Chapter Twenty Six

Phoning it in wasn’t going to be enough. Lester felt he needed to make the trip to Johns Hopkins to visit his friend—to be by his side. Chicago to Baltimore wouldn’t be too painful in the newly upgraded Nova. Lester had swapped out the old V8 with a cutting edge gas-electric hybrid drive system at the company’s expense. The car now actually had a faster 0-60 time, but the whir of the electric motor was unacceptable to Lester. So he had the tech guys install a sound system in the engine compartment that mimicked the roar of his old V8 when he floored the pedal.

Around a year had passed since the events at Lake Cumberland transpired, and they seemed like a far more distant memory to Lester. Harry, on the other hand, had endured a constant reminder almost every day that was grievous yet surprisingly joyful at the same time. Lester had enveloped himself in his work taking almost no time off after debriefing. Harry had hung it up—he was on indefinite leave.

When Lester finally arrived at the hospital, Harry’s face said it all. There was a glow of peace and relief framed by a shadow of sorrow with just a little hint of happiness brought about from seeing Lester after such a long while.

“You just missed her, Lester.”

Lester bear hugged his old partner.

“I’m so sorry, old friend. How did you know? I mean, how did you both know when it would happen?”

“We just sort of knew. I don’t know how else to explain it. It was like she was ready to move on, and I was ready to let her go. Everything was reconciled. Nothing was hanging out there.”

“She really held on. I thought she had a chance”

“You know, as evil and maniacal as Dolph Hauser was, his organization was light years ahead on the biotech curve. I think if Angie had ended up at any other hospital, there’s no way she would have lasted more than a day or two. It took a long time to bring her back mentally. He really fried her brain back there. But little by little, the Angie I knew came back together, at least in the mind. She kicked my ass at chess a few times. She’d smile at my jokes if they were funny. She’d frown if they weren’t.”

“She was a strong girl.”

“She never really had a family when she was growing up—foster home to foster home—ward of the state. When the agency picked her up, she was easily indoctrinated. Dolph was able to win her over. She was just looking for a family. Anywhere. Anyone. She just never really knew what a real one was supposed to be like.”

“Well, she’s lucky she had you.”

“It’s silly. She wanted to get married. So we had this little ceremony planned. We got the paper work all taken care of. I wanted her to wait to give you time to make it. You are my best man of course. But she knew. So we did it last night. The preacher came to her room. I got her a little veil to go with her respirator.”

Harry fought hard to hold back his emotion.

“She was just so happy.”

“I’m sorry I missed it. It sounded beautiful.”

“We got some pictures.”

Lester wished there was more he could do for his friend.

“How are you doing? Are you hungry? What can I get you?”

“I guess I can eat.”

“Well, let’s get you fed. I’m a little hungry myself.”

A few blocks away, Lester and Harry waited for their pizza. Being with Harry triggered Lester’s memory. A flood of questions rushed back into Lester’s head about what happened in Lake Cumberland. He and Harry didn’t really dig too deep right after it happened since Harry became preoccupied with Angie. For one big question, Lester really wanted an answer.

“One thing I never got, Turquoise, is how you just sort of walked away. I mean, you literally walked right by the man who tortured you and was indirectly responsible for the death of your girlfriend. You walked by the man who captured you, who drove the bus that flipped over and fucked up Angie. If there’s anything I’ve learned about Harry Turquoise in the time I’ve known you, it’s that Harry don’t take shit. I’d have been 99.9 percent sure you would have destroyed both those men with your bare hands.”

“It sounds weird, but when I was in that cocoon, it changed me. I had resigned myself to take up permanent watch at the gate. I didn’t know how I was going to do it exactly, but I knew my body had to die. I was ready to die. Ru ultimately took that burden off my shoulders. And seeing my grandmother, remembering all her lessons, it inspired me. The hate was gone. All I had left was love, and I just wanted to get to Angie one last time. You were all there with me—I felt free. Once I knew I could survive, all I could think about was Angie. I couldn’t focus on anything else.”

“I thought you’d say something about your weakened physical state, but then again, it’s not like you to use that as an excuse.”

“I was pretty wrecked, but, yeah, that’s not what held me back.”

”Well, going at Dolph would’ve been suicide anyway. You did tell me about that Bronco psycho dude while we were shackled up, so I knew what to do the next time I met him, which didn’t take long. And Brother Dave was amazing. He busts out with the first verse of that Metallica song. I never knew he could sing.”

“Yeah. It was ‘One’.”

“Little Bronco dude was just mesmerized.”

“And then you killed him.”

“He must have thought Dave was his new best friend. I walked right up to him and crushed his windpipe.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“That little dude was too dangerous. And it didn’t look like you were in vengeful mood. I had a feeling he wouldn’t be the type of guy to show up for a court date.”

The pizza finally arrived. When the waiter left, Harry and Lester continued their conversation.

“So, Lester, tell me about your new partner.”

“If you told me when I met this girl that she would some day be my partner, I’d have laughed my ass off. But she was born to do this work I tell you. She’s no Harry Turquoise, but she does all right. She’s diligent like you. She’s actually a little colder than you—a little more mechanical.”

“I guess it’s just not safe to set ‘em free.”

“Well, the agency felt it necessary to keep close tabs on all potential extra-dimensional being hosts. What better way than to get ‘em working for us. Dave’s doing some good work as an analyst. But Pam is really good in the field. It’s scary. She has no recollection of anything that happened after the lightning strike at the studio, but it seems to me like Hrel rubbed off on her while he was in there. It’s like he checks in every once in while. I catch little things she does that remind me of Mr. Face.”

“In what way?”

“Just the way she moves sometimes. Mr. Face had this real fluidity to his actions.”

“I’m glad to hear they’re settling in. It doesn’t seem like they’ve had a lot of time. How are you dealing with their anti-establishment roots?”

“Well, Dave was easy. After the whole ordeal, he really wanted to pitch in and do his part to ‘save the world’. I think Vros really got him to see the big picture. That’s what I get from talking to him. With Dave on board, Pam fell right into place. Plus, you know, they’re dying to find out which of their conspiracy theories are legit. I answer about ten conspiracy theory questions a day from Pam. Sometimes I tell her the truth, and sometimes I don’t. Then there’s this little tension between Dave and Pam about what happened exactly to Pam’s old girlfriend, Missy.

“Really?”

“Well, Missy is still dead. It didn’t take long for Pam to start asking where Missy was once she realized she had lost a few weeks of her memory. She’s not liking the explanations we’ve been giving her.”

“You’re not telling her the truth?”

“We bend it a little.”

“How’s Dave’s mom?”

“Man, you turned the tables on me. I was going to ask you a bunch of questions.”

“Sorry. I know how you like to talk. I’ll ease up.”

“Okay. I’m supposed to do some field audits of all the old Hauser facilities. DARPA about did a back flip when we dropped these multibillion dollar research caverns into their laps. We just need to make sure no one is trying to start up any inter-dimensional portal projects. Pam is going to be in training for a while. I wanted to see if you were interested in tagging along with me. It’d be like old times. Plus you’d get to see some of the latest gadgets coming down the military-industrial pipeline. Oh yeah. Agnes is doing all right. She moved back to her hometown in Virginia. Dave talks to her every day now.”

“Yeah. I’ll go with you.”

---

Harry was a little disappointed to see the casino had been transformed into office space. Instead of callipygian concubines, there were gravely dressed accountants and engineers. Protection money in the form of American tax dollars rather than the black market funded the current operation. Harry was officially still with the agency and maintained his security clearances, but the looks he got from some of the uniforms in the halls weren’t very welcoming.

“You’re special, Harry. People don’t like the special guy.”

“I’m not here to impress anyone. I just want to make sure no one is cooking up a portal to hell.”

Harry and Lester traversed through the honeycombed lair escorted by their uniformed minders until they finally reached the portal room. Harry definitely wasn’t the type to succumb to post-traumatic stress disorder, but the site of the room and its immediate surroundings were oppressive. The two men entered the room. There was nothing. There was no gate, no cocoon, and no equipment whatsoever. Even the power sockets had been sealed up. The waters of Lake Cumberland danced through the large windows to bath the room in glowing green light.

Lester turned back to the minders and said, “This isn’t enough of course. We’ll still need to see your inventory.”

Harry was transported back to the day he left Dolph’s fortress.

“How different it would be if Claude never woke up,” Harry posited.

“Claude was definitely the atomic bomb Dolph never saw coming.”

No one knew exactly what went down in the portal room between Claude and Dolph. After expending every round of ammunition to destroy the infernal gateway, the team was left at a disadvantage when Dolph’s machine gun showed up. Lester foresaw a prolonged battle. It was Dolph’s nature to release his adversaries so he could take the time to rebuild his creation. He had redundant locations to pick up where another one left off. Were his adversaries to return, Dolph would have greeted them with a new demonic army. A wrong move and they all would have been filled with bullet holes with no hope of stopping Dolph. So the team took advantage of Dolph’s mercy and left the room quietly—all of them. That is except for Claude—unconscious and too massive to move.

Where Harry’s transformation left him full of love, Claude’s experience left him feeling quite the opposite. Here a man of faith found himself completely removed from the light he originally perceived. It didn’t just happen when he was tortured into submission. It built up over time as he watched his beloved son lose touch with the world in which he lived. His marriage strained as he and Agnes struggled to find a way to deal with their troubled child. His congregation, hearing sermon after sermon, continued in their hypocritical ways. Claude found himself leaning on Jesus more and more. The only thing Jesus seemed to be able to do was change Claude’s perspective of the matter. Claude did the best he could, and nothing seemed to change. Now Claude was in a moment where he could make a difference. As he regained consciousness and confirmed the shape of his body, his eyes found the man responsible. Within moments Claude burst away to conceal himself behind a large pillar. Then he heard Dolph’s voice again.

“Claude, dear Claude, where have you run off to now? Your friends and family have left you here. I want to help you.”

Claude stepped out from behind the pillar to face the contemptible man.

“What do think of the new body, Claude? You could save a lot of souls in a body like that.”

“It’s unnatural. It’s not right.”

“Human beings get stronger and faster every day, Claude. You’ve just skipped a few steps along the way.”

“I’ll be shunned as a freak.”

“You’ll be celebrated as a freak.”

“There is no difference.”

“This is depressing talk, Claude. We need to find a way to get you happy.”

“You won’t like what that is.”

“Come on, Claude. What is it? And I hope it doesn’t contradict anything in the Good Book.”

“You die.”

“Now wait a minute. Thou shalt not kill. Turn the other cheek. You seem to be forgetting some basic tenets of your faith, Claude. Besides, I’ve got a gun. And your friends and family won’t fare too well if I don’t leave this room in one piece.”

“I cannot live like this. And you cannot live.”

“Then cut the bullshit, Claude, and do it already.”

Claude bolted out of sight. Dolph waited. The preacher he dragged in days ago wasn’t capable of killing. Dolph turned to leave the room and found himself face to face with the hulking abomination whose creation he facilitated. Claude’s claws sunk deep into Dolph’s abdomen in rapid succession. The gun slipped out of Dolph’s hand as his bowels slipped out of his body. Claude watched with glee as Dolph painfully spewed blood from his mouth. There would be no coup de grâce. As Dolph slowly and agonizingly expired, Claude picked up the dropped machine gun.

“Agnes, David, I love you. Please forgive me.”

It was close to five seconds before Claude’s trigger finger relaxed after filling his head full of bullets. The giant collapsed to be discovered hours later by an elite FBI task force.



Lester and Harry were about to leave the portal room when Lester stopped and looked at Harry.

“Claude Bullock. Victim or hero?”

Harry didn’t answer. He continued walking toward the minders. He really wanted to get back to the administrator they chatted with earlier to see if he was able to dig up the original shipping documents Harry and Lester requested.

Chapter Twenty Five

“Am I dead?”

“No…you’re not.”

“Then, where am I?”

It was a reasonable question, Dave thought, and in the void, without Vros enveloping him like a warm winter’s coat, Dave felt naked and exposed. The voice that had spoken to him was calming and reassuring, even though it gave him little information. From far away, there was a small finger of light sifting through the empty darkness, moving closer to him. The voice spoke to him again, also moving closer with the light.

“You’re Brother Dave.”

He was confused how he was known to the voice addressing him.

“Who are you,” he said, and then repeated, “And where am I?”

“You’re nowhere right now…this is limbo. Or maybe it’s capital L limbo. Or Purgatory. I don’t know for sure. But it is something somewhere between life and death. Or maybe outside it. I don’t really know for sure…I just got here myself.”

The light grew brighter and painted an outline of a person, which became more detailed as it approached, filling in more lines and contours until a female form floated before him sculpted out of pure light and energy. She was beautiful and naked, though the ribbons of golden illumination that she gave off obscured her intimate details.

“I have seen you before, haven’t I,” Dave asked.

She giggled with recognition. “Yes, I sought you out. And you gave me the most wonderful gift.”

Hovering ever closer, she was almost blindingly luminescent. Her small hands cupped Dave’s face, palms warm to the touch, making his face radiate like a Halloween pumpkin. Her lips touched his forehead and pressed with such little force it was almost difficult to tell that she was touching him, but from his scalp, racing back over his head to the base of his cranium, and down his spine was a jolt of hot electricity that was like a wheat grass shot for his soul. Instantaneously, Dave was awash in a flood of information.

It was the entire life of Ivy Collier.

---

The ATV quad drove slowly in circles around the northern foothills. The PA was on, and rather than broadcasting instructions and hailing, the transmitter was playing music. The trees and brush rustled with the faint slapping of a bass drum, like wet leather getting punched. As the rider drove the four-wheeler over the terrain, he scanned the foliage for movement. The sound of the music accompanied the purr of the engine nicely, but grew louder as additional instruments entered. It was a steady melody of distorted guitar rising, chunka-chunka-chunka-chunka chunk-a chunka-chunk, it growled. Soon, the booming blast of a crisp snare drum fell in-between the hard scrubbing of guitar stings, finally tapping out a fill before engaging the guitar with a relentless beat.

The force of the music drove the indigenous creatures away, but the man had little interest in native beasts. All the instruments locked into a ferocious rhythm, chunka chunk chunk chunk chunk chunka-chunka chunk, and the hi-beams vibrated from the volume. A dirty man lept out in front of the quad, causing the rider to grab the handbrake so tightly he nearly fractured his fingers from the force. The ATV skidded a few feet on it’s front wheels as the back end rose and then dropped as it came to an arresting stop.

“EYE OF THE FUCKING BEHOLDER, MAN! YEAH!”

The rider was more scared by the compact, muscular man before him than the fact he’d appeared suddenly out of the shrubs.

“Um, I was sent to get you by my boss…he said you would come with me.” There was nervous perspiration forming on the rider’s temples, and under his helmet the sweat created a moist climate similar to a tropical jungle. “Please don’t disembowel me,” he whispered under the blasting Metallica tune.

“BRONCO,” said Bronco, not really giving the rider much to say in response. Still, he tried to go about his instructions, and ignore the small animal that Bronco was somehow wearing as a loincloth that look as though it may still be alive.

“Please follow me back to the compound.”

He rolled the vehicle back and started to turn it around, confident that he had managed to adhere to Dolph’s words to “bring Bronco back”, yet still made it clear that it was not going to be riding tandem, even though there would clearly be room on the ATV. Bronco was in the shadows for a second, but appeared with a handful of belongings, ready to go. The rider, feeling successful in his mission, killed the music, and began back whence he came.

“LOOK TOWARDS THE SKY JUST BEFORE YOU DIE…IT’S THE LAST TIME YOU WILL! FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS!”

The rider, in abject terror, fumbled at the ATV controls at the sight of the suddenly enraged Bronco. He had tried to hit the throttle and flee, but instead managed to turn the PA and music back on. Bronco slowly straightened up from the coiled stance he was in.

“BRONCO FOLLOWS YOU BACK. YOU RIDE THE LIGHTNING. OF YOUR PISS,” he snorted, which was as close as there was to laughter, noting the warm fear that had spread on the rider’s pant leg and the ATV seat. The others would ridicule him when he returned, but the rider would still have functional arms and legs, which was more than some of the others could boast after their encounters with Bronco

---

It was as though somebody had punched him in the stomach with a tree, and while he was not in pain, Dave was winded and gasping. To experience a whole life of experiences and emotion instantly would have probably lobotomized any regular person, but years of expanding his mind through psycho-mystical studies and the hosting of Ru made him strong enough to withstand the intensity. Ivy was still before him, waiting for Dave to take it all in before speaking.

“I died. I saw myself out of body. I felt my soul leave my body, and I was not scared. Ru explained to me what was happening and I accepted it. In those last moments before we were separated, I understood all the answers to my questions. The years I spent traveling and learning and experiencing life had prepared me, but it was Ru sharing the time he was bonded to you that made me feel complete. You don’t realize how much the two of you are intertwined, conjoined from your prolonged bond. I was very happy to have felt just a small amount of what you have gone through with Ru, and I understand what it is like to have that part of you missing and incomplete. It is how I felt until Ru found me.”

“I’m so happy for you,” he said, still gaining his composure from the injection of Ivy’s life.

“I can see you have hosted another. The aura is faint upon you. A recent thing.”
“Yes, it is Vros, who left his longtime host and ended up with me. He was looking for my father. What was left of him.”

“There is still a small part of him in there, and if you can force the demon out and back through this portal, you may be able to save him. When you return to your body, I believe Vros will return to you. He is here to force the beast from this world, or destroy it. He will know what to do. We are all here for that purpose.”

“All? Who?”

“Your friend Pam is looking for you, and within her is another named Hrel. Ru gave me true sight the instant I surrendered my physical form and left for this place.”

“What’s going to happen to you,” Dave asked.

“I don’t know, but I was…compelled in a direction. It is a place that is forever wide, yet impossibly hidden away between the fabric of existence. I was drawn by a sound so terrific that I couldn’t explain it, and to call it angelic would still be insufficient. And before I was there, I sensed you here, lost. I feel strangely disconnected now from what I considered being alive although it is now so much more vibrant and distinct than any memory I have of it. I wish you luck, Dave, and I wish for this peace and warmth of eternal love I feel to be yours one day. Thank you for the things you have shown me, and for sharing the gifts Ru has brought us.”

Dave wanted to speak but held silent. Ivy dematerialized, fading away until her form was just a glowing shape, and then a sparse twinkle of points in the darkness.

---

Agnes Bullock was convinced her test of faith was being administered in her current life, and not waiting for her in the next. The horrible things she had been subjected to, and of Claude, who had endured worse. The voices and threats and things that she had seen since they had been taken from their home were the last gate for her to cross under. Because if it were not, if her God had failed her through all her years – a lifetime of devotion – it was too horrific to contemplate. She focused on prayer, since the conversation her rescuers was too unbelievable for her to believe to be true.

Pam walked towards Ivy. “Is she really gone?”

Ru spoke through Ivy to Hrel, not addressing the question Pam put forward. “We have very little time if there is any chance to succeed. Do you have anything else that could help us?”

Hrel responded as Pam was animated to take the arachnid-bots out of garment and throw them aside. “These are nothing more than a child’s toy now. Other than what firepower we have in our hands from the dead here, we’re on our own.”

Interrupting Hrel, Pam spoke, “Did you make her go away? Is she going to come back?”

“No,” said Ru, “And I do not belong here without her. I can not maintain control for very long. This body welcomed me, but without her, it is dying. It fights me because her essence is part of every last cell. She would have never brandished that weapon, but I was able to guide her actions as she surrendered this mortal coil. As time moves on, I will have less control of even simple, basic functions. Eventually I will be rejected and then the body will be animate no more”

“You’re like Hrel? You’re also one of them? How long have you been with Ivy?” Pam was seething with anger.

“Not so much like, but the same. I am Ruahadavalat, and I have known you for a long time. It was some surprise that I found my brethren with you, for you are so strong a will."

The compliment did not diminish her anger but realizing it was Ru did seem be calming. “Well then, ‘Ru’,” she said, “you’d better be quick about your business, because it gets your buddy off my back too, and that young lady who’s body you’re just going to discard like an ill-fitting garment deserves better than this.”

“You all deserve better, but if we don’t do this, things are going to get much, much worse.”

---

Henchmen of no particular mention wheeled the cocoon from the portal.

“They’re taking the cocoon out of the portal,” said Lester.

A series of buttons on the frame of the portal were tapped and it lost the glow of power.

“A series of buttons on the frame of the portal were tapped, and it lost the glow of power,” he added next.

Dave’s enclosure was unhooked and mounted in a brace so that he was upright…if they chose to open it up.

“Dave’s enclosure was unhooked and mounted in a brace so that he’ll be upright if they chose to open it up.”

The smaller and fatter of the two men working on the cocoon turned back to where Lester was bound to harangue him.

“Hey, why don’t you just shut your mouth, okay, guy? Nobody wants to hear your running commentary.”

“Why don’t you make me, bitch? And as a matter of fact, I believe my friend over here wants to hear it. Because he can’t see shit. And you know why he can’t see shit? Because you muthafuckas put him in one of those space blankets, pressed some buttons, and popped him into your x-ray machine. You blinded him!”

“Hey, that’s not true,” the other tall, thin one countered. “It’s totally safe. We wouldn’t be putting people in there if it was going to hurt them. Besides, we’re constantly working near it. Don’t ya think there’d be something wrong with us then too?”

“How do you know there isn’t,” Lester probed.

The tall one turned to his buddy, “Maybe we should get a check up or something, just in case.”

“We’re union,” said the first one defensively, “and I know that our chapter representative would not allow for unsafe conditions in the workplace.”

Lester nodded behind them, “Well then, what do you call that?”

Claude stood menacingly, though all it really took for him to be menacing was to stand there with his rows of dagger like teeth and deadly talons. The two were not expecting the “Fiend from 16”, as he was called, to be in the same room as them. Unshackled.

‘You can relax,” Claude said with a crocodile smile, “I’m not that hungry right now. I want to see my boy.”

“Uh, that’ll take a few minutes to remove him, check his vitals, and clean him up,” said the tall one.

“Be quick about it then. We have some family issues to discuss.” Claude exited back into the adjoining room.

“You better hope his boy is in good shape, because he’s gonna take it out on you if there’s anything wrong,” suggested Lester.

The duo worked quickly, perhaps faster than they’d ever done in the past, and nearly ran out the door.

---

Pam and Ivy advanced down a corridor only to see two workers making for their direction with some haste. Unlike the others they’d come across, these two appeared not to be of the guard caliber. Ivy cautioned Agnes behind her protectively as Pam gathered momentum moving along the wall before springing out and at the pair, which knocked them the fuck down. Hard. Pam took the taller man and pinned his arm behind his back. Using her leverage over him, she used him as a garrote against the man’s partner, forcing that immobilized shoulder into the rotund, prone man’s throat. She gave the arm some pressure as she pushed down, causing both men pain.

“Tell me you know where there is a portal. And make sure I believe you.”

The man in the arm-lock pointed further down the hallway with the free hand. Pam pushed him down harder and the man underneath turned red, and then passed out. She picked her captive up and pulled the locked arm around in reverse, choking him out with his own limb.

“Do you sense him,” asked Hrel?

“Yes,” Ru replied. “We’re close, and I think that means David is too.” Ivy turned to Agnes. “We’re going to get your son, and soon you’ll be safe.”

---

There was a startling, calamitous sound as the doors to the portal room swung open, and Pam and Ivy did a version of Charlie’s Angels, guns drawn.

Harry was up to seeing light and dark shapes turned to Lester. “Are we being rescued?”

“If you call an old lady, a young girl, and a butch lesbian a rescue, then yes.”

Ivy handed the sidearm to Pam, and ran over to where Dave was, followed by Agnes.

“Is he okay,” she asked of her son.

Ivy touched Dave, and turned to his mother. “He’ll be coming around soon, but I can’t get in there…something’s blocking me.”

Hrel asked, “Is it a Kra’agnuk?”

“I don’t think so. He’s the right trait for hosting, but I’d been bonded for so long, it would have to be an ancient one to even have a chance to make its way in there.”

“Listen,” Lester said, how’s about we undo these bonds and we can talk about who’s where and what after we get out of here. There’s a nasty thing next door we don’t want to see again.”

Agnes and Ivy helped Dave out of the cocoon sheath and Pam released Lester, who went to assist Harry. Pam held both guns, and wanted to go over to Dave to shoot until they clicked empty in her hands, but knew Hrel would stop her, and if not, there rest of them would. Plus with Claude somewhere nearby, there was a better chance of getting away from that killing machine as a group than alone. She buried the though and went over to the portal.

“Okay, Hrel. Figure this thing out and break it.”

“Oh please don’t,” said Claude. “I have some friends coming, and it would be impolite to keep them waiting.

Agnes wept at the sight of her distorted and transformed husband, and held onto David tightly. He stirred and opened his eyes, seeing the assembled room.

“This is touching, my whole family reunited. Son…have you looked into the abyss and seen it staring back at you?”

“Come here and I’ll show you,” Dave said. He tried to hold his mother reassuringly as Claude approached. Quietly, he whispered to Ivy, “I’m never going to see you again, Ru, am I?”

Ivy looked back at him and smiled. “I’m afraid not.”

“It was good to see you one last time, old friend. You made a difference to Ivy. And I can’t even tell you what you’ve done for me.”

Ivy put her head down and hugged Dave for the last time.

Claude was coming over to them and addressed Pam, who was still holding the two handguns.

“I’ll rip your arms off and eat your face if you try so much as to point those in my direction,” he warned.

Slowly and smoothly, Pam put the guns on the ground and kicked them across the room, away from all of them. Claude looked suspiciously, but seeing them far out of anyone’s reach, continued forward. Pam stood by the portal, leaning away from the monster that was crossing past. She and Hrel, defenses down, stood behind Claude, who now looked proudly at his wife and son.

“If you’re fighting it, don’t. It will be much better that way.”

“Mother,” Dave said, “please stand away.”

Agnes resisted, but he pushed her gently towards Lester, who was bracing Harry.

Dave continued,” You’re right father. I didn’t fight it, and there is something in here, with me. He wants to meet you. And his name is Vros.”

Claude was shocked, but even more so when Dave lunged at him and threw his hands around his neck. Pam jumped into action and threw her arms around Claude, putting him in a full nelson and wrapping her legs around his waist, locking her feet in his thighs to try and prevent him from slipping free. Claude fell to the ground and tried to shake them off, and frail as Ivy was, she piled on to try and keep him down.

Hrel shouted over the grunting and growling, “Hit the buttons! Hit the buttons!”

Lester ran over and knew where Hrel was talking about, having seen the henchmen operate the portal, but not which ones.

“Which ones are they?”

“I don’t know,” Pam screamed. “Just hit them until something happens!”

He pounded on them with absolutely no idea what he was doing…but got lucky. The portal hummed for a second, and then opened to reveal the dark void. Claude struggled harder to break free, kicking Dave and Ivy off him. Dave jumped back at him and put his hands on Claude’s chest, which was no small task considering how much he was thrashing around. Dave concentrated, and Vros started to push against the evil demon inside Claude, trying to enter the soulspace. Ivy got back up and rejoined the fray, putting her hands on Dave’s back. Ru pushed his way into Dave, letting go of the fragile shell Ivy had provided for him.

There was screaming, but Dave’s was the loudest. Hosting the two within him was like pulling the pin on a grenade and putting into a paper bag to try and contain the blast. Ru again found the comfort of Dave’s soul and anchored himself there, giving Vros an even more stable foundation to push off against and pass into Claude. The strain made Dave collapse for a moment, and he lay beside Ivy’s lifeless body. Claude was shrieking and still flailing about. He had gotten to his feet and was trying to swat Pam off him by ramming her into the portal frame. Pam was losing consciousness from the continued hitting, and Hrel knew that if she was not engaged, he may not have had the ability or will power to control her and still subdue Claude. Hrel felt the bond over Claude weakening and pushed himself to enter, which after considerable strain, was able to achieve. Pam fell to the floor, limp.

Dave got up and approached his father, who was still battling, but the struggle was internal. Standing before him was the demon form, but it stared blankly, sometimes twitching. He put his arms back on Claude’s chest and took a deep breath.

“Goodbye.”

---

Lester went over to Pam, who was breathing but stunned. She was bleeding from the head and neck, and was pretty banged up. Harry and Agnes went over to Dave, and helped him up from the pile that he and Claude had slumped over in.

“What a time to finally get my sight back,” mused Harry. “But even though I saw it, what just happened?”

Dave sat up and held his head like he’d have the world’s worst hangover. “They’re all gone. Vros, Hrel, Ru…that thing inside my dad.”

“How do you know that,” asked Lester

“I just know. They forced that evil out and back into the void. It took all of them, but they did it.”

Harry looked at Dave, “So now what?”

“We smash that portal.”

Lester had grabbed one of the guns. “Smashing is for savages. This is classy destruction.” He finished out the clip, firing into the frame and the large power conduits at the portal base. It sparked and buzzed before shorting out. A small smoke plume came from the base, signifying its death.

Dave turned to Harry and shared, “The last thing Ru said was that if we could destroy the mechanical opening, they could guard the physical one. Vros and Hrel would battle that demon back to the beyond, but Ru said that he would stand guard on the other side of the portal opening and block it from being accessed.”

“Are you sure he can do that,” Harry wondered.

“He told me that for his time here, with me and with Ivy, he owed it to us, to stay and protect our planet from the Kra’agnuk. Even if they construct another one, he’ll be in their way.” Dave had the strength to stand and made his way over to Pam. “Is she okay?”

“Damned if I know,” said Lester.

“Can you hear me Pam?”

She didn’t open her eyes, but she responded, “Dave, is that you?”

“Yes, yes, it’s me.”

Pam opened her dilated eyes and looked around confused. “Are we in the studio?”

“No, we’re not.”

“Is the show over?”

“We’re not working on a show right now.”

“I don’t understand,” she said.

Lester leaned in. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“We were doing the show, and then there was a loud crash and a bright light.” Pam’s brain was swollen and her skull had a fracture, and with those two symptoms, plus the jarring flight of Hrel from her being, Pam had literally been erased of every thought and memory since she had been dutifully producing the last aired episode of “THE WORD” many days prior.

“I’d say it’s best not to try and figure things out until we can get out of here,” said Lester. “I wish I had amnesia and could go back to that night and forget all of this.”

There was a slow, mocking clap.

”Bravo. Really.”

Dolph was hardly amused, but hidden behind his smirk and the sarcastic tone, there was a kernel of truth.

“I really underestimated you all. My G-men. My prodigal son. Even this random pairing of girls. You’ve bested my pet monster and caused destruction in another one of my very expensive facilities. If only you’d all be weak and terrified like Agnes, or completely broken like Miss Ahern. You’ve even managed to rid me of my favorite associate. And you have no idea how hard it is to find the right mix of bootlicker and competent assistant. I should just kill you all, but it has a certain…villainy. And I don’t see myself as a villain.”

“And how’s that,” replied Harry.

“I am one of the single largest charitable donors in the country. Did you know that? I have brought in tens of thousands of builders to create an empire of services that provides jobs for nearly 10 times that number of people. My patronage has saved antiquities from around the globe from destruction. I have directly developed several dozen patents in health, science, and technology for the benefit of the public, some of which would make your jaw drop knowing I made these available. Hell, I even sponsor a little league team.”

“And you also kidnap and kill,” added Lester. “You may be disqualified from ‘Man Of The Year’ now.”

“I’m not without my faults, no, but I’m also not to be tested. You have all shown me that I had not afforded you the respect you deserved, and so I have been thwarted soundly – even as unpleasant as it is to think, let alone say out loud. But truly, I could have Vulture squadron here in under a minute to put more holes in you than a lace table runner, and then have every one of your family members killed. I’d probably kill everybody you ever met too, just because I was on a roll. But that’s not really what I’m about. Especially now that I’m trying to quit smoking and I just don’t want to have that extra negativity. The bottom line is, you are free to go, if you choose. You have earned it. But if you feel like fucking with me, well, you can first take that up with one of my other associates. His name is Bronco, and he’s just outside that door. He will not be…open to negations if I don’t make my way through that door shortly, either.”

They all looked at Dolph in contemplative silent, and he relished the moment before he spoke.

“Decide how this will end.”

Chapter Twenty Four

“Take it slow, Ivy.”

If Pam and Ivy’s bodies could speak for themselves, they would both tell you that moving, or really doing anything at all, was the numero uno shit list item. Something taken for granted every day was now something to revile. Ivy tried standing for the first time after a long rest in the supply room. Exacerbated by the massive blood loss, the sudden change in position caused a sharp decrease in blood pressure to Ivy’s brain. Pam quickly caught hold of Ivy before she could collapse to the floor. The movement caused Pam to feel a painful twinge in her joints and ligaments. Moving a heavy door was definitely not without its consequences. The two women simply wanted to curl up and wait for it all to end. Something compelled them to do otherwise.

“Here. Put this on. I know it seems weird, but we’ll definitely fit in a little better around here.”

Pam handed Ivy a kimono and obi to conceal her obvious wound. Pam herself was in full dominatrix attire with thick-soled combat boots laced up to above her knees. She was wearing a black wig based on the mane of Betty Page. The overall effect was surprisingly stirring.

Pam had in fact just returned from reconnoitering and was happy to see Ivy was where she had left her. Pam had been the first to awaken from the tranquil recuperative state. Allowing Ivy more time to rest, she had left Ivy in a large cardboard box in the supply room while she slithered her way through the subterranean compound. Pam by herself would never have been able to navigate the fortress without detection. With Hrel’s assistance though, knowing when and where to hide and how to move became second nature. With most of the compound’s security forces scrambling to find the two women on the lower levels, Pam, after reaching them, found it easy to move about the upper levels—the vice levels. It wasn’t long before she had walked into the green room area used by the resident courtesans. It got Pam to thinking maybe she had died and was now walking through the halls of heaven. As a woman, she fit right in. As a lesbian, she had never been in the midst of so many beautiful feminine creatures at once. Pam, more like a man than a woman, was very visually oriented when it came to sex. This was somewhat atypical amongst her peers who usually craved tender affection over sheer hotness. Again Hrel’s influence, along with her own desire to complete the mission, had stepped in to keep Pam on the less carnal path.

One of the senior courtesans took one look at Pam and could tell right away she was definitely not ready for the floor. She immediately marched Pam to the wardrobe department to find some suitable attire. Pam did not hesitate in recognizing the value in altering her appearance. In fact the remainder of her time spent in the upper levels and making her way back to Ivy was filled with come-ons from patrons and security specialists alike. No one thought twice about a towering fetishist roaming the halls of the luxury suites or taking a peak at the bank of video monitors displaying views into every suite and nook and cranny of the casino. The guard manning the monitors, although unable to explain why a small few of the monitors were dark, found no problem showing the “new girl” both the bizarre and natural intercourse occurring within the suites. After some prodding and strategic flirting, Pam finally coaxed the guard into explaining how the portal room monitors always went dark during testing. Moments later, the guard was lifeless—his spinal cord snapped amongst his cervical vertebrae by a swift and decisive twist. Pam was about to leave the surveillance station when she noticed an older woman alone in one room who looked very familiar. Memories of perusing old family photos with Dave resurfaced.

---

“Any bright ideas coming to you, Turquoise? We ain’t going out like chumps, are we? Are you hearing this? After they wheeled off that big fugly dude, it sounds like they’re having a real barn burner next door.”

If Lester was on his way out, it wouldn’t be without a smile.

“Yeah. I can still hear. It’s my vision that’s jacked.”

“Is it clearing up any?”

“I’d say I’m at around twenty percent maybe, so it is getting better.”

“I’m wiggling my pinky. With that pinky moving, I’m starting to think, we’re going to make it out of this.”

Lester’s tone wasn’t very convincing.

“If we can find a way to get free, which seems highly unlikely right now, I know what I have to do, and Lester… I don’t want you trying to convince me to act otherwise. It involves me not making it out of this mess in the sense you’re referring to.”

“Crazy talk, Turquoise. We’ll talk about this later after picking up a couple six-packs of Singha from Chang’s.”

“You know I’m not a big fan of Singha. I can drink it at a Thai restaurant no problem, but I could never imagine myself buying the beer outside of a Thai restaurant context.”

“Hey, man. I’m just trying to project us into anywhere but here. If you want, you could be kayaking or doing some outdoorsy shit while I’m sipping some magic lemonade back in Charleston.”

The two men had experienced so much pain and violence together, yet through it all, they always found time to stoke their connection on a personal level. They both found it necessary in order to add a modicum of humanity to their days. Their relationship originally started off cold and mechanical. After enough near-death experiences and daily exercises in building trust though, the masks of indifference ultimately melted away. Harry now struggled to find the right way to explain to Lester that even if they were able to free themselves, his destiny lay along a path that diverged sharply from Lester’s. Even more painful for Harry would be missing an opportunity to say farewell to his now beloved Angie. This was an almost certainty.

“I have to tell you, Lester… I’ve seen some pretty amazing things. Unbelievable. I’ve touched the other side. Life after death is a reality. I’ve seen firsthand what we’ll be up against if the bad guys do make it through this portal into our world en masse. There is hardly a way we will survive if we allow it to happen. The entire planet will be enslaved. The seriousness of it all is much greater than any bullshit electioneering we’ve done in the past. It was so abstract and distant for me before. Dolph tried to use me as a vehicle for one of the demons. I could’ve ended up like that monster they just wheeled away. Fortunately, and at the same time, painfully, it didn’t take. During that process I caught a glimpse of their world. I was thrust into a battle of which I could never have imagined. My Nana was there somehow, fighting to defend the gate, and then fighting to protect me. Duty compels me to go back if I can.”

It was obvious to Lester that Harry was not joking, and the situation became much more real for him in that moment.

“I pray that they just scrambled your mind with some bad voodoo, but you know, brother, whatever you feel you have to do, I’ve got your back.”

Harry craned his neck towards Lester’s voice with a face of appreciation.

---

Dave continued to repeat to himself with Vros’ prodding, “It’s not my father. It’s not my father. It’s not my father… He is beyond saving.”

Dave just couldn’t get past the fact that the enormous body facing him once belonged to his father, Claude Bullock, whose essence currently resided within an internal hell. The real Claude Bullock watched helplessly as the beast painfully extracted both his cherished and shameful memories to foment doubt in his son’s mind.

“God has granted me this power, David, so that I may save the world. With my strength, my speed, and my agility, I can bring God’s wrath upon the unbelievers. I can send them all to hell where they belong. No man can stop me. You must now believe, my son. Believe as you used to. We can be together again. You will have no reason to fear me. God loves you. I love you.”

“I know what you are. Your words have no effect, demon. Even if you can best me, you will be destroyed within a heartbeat. Might alone can never reign. Our intellect challenges you from every point of the omniverse. When you show your face, you will be shunned not feared. The fire of these united peoples will bath you and destroy you.”

“So enamored with the superficial, aren’t we, David? You can only see me as far as your eyes take you. This perfect body is only a representation of the perfect world to come. I am only a small piece to the puzzle. My brethren will complete the picture. Soon they will take every shape and form. You will not know yourself from one of us. Your so-called friend, Ru, has poisoned your mind.”

“It is not your way to work as one. I know you answer to another who in turn answers to another. You will destroy yourselves and this world before you realize anything close to some deluded vision.”

Dave and Vros were baffled. Why had the beast not attacked? Words were no substitute for action. Was he buying time for some reason? Had he already stepped too close to the united flame in some way? Vros wondered how different the rules of engagement would be when dealing with a demon in this world. Then the initial charge came much more quickly than expected from such an immense figure. Not having time to react in any other way, Dave braced for impact. Claude stopped within inches of Dave’s face. The hot putrid breath seared Dave’s eyes and nostrils.

“Time to start playing for the other side, David.”

Claude easily grabbed a hold of Dave’s arms and torso enveloping him in a vice-like grip. Even with Vros on his side, Dave was helpless. Claude carried Dave to the same cocoon used to hold Harry and Claude before him. He forcefully constrained Dave within the cocoon and sealed it shut. Dave was in darkness.

---

Pam continued struggling to keep Ivy upright as they moved through the halls. Without medical attention, Pam couldn’t be sure for how much time Ivy could hold on. Their objective was the portal room, but Pam felt compelled to free Mrs. Bullock from her confines. It clicked the moment she saw her on the video monitor. The cellblock was on the way to the portal room. Pam and Ivy arrived at the guard desk looking like they had been partying a little too hard.

“Marv is going to be pissed. You guys shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh, don’t be so fucking compliant. Marv sent us down here to see if you wanted to get with us new girls after your shift is up.”

The guard definitely perked up and was hardly bothered by the fact that the tall one seemed like she’d been snorting rails while the short one had decided to go the other direction.

“Um, this is kind of new for me, but, uh, yeah. Yeah. I’m definitely down,” he stammered out nervously.

After giving a quick outline of what they planned to do to the oblivious guard, Pam moved into the small talk.

“So you got like a big key ring for all these cells?”

“Actually, it’s all up in here.” The guard tapped on his head. “We use key codes.”

Pam and Ivy looked at each other. With one hand, Pam grabbed the guard’s throat. With the other, she grabbed his testicles. The guard tried to scream, but could get nothing out. She backed the guard up to the door of Agnes Bullock’s cell before kindly asking for the code. Each incorrect answer was met with an ever-tightening grip until the correct code was revealed. The door opened and Pam could plainly see how Dave really did get his eyes from his mother.

“Agnes Bullock. We’re actually here to rescue you.”

Agnes’ eyes lit up.

“My prayers…”

“Uh, I hate to break it to you, but God didn’t actually send us.”

“Oh, yes, he did.”

“Whatever. Put this on.”

Pam handed a little cowgirl outfit Ivy had been hiding under her kimono to Agnes.

“What’s this all about?”

“Don’t ask,” Ivy stated with compassion in her eyes.

“Dear, you look ill. Are you all right?”

“I’ve actually lost quite a bit of blood.”

“Oh dear!”

As the women were about to leave the cell, Pam stopped them.

“Wait.”

Pam pulled out a handful of small bits of metal from under her corset that quickly sprouted legs and sprung out the door. Gunfire erupted outside the cell. Pam peeked around the corner to see that the arachnid bots had done their job of incapacitating a small security detail.

“I sure hope we don’t run in to too many more of those,” Pam exclaimed as the bots scurried back to her.

“Not so fast!”

A sharp dressed man with three gunmen appeared from the opposite end of the corridor.

“Well, well, well. We’ve been looking all over the place for you two. I figured you’d try to find your way to the portal. But this? This is a surprise. Love the outfits by the way.”

Ivy collapsed to the ground. Pam bent to help her.

“Ah, ah, ah. Leave her. I really have to admire your commitment, but when someone needs medical assistance, it’s really time to call it a day. It’s not right to let a beautiful girl like this expire.”

The man gestured to one of the gunmen to pick up the limp unconscious girl. He motioned the other two to apprehend Pam and a completely dejected Agnes.

“I’m feeling good, boys. Back on my game. Not so expendable now, eh?”

As the gunmen marched the women back into the cell, something peculiar happened. Little Ivy’s elbow abruptly flew in the direction of her captor’s temple dealing him an incapacitating blow. With control of her captor’s gun, she quickly shot through the heads of the other two gunmen. She walked toward the well-dressed man, who fired round after round into her body, and shot him three times in the face.

“You’re right, Hrel. We don’t have the time to suffer through this.”

“Ivy?”

Ivy’s cold dead eyes stared vacantly through Pam.

“She’s gone. I miss her so. She was so beautiful inside and out,” as Ru lamented.

Ivy had passed. Pam had trouble reconciling that what appeared to be Ivy was now just a corpse shell much like the one Hrel lived with for years. Agnes stood in disbelief at what she had just witnessed.

Chapter Twenty Three

The blood loss had been stopped temporarily, but Ivy was still in shock. The caduceus was in-between Pam, who was attending to Ivy in the door, and the demonic Claude, who was wincing as the angelic tool bathed him in light that was keeping him from lunging at the tow and tearing into their flesh. The caduceus was fast running out of protection for them, and in the time it took to assist Ivy, Pam saw the brightness and field of the blue aura it emitted dim and flicker. Claude drew closer as the safe distance shrank inch by inch.

“You shouldn’t have hurt Steven,” Claude hissed. “Because now I want to hurt you. And I will.”

It was a snarling grin, and Claude’s deadly maw was clicking as he ground his sharp teeth in anticipation.

“You’re running out of time, and me, I’m going to take my time.”

Pam crept up to the caduceus, worried that it would fail suddenly. She grabbed it pensively, holding it like a torch fending off a horde of snakes, and waved it defensively. They were maybe a yard apart when the wand went dark. Both Pam and Claude were surprised, but before he could strike, Pam smacked the caduceus with the butt of her palm and it sprang back to life with more intensity. Rather than drive him back deeper into the room, Pam took the wand and stabbed at Claude. He would have retreated or dodged the strike, but decided to allow her to come closer in order to allow for a counter blow. What Claude had not expected was the caduceus to be so shockingly painful that the demon entity would temporarily be split between the dimensions.

It was a howl of pain that was as unearthly as the creature making it.

Claude fell down as a bolt of bluish energy ran through him where he was hit in the chest, up through his skull and face, causing his skin to glow and show off the internal organs like an x-ray. As the sound of his cry of pain lost it’s volume it was replaced with a plume of smoke that wafted from his nostrils and mouth. The wand made another sharp burst and then when dark for good. Pam shook it hoping it would revive, but Hrel had her discard it, knowing it was tapped out and could be of no further use.

Pam ran back to Ivy who was in shock. She dragged her delicate, limp form outside Room 16 and pushed with all her strength to move the steel door closed. Sisyphus would have had an easier time. Manually closing the great door would have been nearly impossible for a person, save the few building-sized and neckless men of Scandinavia with names like Magnus or Tor who routinely lifted stone columns or dragged cartoonishly large iron weights in competition. But the near six feet of Seattle Amazon managed to inch the reinforced metal barrier along its track, due in part to Hrel who, long used to being a puppeteer of the human form, knew to stimulate her adrenaline and make her almost flawless with muscle efficiency.

The door was perhaps a half foot from being closed when there was an alert over the intercom, directing a crew to “Purple 16”. The arrival of Steven was unexpected, but likely due to the monitoring of the room, so with the knowledge that there were more less-than-friendly people coming their way Pam had to be quick about their escaping. But she was almost totally spent from working on the door, and Ivy was going to be carried long before she could get up and walk on her own. Back towards the elevators there had been a room that was stocked with medical supplies, near the operating theater, and Pam headed there to distance them from the arriving group. She was able to pull a flap down over the narrow window in the door so that the light wouldn’t be seen, and she hoped the standard door lock would be enough to keep visitors out, or at least make them move along to the next room if they were conducting a search.

---

Surrounded by abysmal darkness, Harry went for another dunk in the tank. He could tell he was no longer in the confided space of the cocoon, but floating in the void where he’d combated the darker urges that attempted to wrap their cold fingers around his soul, and felt the affirming light and life of his Nana’s spirit. It was like a place that was neither life nor death, and he couldn’t tell for certain if he was either.

“You are different here.”

Again, Harry recognized his own voice, the one that had argued with him, that tried to subvert him and possess him the last time he had entered. It spoke again.

“You’re no longer pure to enter. You are tainted. Even with your body back in safety, your essence should be exposed, but it’s not. They have marked you like one of their own, and we can not, we dare not enter. We can not touch you here, but we can see you out there, in your world. And we will sense your aura just like theirs. When we come, you can not hide among them, your people. You are marked, and we will come looking for you."

---

Pam found a compress and gauze, and wrapped it around Ivy’s shoulder after cleaning it with an antiseptic. She had bled profusely, and her shirt was soaked on the arm and sleeve, so Pam cut away the fabric, leaving Ivy with an off the shoulder top that looked very much like it belonged in the 80s, far earlier than Ivy would have around to have worn it. There was nothing else in there to put on, but the odd, new fashion would be far less obvious than a bloody shirt. That last bit of attending to Ivy had sapped the remaining energy she had, and Pam spilled into the chair next to the examination table where Ivy lay, exhausted. It wasn’t sleep, but it was still sorely needed rest. Ivy stirred, but was mostly inanimate, recovering from her wound.

“I heard what you said in there. You were almost right. It wasn’t Xerbil…I believe that was Criel. They are nearly brothers.”

It made no sense to Pam, but Hrel understood. “I wasn’t sure,” he said through Pam’s voice. She was unable to keep herself from saying the words as Hrel was finally able to overtake her control. He may not have been able to drive the car, but at the moment he could still play the radio. “I thought Criel had been destroyed a millennia ago, but there was word in the last century he might have come to Earth. I had heard rumors, but no one could confirm it.”

“He was looking for me,” responded Ru, using Ivy in much the same way. He had not had any trouble asserting control over Ivy, but the years of being bonded to hosts had made Ru more reluctant or willing to usurp his earthly symbiotes. Ru gained much respect and admiration for the human species – at least as far as his hosts. There was still much evil and darkness in their world, which was what excited him in the first place, to understand the way of mankind and learn what it was that separated their two species. Being of the three, it was one of Ru’s primary responsibilities to be as impartial and observe the very nature of man. The seven for and seven against would naturally be able to characterize humanity as their charges provided, but Ru, Kainentrien, and B’lall-Mil’osh had the largest part to play in swaying them either for or against assisting mankind. The encroachment of demons had nearly forced their hand to accept man as a ward to defend and protect, although they had much preferred to combat demons in their realm than take the battle to those they wanted to shield.

“You’ve been hard to find Ruahadavalat.” Hrel had clear irritation underlying his words. “Some of us have been sent here to remove the observers and judges ahead of the Kra’agnuk hordes, and playing hide and seek amongst these toys has only made it more difficult for us to focus on our main task.”

“Don’t act as though you didn’t enjoy your time here, weaponsmith. I know of you and your associates. I know you have been here far before this planet and people were thought to be a target of those monsters. I know where we’ve stepped in and given their kind a nudge here and there, guiding them forward. Or shall I say prepping them for the time when you’d have to be able to control or destroy them if they were swayed by the wrong side.”

“I do admit having corporeal form here is…advantageous. But my experiments and meddling with their ways has been no distraction and nothing more than a fanciful hobby as we prepared ourselves for the coming conflict.”

Ru interrupted, “You mean the conflict we brought.”

“I don’t think you want to make those kind of accusations. There are plenty who think your time here has made you compromised, and just as soon consider you an enemy.”

“We brought them to the humans far sooner than they could have reached this part of the universe. And we owe it to them to live with their own troubles before we add others.”

Pam narrowed her eyes and looked at Ivy with burning intensity.

“You know there is a reason why we sent you, right?”

“I was selected by the greater elders and the…”

Hrel cut Ru off, “You were selected because you are young and naïve and inexperienced. You’re no better than their foolish teenagers. Do you think they would have sent Angam or Rewopd’ik. Or me? Killers? Scientists? Our elite? Hundreds of thousands of years ago we would have never even entertained the thought of evaluating a species like the humans or thought to question or need to be involved. But it was your kin who wondered if the cost of fighting was necessary against the Kra’agnuk. Sibr knows better and sent you because eventually it would come to intervening, and that your experience here could convince your kin to cease questioning the greater plan. And I know that it has.”

Ru was silent. In many of the hosts he had bonded with, like he, they were inquisitive and not dogmatic, which was satisfying for him to learn as well as observe the process of learning through their eyes. But what Hrel said, as far as Ru could see the reasoning in it, was true. And the conclusion that he had come to was the same, to battle their enemy no matter where they were and at any cost. True, he was certainly fond of humankind, which momentarily gave him pause to think that was a bias, but the scheme had played out the way that it was planned, and instead of feeling like a pawn, he knew that it was orchestrated to as an example to come to a conclusion that he could now see.

“So what are we supposed to do?”

Hrel thought for a moment. “We still need to find David Bullock. That’s why they came here, as did we. I was hoping he could help lead me to you, but now that you have been recovered, we see if he knows anything about this place or the Kra’agnuk. Agreed?”

“Yes,” Ivy said, “agreed. But he already knows much of them. I have shown him much, and he has equally assisted me in our task of trying to secure this planet for when the battle shifts from limbo to the tangible. He will not be pleased to see what has become of his father”

“How much does he know?”

“Enough. A lot. More than I suspect you have told your host, though I have observed her plenty while she and Bullock worked over the years. He shared information with her, but she was skeptical like so many others. This one, she understands just a tiny portion, and wants to understand more.”

“The show,” said Hrel. “You made as many allies as you did enemies. It gave me reason to suspect Bullock was aware of us, but none of our brethren here were to know where you and the others would be. For safety and to make sure you have a chance to succeed. I’m surprised the minions of the Kra’agnuk hadn’t found you sooner. That was a huge gamble.”

“You hunters are not the only cunning ones of the bunch.” Ivy smiled for Ru. “It was dangerous, but among the humans it was not going to be cause for attention. And it drew the others out so they could be identified. Now it will be far less difficult to know where to strike, or who, if we intend to block off portals and access. I knew that would be the next step after joining the humans. And I would have done that regardless of the others.”

“So you know that there are very few of us here, and now there’s at least one of their kind as well to deal with?”

“Yes.”

“My host, she is unaware of you, and of this conversation. Closing that door was too much of a strain for her to handle and stay conscious for long. She has been…cooperative, and seems to want to find Bullock, but there is something about her that troubles me.”

“Her resistance is that you’re an unwanted guest. I had not intended to leave Bullock, but was forced to, and fortunately this host was nearby and accepting. She too is unaware of you, even though they both seemed to recognize each other. I expect she will gain cognitive consciousness in a few hours or so.”

“Then let us let them rest, and I will suggest to her that we go to the guts of this place and turn it into a fireball. I’m sure I can rig something here to cause some damage. Enough to make everybody get out and flee. Our best chance to find Bullock is when they evacuate. We can use that chaos to get to him and get away.”

---

”You look like shit, Harry.”

Harry opened his eyes, and was only able to do so the slightest bit before it hurt. He was out of that awful cocoon, and he recognized the voice.

“If I could see, I’m sure I’d think you weren’t and better for the wear.”

Lester smiled, even though he had little reason to. Harry couldn’t see the two of them in restraints, let alone feel them. It seemed superfluous given the paralytic that had been administered, numbing their arms and legs, but Lester saw Dolph as a man who liked to go overboard, and the redundant bonds were exactly his kind of touch.

“Do you know where Angie is? Is she here,” Harry asked.

“Sorry, friend. You’re the first friendly face I’ve seen in here.”

“That didn’t sound so positive.”

“It’s not,” Lester added. “You can’t tell, but were about to get fucked.”

“They’re not hot, are they?” Harry clung to a shred of humor even though he knew it was neither funny nor appropriate. But it was all he had.

“There’s an ugly ass motherfucker strapped down across from us, and I hope they keep it fed well, because if it wakes up and is hungry, it ain’t looking for the refrigerator.”

“Okay, so then what’s the downside?”

“We’re in their portal room. And I don’t want to see what else comes through.”

---

Dolph sat patiently until David woke up. It was a mild sedative he was given, not so much to knock him out, but more for the crews of handlers to control Claude and get him up to the portal deck. The clean up for the demonoid was growing as costly as the amounts spent of staff to handle and care for it. Although it seemed that constantly retraining new staff was taking the largest chunk of the expenses, though conversely it had greatly lowered food costs.

“Mr. Bullock, you are awake.”

He was disoriented and petulant. “Where’s Lester and his friend,” he demanded.

“Now, now, young man, that’s not a cooperative guest.”

“You’re Dolph, right? You’re the one behind all this insanity.”

“Insane? Really David, somebody who’s been talking to voices they’ve been hearing in their head for years and you’re calling me insane? That’s just unkind”

“How do you know that?”

“Well, your father told me.” It set Dave off, and he sat up, trying to shake off the hand restraints that kept him in the chair.

“Temper now, you don’t want to get all worked up. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Vros felt uneasy, and Dave could sense it. It was something odd that Dave felt, something that he had never known with Ru.

“The truth is, I’ve found myself a little opening to someplace dark and scary. So I built a portal there. Several, in fact. Your friend’s partner, he was not very happy to know that, even though I had hoped to explain things so that he could see the error of his ways. I wish he’d have listened too. I went through a lot of trouble to turn one of his cohorts to my way of thinking just in case he or his buddies ever found out what I was up to.”

“That totally blew up in your face.” Dave knew the end of that story, and was pleased.

“Oh yes, it did,” lamented Dolph. “But it was just the kind of motivation that I needed to make sure it didn’t happen again. Plus I had some other ideas in mind. Like having another portal here.”

“What makes you think we’re not going to do the same thing?”

“The portal’s already functional and engaged. The door’s wide open.”

“Then we’ll close it.”

"I have someone who wants to say otherwise. In fact, they wouldn’t be the person they are today without that wonderful open portal. I’d like to stick around to get your feedback, but I think it would be better if you had some, well, alone time to see how you feel about it.”

Dolph left, and though the opposite side of the room, six heavily armed men in full tactical gear wheeled in a gurney with a form underneath a sheet. Dave could see the adjoining room they were entering from, though it was nearly behind him. He craned his neck and saw a portion of the portal. Was that what caused the twinge in Vros? There was something about the gurney too. They had removed several straps that bound the sheet and the figure, and left quickly. A few minutes later, there was some movement. Watching through his closed circuit feed, Dolph, anxiously waited for what came next.

Claude brushed the sheet away and stood up.

Dave would have never been able to get through the restraints, but Vros saw the demon enemy and easily broke the straps, ready to attack it. Dave couldn’t believe what he was seeing, a gross distortion of what he remembered his father to be. “Father?”

“Hello, son,” Claude responded.

“Magnificent,” said Dolph.