Hellboy and two unruly children...

Breaking out

Hellboy and Abe walked along the dock towards a huge ship with crates and cages stacked haphazardly around it. Without being seen, Hellboy lept onto the boat and Abe dived into the water, swimming under the ship. Red whips his head around, looking for people. No one. He makes his way into the belly of the ship, poking into every crevice and dark place for beasties. He reaches the cargo hold, where rows of animal cages are stacked, filled with jaguars, panthers and other exotic animals. He sighed, looking into a cage with a large colourful bird in it. He hated poachers, more than he hated demons.

Just as he was deciding whether or not to free the animals, Hellboy heard a voice.

 “Ola? Tem alguém aí ?” said a person near the end of the room. Cautiously, Hellboy approached the sound. He was so busy trying not to be ambushed, he nearly passed the person.

 “Quem é você ?!” half shouted a shrill voice. Hellboy jumped out of his skin and looked at the reason for the noise. A small girl with pointy ears and brown curly hair sat huddled in a cage at about head height. A small, curled end tail swished to and fro outside the bars. Hellboy went a little closer, trying to figure out what the fucking girl was. An Elf? A demon? No, more of a… monkey. The girl blinked her large dark brown eyes at him.

 “Can you speak English?” Hellboy asked the girl. She blinked again.

 “O quê?” she said. Hellboy couldn’t place his finger on the language. He had heard it before, he just couldn’t remember.

 “Okay, don’t kill me. I’m getting you out.” Hellboy said. and grabbed the bars, wrenching them apart to make a large sized hole. She sort of stared at him, unsure what to do. Hellboy held out his arm, putting it near the cage like a bridge. She eased towards him until, finally, she slithered on to his arm. She was very small and very light. About the size of an eight year old. The girl settled herself on his shoulder and wrapped her tail, gently, around his neck, to stop her from falling off.

 Hellboy listened as she made soft chattering noises mixed with words that were foreign to him. He smiled softly and moved along the rows of cages, peering into each one and having his heart break a little at all the animals looking lost and helpless. At the end, when Hellboy was about to turn around and go back, the monkey girl stiffened on his shoulder. Hellboy stopped and looked at her, looking around anxiously.

 “Hey, what’s the matter?” he asked softly, holding out his arm. She jumped up and swung on his arm, chattering loudly. The girl crawled up his back and turned his head to a door before jumping off and bounding over to his, yanking at the handle. Hellboy approached and the girl jumped back onto his shoulder. He could hear something inside. Howling. The girl whimpered, as if feeling pain for the thing inside.

 “Abra a porta.” said the girl. He didn’t know what it meant, but he had a feeling that it was the same thing he was thinking. He drew back his fist (right hand) and smashed the door open. Something yelped and moved in the darkness, whimpering. The monkey girl climbed off Hellboy’s shoulder and leapt into the darkness.

 “Oh, that’s a great idea.” Hellboy said quietly, “Just jump into the darkness when something is howling and probably a monster.”

 “Obtenha seu traseiro aqui!” said the girl. Hellboy sighed and made his way to the voice. Someone grabbed his hand. Hellboy yelped, but figured it was just the girl, judging from the size, and let her guide his hand to a chain. He ripped it in half and searched for the other chain, breaking it as if it was yarn. The girl handed him someone’s hand and Hellboy grabbed it, pulling the new figure into the light. A boy with grey hair and ripped clothes shivered with pain. He made sounds in the back of his throat. Sounds of pain. The girl lifted up one of the boy’s limp arms, showing Hellboy a silver shackle that had a large, raw wound under it. Werewolf. He prised the shackles off the boy’s wrists when someone coughed politely behind them. Abe stepped into view.

 “The rest of the vessel is clear.” He looked at the werewolf on the floor. “I see you’ve found something.” Red simply nodded and nudged the boy. Abe yelped, causing Hellboy to look up at his comrade. The monkey girl was examining Abe with intense curiosity, studying his hands and gills. She climbed up his body onto his back and leaned over his head, looking into his eyes with about two centimeters between their faces. Hellboy had to stifle a laugh. Abe wasn’t used to such close contact. Hellboy reached over and picked up the girl, who sat on his shoulder and flicked her tail around, still staring at Abe.

 “It’s right,” Hellboy told Abe, “She won’t hurt ya’. Don’t know about this werewolf here though. Ya think I should kill it?” The girl made a noise and jumped down to the boy. She patted his chest and looked at Hellboy expectantly.

 “I guess not.” said Abe. Hellboy growled but picked up the boy and slung him over his shoulder. The girl scrambled up onto his other shoulder and patted him on the head, as if to say, ‘Good boy.’ Abe snickered and they walked out onto the deck.