Thunder booms above us as we traverse the catacombs beneath the church, said to connect the entire city like a system. The low light of our torches often glint on the surfaces of ancient bones, laid to rest ages ago as their structure looks frail and broken. The air is stuffy, making it hard to breathe as there were no visible vents for air to pass through. But this is the fastest way to Anthony.
"Uhm, are we sure these bones aren't gonna jump on us out of nowhere?" Darren asks no one in particular with a worried look on his face. "I mean, aren't you witches or whatever capable of just bringing these back to life?" He knuckles a skull found on the walls, which gives it a new crack on its once flawless, albeit boney, surface.
Gretel looks at him and sighs, never stopping in her walk. "It doesn't work that way." She turns back around and shines a light on the walls we pass by. "We feed on people's fears, and we amplify them which in turn allow us to conjure it to life." She points to the walls with her free hand. "These were never in the fears of the town for they had no prior knowledge of what existed beneath them. Thus, the answer to your question."
We meet a dead end with Darren and I following from behind. Hansel steps forward and fidgets with the wall, causing a low rumble around us as dust falls from the ceiling. The wall in front of us moves, rumbling as it inches its way to pave a path for us. Darkness loomed beyond it, unnerving and intimidating as I eye the abyss right before me intently. There was nothing there, but I feared the possibility of something lurking within the shadows. My fears were proven reasonable when Gretel puts a finger on her lips, signaling silence.
"Put your torches out and do your best to follow us." Gretel whispers as she kills the light on her torch.
We do the same and crouch our way into the dark path, treading carefully in the darkness. Each step grew heavier and each breath seemed to take a toll on my lungs as the darkness seemed to weigh upon me, as if it had a physical form. My stomach clenches as I feel a light hum on my nape, the silence deafening as I keep myself composed.
It was there that I saw it. Tall, crooked fingers connected to a skewered hand, impaled on a stone spike in the middle of the room. It was a faint image in the dark, my eyes barely able to grow accustomed to it as my heart races by what I saw. The body was shrouded in darkness, but the mere acknowledgement of its presence was more than enough for me to feel its killing intent.
I can smell your fear, like the fear of all that I've slaughtered before you…
I hear a thud behind me as I feel a hand grasping the top of my arm. "Something is clutching on to my leg!" Darren exclaims, panicking as a pull drags me backwards. "It's cutting into it!" His eyes looked distorted in the dark, tainted with pure fear as he looked at me nothing but despair.
A tap on my shoulder shakes me up and I find myself in the entrance of the room once more, this time with only Gretel and Hansel with me. "What the hell happened?" I scour the area for any sign of Darren but found none. "Where's Darren?"
"He's somewhere in there." Hansel points towards the darkness in front of us, the same darkness which we just passed through a few moments ago.
"Darren killed himself by panicking. You never show your fear in front of a demon like that." Gretel speaks, her voice monotone and flat. "There was nothing we can do."
I grit my teeth and hold back on the urge to lunge at her, knowing that she was my only way to Anthony. "How is there a demon like that here? In a realm of the fears of people who have no knowledge of their existence?"
"The fears that have been conjured in this realm do no only belong to you humans, Michael." Gretel makes her way past me and into a pathway that was different from the one we had passed before entering the abyss, which meant that I have somehow made it through with them. "You have no idea of what fears monsters may possess."
"More fucked up versions of themselves?" I jest, finding it ironic that monsters that find pleasure in the suffering of others could even feel the emotion of fear. Do they even know how fear feels? "Is there something out here that we need to keep an eye out for?"
Gretel grins, amused by my sudden need of warnings and precautions. "There are a few others that are not born with intention from the coven, entities that somehow manifested themselves here in the realm conjured by mother and my sisters."
"Looks like your coven isn't as great as you painted it out to be." The sarcasm in my voice is evident, stained with the irritation of the mess we found ourselves in.
"A Watchman like you knows that no black magic is immune to complications Michael Graves. Deals with powers from the Void always come with consequences." A howl can be heard in the distance followed by several more, filling up the hall we were in. "The difference in skill will always be found in one's ability to minimize the consequences."
Thuds can be heard in the distance as the howls turn into faint snarls and whimpers. The scent of dog fills the air and the noises grow louder. "Something's heading our way." Hansel speaks, now half into werewolf form.
"No shit." I pull out my revolver and brace myself for what was coming. The silver glints in the low light as a figure makes its way around the corner found at the end of the dark hallway. Holy shit.