Chương 45: Arc 3 | Hells Grace (Part 21)

HELLS GRACE Part 21 Coach Hodge and Melanie deactivated the third trap they encountered down Tunnel B. They had been going the wrong way for the past twenty minutes now, thinking they were getting closer to my Core, but the path would eventually lead them to the Siren's lair (they didn't know that yet). They were already getting frustrated.

"Okay, that's done," Hodge said with a huff after dismantling the trap. He wiped the sweat forming around his brows and adjusted his belt. Melanie didn't look impressed. The corridor was supposed to fill with noxious gas that would incapacitate them for Goliath to come around later and drag them somewhere else, tied up and probably tortured horribly. Hodge whispered some incantation that melded the stones shut, blocking the dozen holes scattered along the path that would release the poisoned air.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Melanie asked.

"We've been walking a while, and this place feels like a giant maze."

"With these many traps, he's probably protecting something very important."

"That's what we think."

"Well, what should we do, Mel? We lost our goddamn tracker," Coach Hodge said.

"That Burton girl is probably miles away by now. And besides, we left markings. We won't get lost." Hodge pointed at a soft glowing sigil he painted on the wall, pointing back to the cellar.

"Do you think she will call the cops?"

"We're far away from the roads. She could be dead already if Rebecca and Kirk got to her. Maybe one of these traps got her, too. It's probably scattered around the damn property to kill us." Hodge let out a smug grin.

"But it's easy as pie, baby." Melanie shook her head.

"Oh, let's hope. But without her and the necklace, we have no protection against what Mark Castle has."

"Let's not panic about this, Mel. I'm all the protection you need. The kid doesn't know shit. Did you just forget the three traps I fucking wrecked for the past half hour?"

"Are you sure? One thing I've been wondering about was how this tunnel got made, Justin."

"Someone got to digging. Simple as that."

"But this massive for the short amount of time since we killed Mark? We've swam Cedar Lake before. Heck, there were parties—""What are you going on about?"

"Think for a second. This cabin hadn't existed before, right?"

"So?"

"McLaren Forest is a federally protected land. No one is allowed to build residences in the area, except for those who bought land here in the twenties and thirties, built their houses, and opted to stay before the state bought the rest. Why is there a record of this cabin suddenly existing in City Hall?"

"He could have forged the records." Hodge was almost right. I didn't do the work, and I had Oracle to thank for that. It amazed me what a simple construct could do to a technologically-dependent planet like Earth. I doubted he'd have this much luck in other worlds.

"A gem forged the records? A dead boy did it? Or was it Maxine, who is a wanted woman?" Melanie shifted uncomfortably.

"Think of the last time we've been here. What do you remember of the lake?"

"There's that summer camp."

"Yes, and?"

"And…the cabin," Hodge said slowly with a dawning realization. Melanie's face lit up.

"Correct. We know this cabin shouldn't exist. But why do we have the memory that it does? When I try to remember, I start to picture that it's been there all along, but that's impossible, right?"

"Are you saying Mark Castle warped our memories? He warped everyone's memories?"

"Who knows? He probably did it to the entire town." That was interesting news to me. I wasn't aware I was changing everyone's perceptions and memories when I built the cabin three days ago. I checked my notification feed on the periphery in case I missed some cool reality-warping powers, but the feed sat empty. Perhaps it was an inherent ability that all Cores possessed? After all, we were literally carving the environment to our liking outside of normal time. Hell, I built the cabin in forty seconds.

Once I selected McLaren Forest and North Cedar Lake as my main dungeon, I wondered if my existence had been inserted into the people who had been to the lake before. Maybe it was some sort of defense mechanism to trick people into giving me a passing thought. A flashing light that signaled I had always been here. Even Leo Grady doubted if he was remembering the lake correctly last night.

"What did Jonas say again?" Melanie asked.

"You mean the Dungeon Core? He implied how powerful it is."

"Powerful!" Melanie exclaimed and slapped Hodge's shoulder.

"That's his word. If he is this potent with the Ways, what makes you think you can protect me?" Hodge clamped his mouth shut, and I could tell he was seething. He did not like being insinuated as weak. I watched their Resolve turn a bright orange. At least this existential realization shook them up a bit. I'll take this little win, I thought. Melanie peered into the darkness ahead.

"He's wasting our time," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"The traps. They're easy to find and very easy for you to dismantle. During training, Jonas gave you more difficult ones that dish out a hell of a punch. These traps just eat up our time to avoid what? Barely sharp swinging saw blades and lame poisonous clouds?"

"So, what are you saying?" Melanie leaned closer to her husband.

"When was the last time we heard from the others?" Coach Hodge paused for a moment.

"I guess it was back at the cabin before we went down the cellar."

"Damn it, Justin!" Melanie hissed.

"He tricked us! He made us all scatter. Perfect time to pick us off one by one." Coach Hodge pulled out the radio and tried to contact Rebecca and Kirk, but Melanie pushed it aside.

"That won't work here with all of this rock," she said.

"We need to go back to the surface. The gem is not down there."

"Hey, Rebecca's a cop who knows how to shoot a gun better than you and I. This isn't a horror movie, Mel," Hodge reassured her, but it didn't help settle her worries. Hodge and Melanie walked back to the cellar. Leo had been following them at a safe distance, realized what they were doing, and quickly withdrew behind the other tunnel leading to Trail B without making a sound.

Once their light illuminated the fork on the path, Leo raised the shotgun and aimed at the empty space, waiting for them to appear in his periphery. But Leo hesitated. Hodge and Melanie continued walking back to the cellar, and Leo lowered his gun, losing the golden opportunity to catch them by surprise.

"What are you doing, man? Shoot them!" I said.

"Shoot!" Leo couldn't hear me. He waited for half a minute and snuck behind them, always keeping a good distance and out of earshot. I didn't know why he didn't shoot, but then I realized there was no cover on that tunnel. If Leo shot at them and missed, Hodge and Melanie could easily take him out in return.

"What's that over there?" Hodge asked, pointing at the partly opened bookshelf where a little light streamed through the gap. He walked over and slid the bookshelf open.

"Mel, there's another tunnel here."

"Where does it go?" Mel asked. Hodge extended his hand out, feeling the air.

"I don't know, but it's very warm down there." They checked around the tunnel to make sure that there were no traps. When they deemed the path safe, Hodge led the way toward the sanctum. It was a short tunnel that led to large iron double doors, which Leo had already left open when he exited earlier. Melanie almost shrieked with excitement when she saw my rotting body surrounded by fiendish glyphs. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"We found him!" Melanie said.

"I told you that tunnel was a decoy!" Hodge couldn't believe it himself, his mouth agape.

"Uh, yeah, yeah. Decoy. Fuck, we found the boy."

"What's all these glyphs? It looks like…"

"The ritual circle we used on him. He's making fun of us."

"But I don't recognize these symbols." Hodge studied a couple of the marks.

"I recognized one or two. That one's protection by his head. That one by his foot symbolizes vengeance or, I guess, retribution? The language of Hell always has double or even quadruple meanings. It's meant to confuse mortals like us so we couldn't translate a Devil's true name."

"Oh, hon, there's more bodies here." Melanie pointed at the mound of corpses in the corner.

"I'll be damned. Jonas was right. The gem has been feeding on a lot of people."

"I think I counted a dozen bodies."

"Are some of them Alvin's goons?"

"I don't know. Let me take a look."

"Don't!" Hodge grabbed Melanie's elbow and dragged her toward him.

"Don't break the line. We don't know what kind of spell Mark had placed around his body. We can't touch it."

"A warding?"

"Well, he wouldn't have so much trouble carving it out. The gem might be on his body." I laughed. The glyphs didn't do shit except for mustering illusion magic to make it seem like my corpse was still moving. That it was still alive. Simple tricks to scare a delver away and make it look like the sanctum was the epicenter of a boss fight. Melanie thought so. She studied the statues, trying to recognize the demonic and human faces on them but coming up blank.

She strode back to her husband's side and unclipped the walkie-talkie.

"I'm gonna call the others. You try to figure out how to deactivate the wards," she said.

"This will take some time. This is more complicated than I am used to," Hodge said. Melanie leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"I believe in you, hon. I'll be right back."

"Just be careful."

"Maxine's dead. There's nothing here but goddamn traps, and the main cabin looks pretty safe. I'll be fine. Just focus on the wards, okay?" Hodge nodded; lines of worry crossed his face.

"Get back here quickly." Melanie smiled.

"You bet." Melanie left the sanctum, and Hodge wasted no time to study the fiendish glyphs. Leo was already hiding behind the stacks of boxes and furniture when Melanie exited the tunnel and marched toward the cellar stairs. Leo didn't know who had the van's keys, contemplating whether to follow the woman back to the main cabin or delve toward the man inside the sanctum. It made his decision a lot harder when the woman was carrying a gun. The last he saw, the other man was unarmed.

After a few beats, he muttered a curse, got up, and stalked toward the sanctum tunnels. Hodge's mutterings echoed from the chamber as he chanted some spells to aid him in interpreting the glyphs. Leo snuck behind him, inching closer and closer. He raised the shotgun and aimed for Coach Hodge's head.

"Mel? You back already?" Hodge whirled around, eyes widening when he met the barrel of the gun. He held the lump in his throat. Leo gritted his teeth.

"Keys, asshole, or I'll blow your fucking face off."

"You don't want to do that, son. Are you one of Alvin's men?"

"Who the fuck's Alvin?" Hodge paused, wondering.

"You're not gonna shoot me."

"Listen, man, I've had a really long couple of days. Whatever bullshit you have cooked up, I don't want to hear a lick of it. I offer you no sympathy after what you did to this boy. I'm giving you an out because I don't want to waste the ammo. There are other bad shit than you out here."

"I have nothing to do with this."

"Again, more bullshit." Leo glanced at Hodge's belt and saw the keys dangling there.

"Keys. Now. Final warning." Melanie reached the cabin's living room and called out, "Jenna? Are you back?" She checked the kitchen and the two bedrooms on the ground floor, but she was alone. Luckily, she didn't check the pantry where Jenna, who was now possessed, was hiding and waiting for her to make a mistake. Frowning, Melanie hailed Rebecca and Kirk over the radio.

"Becca? Kirk? Can you guys hear me?" Of course, no one answered.

"For fuck's sake, will someone answer me? We found the gem in the cabin. Everyone, meet up at my location. Hello?" She sighed in annoyance.

"Why am I surrounded by idiots?" Trying to get a better signal, Melanie marched toward the back door, calling for Rebecca and Kirk again. Her voice got louder and louder with each step.

"I swear to Astaroth himself that if you lot don't get back here in the next five minutes, I will personally petition the Seat to kick you all out of the sect—!" Melanie forcefully opened the back door out of frustration; the hinges creaked loudly as the door slammed against the wall with a heavy crack. Melanie screamed at the charred body lying on the back porch. She recognized Rebecca's scorched and blackened deputy badge pinned on her roasted flesh.

Melanie's gaze darted around the dark forest, swinging her gun around, searching for the perpetrator. She didn't want to be caught in the open, so she retreated inside, slammed the door behind her, and slid the deadbolt shut. She peered through the cubby windows, hoping to get a glimpse of Rebecca's killer.

"Hodge! Rebecca's dead!" She whispered to the radio but realized Hodge didn't have a walkie-talkie.

"Shit. Jenna? If you can hear me come back to the cabin now. Rebecca's dead. Kirk? Are you alive?" No answer. Melanie took a deep breath to stop her body from shaking uncontrollably. After she regained a little bit of her dwindling composure, she ran back to the living room, but Jenna already stood on top of the closed cellar door. A creepy smile slowly crept on Jenna's face.

"Jeez, Jenna!" Melanie grabbed her own chest, trying to calm her hammering heart. She lowered her gun.

"I could have fucking shot you, idiot! Wait…Jen, whose blood are those?" She pointed at Jenna's muddied and torn clothes, caked with the woman's own blood. Jenna's smile only broadened into a Cheshire grin as if she found the entire thing amusing. She didn't give Melanie an answer. Melanie shifted uncomfortably.

"Jenna, I need to get to Hodge. He's down in the cellar." But Jenna didn't move, and Melanie was getting impatient.

"Move, Jen." She stepped forward, trying to intimidate her, but Jenna didn't budge.

"I said move, you bitch!" Melanie snarled and seized Jenna's left arm. But then a bright glint of metal swung over Jenna's head, and Melanie realized the chef's knife plunging toward her. She raised her arm, and the blade sliced right under her elbow. Melanie let out a piercing shriek as she staggered back, clutching her bleeding arm.

"Jen! Are you crazy? What are you doing?!" But Jenna wasn't finished. She lunged forward, grabbed Melanie by the collar, and shoved the woman into the dining room. Melanie wrangled the barrel of the gun directly at Jenna's head, but the momentum was too much and too late. Before she could swing the weapon around, the back of her hand slammed onto the door frame, and she lost her grip. Jenna continued shoving her into the room, and Melanie struck her hip on the table and lost more of her balance.

It was a perfect angle for Jenna to forcefully hoist her on top of the table and mount her with glee. She slammed the knife onto Melanie's open hand with a squelching smack, pinning the woman on the table. Her prey let out another blood-curdling scream as pain filled her with adrenaline. The demon contorted Jenna's body like a circus acrobat, lifting one leg and pinning Melanie's other wrist with her foot.

Jenna loomed closer with blood dripping from her nose and lips, dribbling directly onto Melanie's opened mouth and disgusted face.

"Do you know you are the envy of the town, Mel? Do you hear what the others say about you?" Jenna asked.

"Get off me!" Melanie said.

"You got Hodge, the popular handsome jock. You got your happy ending, the white picket fence, the status, and the money. All the ladies of Point Hope would kill to be you. And here you are, pinned below me."

"Hodge! Help me!" Melanie screamed, struggling to get out from underneath Jenna.

"Let me wear your skin for the night. I've always wanted to be popular." Jenna reached behind her waistband and pulled out a small kitchen blowtorch. Concentrated blue flames erupted from the nozzle.

"Let me see it from your point of view, Melanie." Jenna held Melanie's head by the chin to stop her from moving. Then, she slowly lowered the blowtorch toward the woman's left eye, making sure that Melanie was aware of what was about to happen in the next two seconds. Melanie screeched. The torch lit her eyebrows and eyelashes on fire; her eye exploded into a juicy pulp as the heat scorched her retinas. Her eyelid and the skin around it bubbled, pulsated, and reddened in seconds.

For a moment, it reminded me of crème brûlée. And this fleshy crème brûlée just dropped her Resolve to crimson. Perfect timing. Jenna opened her mouth and vomited blood like a never-ending barrage of water out of a fire hydrant, drowning Melanie and her scorched eye. However, Jenna loosened her foot on Melanie's wrist for a split second, which was enough time for Melanie to wiggle her hand free and grab the knife. She pulled the blade loose from her own palm and stabbed Jenna from under the chin.

The blade sank into her flesh and peeked out of her gaping mouth. Eyes widening with shock, Melanie didn't waste the opportunity to push Jenna aside and mount her in return. She pulled the knife loose, and with a roaring battle-raged scream, Melanie stabbed Jenna in the chest— and didn't dare stop. Blood splattered everywhere. All over the table. On the ceiling lights. Over Melanie. All over the walls. And on the floorboards.

I counted at least nineteen stab wounds after Melanie caught her breath and stepped down the table. [You have gained 1 essence: Jenna Batten] [You have gained 150 crystals] Melanie stared at Jenna's corpse for a long beat. With the pointy end of her knife, she poked at the woman's thigh, making sure that she was dead. Jenna barely twitched.

"Bitch," she hissed and spit at her. Clutching her wounded eye, she limped toward the hatch and pulled open the door when she suddenly heard the echoing click of a gun's hammer behind her. Tessa loomed by the open doorway, holding the gun Melanie dropped earlier, which was now pointed at her. Melanie snorted.

"You're still alive?" Tessa glared at her and said nothing.

"You stupid girl. You don't have the guts to shoot—" BANG! The bullet sliced through Melanie's right neck. Blood gushed out. Tessa fired the gun again. The second bullet struck her by the shoulder and sent the woman flying into the yawning cellar door. Bones snapped and cracked with each roll down the steps, and eventually, a much more audible crack when Melanie hit her head on the bottom landing, snapping her neck in an unnatural twist. Melanie was still alive, choking on her own blood and saliva.

She tried to crawl and call out for Hodge, but her spine broke during the horrible fall. From the corner, the demon's shadow slithered toward Melanie's crumpled body. Before she could utter her final breath, the demon slipped through her scorched eye and possessed her. Within seconds, it stitched back the grave wounds incurred on the body and fixed Melanie's broken spine. However, the demon pretended to be dead. Tessa looked down the cellar from the upper landing.

Her hands were shaking, and the colors on her face were draining.

"Uh-oh. She's gonna puke," I said. Right on cue, Tessa stumbled next to the fireplace and hurled what little she had inside her empty stomach. Below, the demon made a disgusted face but quickly remembered that she was supposed to be dead and pretended to choke on her saliva until silence snuffed it out for her. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Tessa peered into the dark below, only seeing Melanie's legs and lower body splayed across the last three steps.

She almost puked again right there, but she held her stomach. Getting up, she slowly climbed down the stairs and avoided stepping on the body. Melanie's fake-dead eyes stare blankly at her. Tears welled as she looked down on the prone woman, but she wiped them off before they fell down her cheek. For a second, I thought she was going for a triple tap and revealed the demon's ruse, but that didn't happen. She dropped the crowbar, knelt beside the body, and rummaged Melanie's pockets.

But the van's keys were not with her. Suddenly, a shotgun blast reverberated from the open sanctum tunnel. Tessa grabbed the crowbar and ran toward the tunnel entrance. She struggled a little to open the gun's magazine to check how many bullets she had left. She didn't have many to spare, but I hoped one or two were enough to take Coach Hodge down.