Chapter 5

It's hard. That was the first thing I noticed when I attempted to do anything. It wasn't really pain, but more about the inability to feel, to use my own muscles.

When I finally opened my eyes, everything was blurry. I wondered if I was still in the parking lot. The general color of the ceiling was about the same, though I couldn't really tell with my vision so blurry. I tried to get up but fell back down as pain wracked my body. I closed my eyes, trying to resist the pain.

A pair of hands held my shoulders and pushed me back down.

"Don't move," said a gentle male voice, "I don't think you're ready for anything more than a light kiss."

Light kiss? How dare he presume ... I'm not that kind of ... light kiss ... kiss ... shit! It's Chris! He's hovering over ... going to steal a kiss ... don't need eyes to see ... get up!

A pair of lips touched mine. I didn't know how long, but it definitely felt far too long. I felt my right arm move and my fist connected to something hard. The pair of lips departed and then I heard a cry of pain.

"Jesus! Why'd you hit me, Pat?"

I suppose it's true that it takes seventeen muscles to smile and much less to throw a fist at someone's face. Case in point, it was much easier for me to hit him than to speak.

"Daddy?"

Is that little Vicky? Oh, of course it is. Who else would call me Daddy? Oh, I wish I can see better. It's all so blurry.

All of a sudden, I felt something grab my left arm. Power flowed all through my body like a broken dam. It was refreshing at first. Then it kinda hurt a little, reminding me of the time when the seal on Mom's tricorne power was broken. Then it hurt a lot and my body jumped twice, my eyes opened wide, before I sat straight up and screamed like a manic banshee. For in that split second of pain, I was reliving the torments of Ashmedan. Torments I thought I had left behind.

Despite the numbness of my body, I struggled a little bit when Chris put his arms around my body, holding my slightly flailing arms pressing against my sides. Then his arms transformed. It turned greenish and slimy before his hands merged to form a single tentacle which wrapped itself even more around my body. In front of me was the giant, circular maw of Harmidas, the monster with rows and rows of sharp fangs lining its circular maw. It never consumed its prey in one bite. It preferred to place its prey dangling just inside its maw and then it will close those rows of razor sharp teeth one by one. It will start with the deepest row of teeth, so the feet will be chewed first.

Then the second, when the calves will break. Next, the thighs and waist will be turned into mush, and I will feel all the pain of being chewed alive. Finally, the fourth and fifth, which will sink hundreds of its fangs into my breasts, my wings and my stomach, pulling me slightly in as its flexible gums tighten, drawing the tips of its fangs inward. It will appear as if it was sucking me in, as its lips closed in around me, leaving only my head outside.

But no, that wasn't going to be the end. I will not be granted a quick death. As I scream and scream, its maw will continue to chew, piercing skin, shredding flesh and breaking bones. I will be aware of everything. Harmidas wouldn't care that it was chewing its own tentacles, as it couldn't even feel pain. For it was slightly emphatic, nowhere near enough to the level of full telepathy, nor did it provide him with sentience, but just enough to experience the sensation of others.

It was a creature of pleasure, like many of Asmodeus's subjects. Unlike others, it could only feel pleasure through pain, other's pain. It can tap into its prey's mind, sharing a small fraction of their pain, but it was never enough, it needed more. So it will prolong its prey's torment, amplifying it by sending the small fraction of the pain it harvested back into the mind of its prey, so that the pain would only grow with the passing of time.

It once took sixty days just to completely chew the lower half of my body, and another twenty days to complete the job. Then it would spit out what was left of my body: the head and a third of my upper spine, which would've been completely bare of skin and flesh. In the end, my head would have a small hole at the top rear, a result of the explosion due to the unbearable echoes of pain on the fiftieth day.

My eyes open, but despite the horrific madness in front of me, my eyes was looking at nothing. As the monster lowered my legs to its maw, my mind went back to Yenne velt. Oh, how I longed to be returned there. And at the center of Yenne Velt, in Vanity Meadows would be Mother's calming face, waiting for my return with a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. Then she would pat my head and told me how proud she was of me.

"Mother, look at me. Look at me! Would you come and take me back? I swear I won't defy you again, please take me home, Mother," I cried, knowing deep in my heart that Mother heard me, but refused to save me so she could teach me a lesson.

"Snap out of it," came a rough male voice right before I felt the tip of the tentacle around my body slap my cheeks. So very odd, Harmidas never bothered to hit its prey before. The pain from such an act was so very minute that it wouldn't even be able to sense it.

Then I noticed that the tentacle wrapped around me was very loose. Seizing the chance, I gathered my strength and broke off the stranglehold on my own arms and body. My wings were broken in several places, but nothing that couldn't be healed over time. I raised my right hand, pointed it at Harmidas's face and snapped my fingers.

"Take that, monster!" I laughed hard at seeing him flailing his tentacles as his face (including his giant maw) was consumed by flames.

I looked to the sky and thought, Wait for me, Mother. I'm coming home. Then I leaped up to the red sky of Ashmedan.

"Ow!" I cried as my head hit something hard, causing me to close my eyes in pain. I reopened my eyes and found that I was back in my living room.

Why is my plasma TV melted and covered in foam? And why is Chris still spraying my home entertainment system with my emergency fire extinguisher?

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY PLASMA?!!!" I yelled the moment my butt landed on the soft couch.

"ME? It was you who snapped your fingers and set fire to it! Can't you see that I'm trying to snuff the flames?" he said in defense. Then he murmured something under his breath that clearly sounded like 'ungrateful bitch'.

"What the hell do you mean by me setting fire to it? I bought it with my first paycheck," I asked when he stopped spraying the extinguisher foam.

He looked at me, then turned to look at the melted plasma TV before returning his gaze on me.

"I think you were having a nightmare. You were struggling so much in my arms and shouting in some strange language. I slapped your face to wake you up, but you pushed me off, snapped your fingers and the plasma TV went up in flames. All the time, your eyes were vacant, as if your mind wasn't really there."

"So it was all a dream?" I asked.

He nodded. "I believe so." He stepped forward, dropped the fire extinguisher and gently took me into his arms.

"What was it that you were dreaming about? What was so horrific that it spilled into reality?" he asked as he ran his left hand along my the soft tresses of my shoulder-length, blood red hair.

"I ... I was back in Hell. In Ashmedan. I was calling for Mother, begging for forgiveness, begging for her to return, to take me home, to Yenne Velt. Home where all my sisters are."

"You have one sister here. Shouldn't that be enough?"

"You won't understand," I sobbed, "It's different. When I was there, in Yenne Velt, it felt right. I felt good, to be with my sisters. Eventhough I haven't spent much time with them, it was like I've known them all my life. I was actually happy, even when one of them attempted to kill me and I had to kill her so I could return. Back in Ashmedan, I begged and begged Mother to listen to my call, to take me back to Yenne Velt. Every single day I begged her, and in that dream, I begged her again."

"That was the strange language I heard?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Can you repeat it for me?"

"No, it was too foreign for me. Definitely not French or German. I think it was probably some Middle Eastern language. Sure sounds like it."

"Something like Arabic? Or Egyptian? Hebrew?"

"No idea. I've never learned any of those. The only Egyptian I've ever heard of was from The Mummy. You know, I probably should sleep with you from now on. You scared the poor bo-ow!" He couldn't finish his sentence as he soon found my fist in his kidney.

"Damned lech!" I said as I pushed him off me and kicked him in the shin.

He chuckled, "Hah! You kick like a girl!"

"Oh really? Now would you please ... stand ... just ... like ... THAT!" I delivered a strong kick aimed at his thighs with all my might.

A kick which fell short. Chris obviously anticipated it because he moved to the left just as it was about to hit.

Chris taunted, "Neh neh, can't get me."

"Stand still, bastard!" I yelled as I chased him around the living room. Well, actually I only chased him around the couch.

"Only if you'd give me a kiss," he laughed as he lingered on the other side of the couch.

"No chance in hell, pervert!" I started running to the left, which he compensated by running to the right.

"Then I guess you'll just have to catch me," he grinned from the other side of the couch.

"Oh, you asked for it," I said as I feinted right before going left.

Then I stopped half-way through. No, it wasn't because Chris saw through my feint. Actually, I was questioning myself for playing along in this game.

The important thing right now is to see whether Tell and little Vicky's OK.

"Where are my sister and son?"

"In her room. Are we stopping already?" He looked pretty down when he said that.

"I'm not playing your game, Chris," I said as I turned and walked to Tell's room.

When I opened the door, I saw little Vicky sitting on the bed next to Tell, reading the story of Cinderella to Tell's unconscious form. He looked up at me when I entered the room and said, "You OK, Daddy? You were screaming."

I walked up to him and ruffled his hair. I said, "Don't you worry, little one. I was just shocked, that's all." Then I turned serious and asked him directly, "Now what do you remember about what happened at the parking lot?"

"Parking lot?" he said, looking confused.

I knelt in front of him. Holding his waist firmly, I said, "Yes, remember? It was after you watched a movie with Aunt Tell. Then there was a big dog blocking your way, what happened after that?"

With very animated hands, "Big doggie sooo eeee-bil! He stabbed Aunt Tell then throw her away. Big doggie looked at me. But Mister Blue Toyota said he'll take care of..." I just had to stop him at that point.