Three entities dragged their way through the gates of fire and brimstone, leaving a heavy trail of black smoke behind them. It was a long walk to get to their leader, and they entertained themselves by pushing one another, roaring with dry, high-pitched laughter. Their massive, toothy mouths stretched as they enjoyed seeing the other fall and rise again.
They were met by the gatekeeper that was as tall as the gates. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, fools," the gatekeeper's voice had echoed around them, its grey eyes staring down at all three of them, from each of its own.
"Just do your job, lowlife," one of the chernos replied, still chuckling, "I'm sure it's easy enough."
The gatekeeper didn't reply, but its third eye continued to stare at them as they floated away, until they disappeared in the thick mist.
The chernos shut their mouths tightly when they came to a sudden halt in front of a vast expanse of darkness on the edge of a cliff. They stared into the abyss, and waited for their master to speak, as usual.
"State your reason for your presence," a downright deep voice had said slowly. A voice so deep that no other life form could speak like it.
"My lord," a cherno spoke as it struggled to levitate, "It's him again. He keeps showing up, troubling us and--"
"Stay above the ground," the voice said sharply, almost like it was insulted.
"Y-yes, my lord," the cherno stuttered out, "But we have done what you had asked us to do--"
"I didn't ask to do it. You had no choice but to comply. Choose your words with great judgement when you speak to me." His voice was mixed with the souls he had consumed, never having a constant tone.
Those words made the cherno tremble, realizing that it could die in any second. It was almost as if everything it said was wrong and disrespectful. It wanted to speak again, but it had lost its voice, and it won't be able to obtain it anymore after a while. It knew that this creature was merciless, living in the deepest, darkest fears beyond imagination. Not only to humans, but to any other entities that existed. Too hideous for reality, a being that spawned from the flames of hell, hiding from the light, and welcomes the darkness more than anything. It lurks in the innermost core of souls, and to the gateways of any mind. Not only does it intend to kill, but its thirst to make the sanest men scream from terror has no end.
No one knew what their master looked like, and they did not question his appearance. His appearance never mattered; it was his deeds, his intentions, and his merciless mind that put them off.
"My lord, if I may, I could speak for us," another cherno said, sounding more collected.
"You may not," it snapped. "It shall continue to speak for the rest of you, as it had the audacity to speak in the beginning. If you dare to be bold, then you shall not let it dissolve within you. If you are to be courageous, be it until the end, otherwise, stay silent and listen intently."
The few seconds of their master diverting its attention elsewhere was enough for the cherno to speak again, "If I may continue, m-my lord,"
"You may not if you fail to speak properly."
Once again, the speck of confidence that it built up was turned into nothing but fear. When silence greeted them again, Chernabog started to grow impatient. It reached out to the trembling cherno. "This," it whispered soothingly but still in a menacing manner, "is your final warning. You know that there are more chernos out there that could easily do the job for me, not only that, but chernos that are more intelligent and careful with their choice of words. Don't forget what I have taught you. I am being kind enough to give you three a chance after being so foolish. Your loyalty is the only thing that's keeping me from taking your cores right now. Speak or be my bland meal." The movement of its long tongue could be heard, with its moist mouth opening and closing.
"Yes, my lord," the cherno whispered back. It once again lit up its wet candle of courage, "He came once again, interfering with our plans. One of us was threatened when a human was supposedly going to jump off a bridge. We were all waiting at the bottom, itching for the new body, but he stopped the girl, and followed her when he felt our presence. The same goes every time the sky darkens to night, he doesn't rest. We are no match for him, my lord."
"We don't need to kill him," Chernabog stated, leaning back, "He isn't a threat. We need him. As long as one of you has entered the mind of the young one, he will come back to them, he knows he will, eventually. When he does, you'll know what to do. He had grown some kind of affection towards those humans, which is," he laughed for the first time, "Quite strange. Very strange, indeed. I've also seen him lend a hand to one of the cherno, which was, I thought, the last thing he would do."
The chernos looked at each other, their minds puzzled. "Would. . .Would that cherno be punished?"
"No, there would be no need to. That useless cherno can do whatever it wants. It was supposed to die anyway, yet he saved it. I can be reasonable," it chuckled darkly, "Let him have a companion that shares my blood, maybe then he might warm up to our kind. We won't have a problem any longer if he will finally work with us."
The three continued to struggle to float in silence, and when Chernabog watched them for some time, "You may leave."
"My lord," the quiet cherno spoke up, "We're fighting against death. If you may, please lend us your strength to carry on."
There was a few seconds of silence. Hidden in the darkness, Chernabog's pointed temples were pounding, his sharp teeth beginning to show from curling his lips into a snarl.
"You are brave to ask something so bold," he smirked in the darkness. "My, how much you three have grown. Not a single one of you begged to turn away from death before. You embraced it, and were joyous to go after serving me. I believe I know the reason why it's different now."
"It's nothing like that, my lord," the cherno spoke very carefully, "By all means, we would never stray our loyalty from you."
"You would be surprised if you think that cherno that was named Johnny would be disloyal to me. It may have a 'friend' that it is blindly willing to serve, but I would always be in its mind, in its soul. It would still serve me, and only me," he replied with a tone of boredom, "It didn't call out to me when it was dying. It found a way to continue to live, knowing that he could possibly kill it the moment he sensed its presence. Its determination to live was the one thing that had opened your minds that the possibility of staying was open, as long as you think. It may not be a robust cherno, but it was smarter than any of you." Just when the cherno was about to respond, he added, "How dare you even ask me that?"
"I wouldn't dare, my lord. . . please forgive me," the cherno choked out, still bowed down. When it stared into the darkness again, a pair of red eyes stared back, squinted from its wide grin.
"Don't you worry," it whispered, "I will."
With a blink of an eye, the cherno was swallowed whole, its black smoke disappearing instantly. The other chernos shook in fear. "We'll be on our way, my lord."
"You must," it growled, and the ground shook.
The gatekeeper's gaze followed the two chernos struggling to float as they went to leave the gates. When they were only a foot away, they both collapsed in a pool of their own black smoke, and ceased to exist. The gatekeeper grinned at itself.
It has been a week and a half since Doug had left, and things weren't going too well back at the mall. Elaine was still bedridden, and had lost every inch of her appetite to eat. She only had cereal and milk once a day, as well as a few sips of water. Her chubby cheeks were flattened out, showing slightly prominent cheekbones, and the aching of her head happened too frequently. Penny fought multiple nights of sleep to watch over the sick child. The heavy feeling of hopelessness was weighing her down everyday, holding her back on doing her part for the group, but everyone understood the situation, especially Ramsey. He and Matteo went fishing everyday, but sometimes brought back small, dead animals. Paige was the one who tended their fruits and vegetables, and she was surprisingly doing it well. "I'd want to be a gardener as a job someday," she had said. It did nothing but bring the aura to a different level of low, knowing that the term 'job' is history now. It was Emelie who cooked meals and cleaned the mall now, which wasn't a problem for her. Henry assisted her everyday, and the two slowly developed a bond, sharing their stories with one another. Emelie wanted to be productive for the group, and to help out in any way possible. Penny looked more like a zombie than a human, and she looked more ill than Elaine, Emelie had thought.
There was never a day that she didn't think about Doug, dreaming that he would appear downstairs when she wakes up one morning. The guilt of improperly saying goodbye to him was the one that bothered her days the most. She thought he would come back, and she expected that he would after a few days--at least for her. Even a quick visit would suffice, so that she can apologize to him and hug him one last time. She was grateful that Henry kept her company, with all sorts of stories about his hometown, Korea, and how he moved to the States. If it wasn't for him, Doug would've been running in her mind all day.
"You should get some sleep soon," Elaine pouted.
Penny shook her head and forced out a croaking chuckle, "No, I'm fine, honey. If ever you want anything--anything at all, just please tell me. . .You need to eat more."
"And you need to sleep more," Elaine replied jokingly, but her smile dropped when Penny wasn't amused. "I'm sorry for worrying you so much. . . but I really don't have the appetite to eat."
Penny bit her lower lip, "It's not your fault. I just wish there was a way you could get better quicker. If only we had medicine."
The little girl reached out, placing her small hand on top of Penny's. "I don't think this is something that medicine can cure, Penny. I feel really weird."
"It's because you're ill. Very ill." She shifted her sitting position, feeling the soreness of her legs on the cold floor.
Elaine was about to shake her head, but she kept still and gripped the bed sheets, not wanting to worry Penny any further. After a few knocks on the door, it swung open and there stood Emelie and Henry with their usual downcast expressions everyday.
"Penny, it's time for you to rest," Emelie said with a pat on Henry's head, "We'll watch Elaine tonight." They've been telling Penny to rest since the past week, but she kept turning them down. There was a time when she grew annoyed with the repetitive question, and even snapped at Ramsey.
She stared up at them from her puffy eyelids. No thoughts were present in her mind, as she was lightheaded from the lack of sleep. Averting her eyes towards Elaine, she rested her chin on the soft bed. Her eyelids shut by themselves, drawn by the weight. She was awakened when a hand was on her bare shoulder. "Penny, you trust me, don't you?" Emelie was sitting on the floor with her.
Penny's small eyes were red and she blinked from the itchiness, "I just. . . I don't know what to do anymore."
"Take care of yourself. Elaine wants that," Emelie rubbed Penny's back, "Elaine will get better, she has to. We all want that, and we all want to help her, and you."
Without hesitation, Penny wrapped her arms around Emelie, pinning her arms to her sides.
"It's alright," she smiled in response, relieved that Penny had finally said yes, "Now, go to your room. Paige's already there. She brought you some fruits to munch on."
"Would you like some fruits, hun?" Penny shot an optimistic look towards the little girl, but Elaine turned away slowly, the corners of her mouth glued downwards. Penny knew what her answer was, yet she took every chance to ask. She straightened her long legs and quietly walked out of the room, looking back at Elaine before closing the door behind her.
"She needs to stop worrying," Elaine sighed, "She worries too much."
"Yes, we know. We're worried too," Emelie looked at Henry, who was oddly silent. "Is everything okay with you two?"
Henry nodded, but Elaine did the opposite. "Henry thinks I'm a different person now," her back curved down.
"Because you've been acting really different," he replied, sitting next to her on the bed, "But I still care for you, and I still want to play and talk to you, but I don't think now is the right time."
"Because I'm not eating?"
"Yeah, that's one of the reasons," Henry nodded, "The things you say while asleep are really creepy."
"Is that so?" Emelie looked at Henry, "Things like what?"
Henry shrugged, "I couldn't really understand, but it sounded really, really creepy. Like a different language."
"I had dreams I've never had before," Elaine pulled the sheets up to her thighs.
"Really now?" Emelie asked, leaning towards Elaine slightly, "What dreams?"
Elaine looked at Henry, who shook his head disapprovingly. "I don't want to tell."
Emelie's legs flattened on the floor when she leaned back. "Oh, I see. . .Are they bad?"
"Not exactly," her response sounded more like a question than a statement.
"I hear her," Henry said, "I hear her mumbling while sleeping."
Emelie narrowed her eyes as she thought for a second, "What were you saying in your dreams, El?"
"It wasn't me," she turned towards Emelie, furrowing her faint brows, "Someone else was there. He was the one speaking. He was nice."
"Doug?" Emelie caught herself off guard by mentioning his name, "I mean. . . Do you think it was Doug?"
"His voice sounded different, but similar," Elaine thought hard, "I'm not sure anymore." She rubbed the sides of her head. "It's hurting again."
"Let me massage it for you," Henry suggested with a smile.
"No, thank you," Elaine's cheeks hinted a light shade of red. "I'll sleep it off."
Henry studied her face, making sure if she was lying. When he decided, he said 'okay' and lied down next to Elaine, pulling the covers up to their small chins.
Emelie watched the two children sleep peacefully that night, but the urge to slumber won over. The moon's reflection shone brightly on her closed eyelids, and she couldn't ignore the light peering from the dark. She woke up to see that Henry was still on Elaine's bed. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she got up, ignoring the numbness in her body. They were both sleeping peacefully, with Henry's arm around Elaine. Wanting to lie down on Henry's bed from the other corner of the room, a shrill gasp escaped from her mouth. Her eyes widened in realization.
Henry was only hugging a pillow.