cut through the ocean like a fin on a shark. The spikes stood at least five feet above the surface.

My breath hitched in my throat.

What the hell is that thing?

A piercing squeal came from above me. My eyes quickly snapped to the source. A pink blur fell from an opening in the ceiling. With a splash, the creature fought its way back up to the surface. A cherry snout flailed around as the squeals grew more and more desperate.

The spikes sped towards the pig with lighting fast speed. A colossal head rose from the surface, followed by a scaled, long neck. Spikes protruded from the sides of the serpent's pointed face. In its eyes danced a blazing fire as it gazed upon its wailing prey. The emerald scales looked as sharp as glass. In one fluid motion, the creature opened its mouth open, exposing the rows of jagged teeth, and snatched the crying animal out of the sea.

With a crunch, the squealing stopped.

I turned away in horror. My stomach churned as I heard parts of the pig fall back to the sea, sounding like rocks skipping on water.

What did I just witness? How the hell do I get out of here?

The beast dove back under the waves, it's tail slapping the surface with a crack. Waves of blood rocked me back and forth as an idea festered in my mind.

"Canst thou draw out Leviathan with an hook?"

The hook! Maybe that is the key?

Sure enough, I glanced up at the celling to find a blue door several feet above the hook.

I gotta climb the rope. Everything was clicking now.

A popping noise to my right made my skin crawl. Wine colored bubbles formed on the blood's surface as a warm feeling encapsulated me.

"Tarry too long and blood shall boil."

It all made sense now. I had to get to the hook before the blood cooked me alive, but I can't make too much noise, or I will be eaten by a Leviathan.

Shit.

The spikes resurfaced a few feet away from my position, leading me to freeze. The blood I was treading had drawn it closer. I had to think of something—anything to get out of this, or I was a goner.

Why hadn't I listened to Allison?

In front of me, a skull bubbled to the surface. Teeth marks lay etched into the rust colored bone. The spikes growing closer with every tread to keep me afloat.

Throw the skull, Trevor. It was Allison's voice again. It follows noise.

Taking the skull, I chucked it as far as my weak arms allowed. A kerplunk sounded far off in the distance, making the spikes stop their voyage in my direction. An earth-shaking howl bellowed from the deep. The creature cut through the waves with high intensity in pursuit of the sound.

Without missing a beat, I swam towards the dangling hook.

Ten feet.

Eight feet.

Five feet.

A frustrated roar came from the opposite end of the room. Stealing a quick peek back, the creature stood at least three stories high from the ocean. It's blazing eyes scanning the area, waiting for the slightest movement to set it off.

Three feet.

The platform below the hook was almost at my fingertips. My limbs were exhausted, but I pushed on.

One foot.

The wail of the beast sounded determined as I climbed upon the small concrete slab. Blood dripped from my skin, splattering onto the concrete. Peering at the water, the beast sliced its way through the water toward my location.

I forced my slick hands onto the rope above the hook. With every ounce of strength I had, I lifted my body off the ground. The rope burned my palm as I fought the urge to slip.

A loud splash caught my attention below me. The Leviathan's head was on the concrete, jaw clenched around the hook. Red irises burned into my soul, seeming to entice me to give up.

I would not give in.

Allison was waiting for me.

I'm coming home, baby.

I pulled myself up to the top, reaching for the handle. The rope shook, almost leading me to lose my grip and slide down into the jaws of death. The Leviathan had slunk back into the ocean, jaw still ensnared by the hook.

With one final attempt, I reached for the door handle. My slick fingers wrapped around the cool bronze, giving it a twist. The door swung open, and with a heavy force, I was sucked inside.

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