It did not take much to get Otrahun running from the venue of the demonic concert. The horde of revelers was not wearing masks but brandishing their own fucked up faces that were without any skin or flesh. A jawbone went flying by his head, thrown by an overenthusiastic ghoul. He knew if they managed to hit him, they'd take him back and skin him alive for Oak's drums.
And what the fuck was that about? Oak seemed like a top dude back in the McDonalds, which seemed like an eternity ago. He stumbled on something that was protruding from the ground and for a second he thought he was going to fall and get trampled by the small army of demons that were chasing him. But then the woman grabbed his arm and hauled him up.
"Second time!" she raised two fingers in his face, "second time that I am saving your sorry ass."
If he had breath and a quick retort, he'd have answered her, but he had neither so he tried to keep up with her. The landscape in front of them was dotted with crests and troughs of hills and small valleys, there were incomprehensible geometric structures in the distance and the sky was the color of frozen blood.
"Is this really hell?" he managed to mumble as they ran, "this looks so different from all the versions of hell I have read about."
"Hell is only a state of mind," she replied, "focus on the problem at hand."
"What happens if they catch us?"
"Exactly what you have imagined."
"Shit," he said as she pointed towards a building and he ran after her.
He did not have much time to examine the building, but it shifted in shape and size as soon as he fixed his eyes on it. There were edges to the building that seemed to melt into each other as they vibrated right in front of his eyes. He thought he was losing his mind, but then again, anything was possible in this place. And what the hell was this place, surely not hell.
They both set their backs against the cool wall of the building to catch their breath.
"Look, you have to tell me something about whatever is going on here. I saw you back in the white room when you injected me with something. What was that about? Whatever it is, I want out of it. I want to go back to my boring life."
The woman grinned at him. "Really? Aren't you curious about this place or about what happens next?"
"Fuck curiosity if it gets me killed. How do I get out?"
"You don't till you find us what we are looking for in here."
"I just got chased by skull faced demons who were going to skin me alive, do I look like I give a fuck about whatever it is that you are looking for?"
"There is no one else who will get you out of this place. You are stuck, for better or worse. We need those files and they are here somewhere. Find them and I will come and find you."
"The sin records that your old coot of a boss talked about? Shit, this is a wasteland, lady. There are no files here. Files are supposed to be in computers, do you see any computers here?!"
She moved closer to Otrahun and took his face in her hands. "They are here. I know it, and you know it too. Find them and we are square. You will save the world from the coming apocalypse and we'll load you with so much cash that you will never need to work another day in your life."
He looked at her. It was the first time he noticed that her eyes were a deep aquamarine color that seemed to shift and change the more he looked at her.
"I will do it on one condition," he said, "I need to know your name."
"I'll do you one better. Call me whatever you like, once you have the files."
Otrahun looked around him. The geometrically shifting buildings were still there. Their colors leeching out into the sky and each of the buildings seemed to vibrate with an alien energy.
"I guess I can start looking in one of those buildings."
He turned around and the woman was gone.
And in her place stook Oak with a pair of drumsticks in his hands.
"Why did you run, Mr. Yaway?"
And what the fuck was that about? Oak seemed like a top dude back in the McDonalds, which seemed like an eternity ago. He stumbled on something that was protruding from the ground and for a second he thought he was going to fall and get trampled by the small army of demons that were chasing him. But then the woman grabbed his arm and hauled him up.
"Second time!" she raised two fingers in his face, "second time that I am saving your sorry ass."
If he had breath and a quick retort, he'd have answered her, but he had neither so he tried to keep up with her. The landscape in front of them was dotted with crests and troughs of hills and small valleys, there were incomprehensible geometric structures in the distance and the sky was the color of frozen blood.
"Is this really hell?" he managed to mumble as they ran, "this looks so different from all the versions of hell I have read about."
"Hell is only a state of mind," she replied, "focus on the problem at hand."
"What happens if they catch us?"
"Exactly what you have imagined."
"Shit," he said as she pointed towards a building and he ran after her.
He did not have much time to examine the building, but it shifted in shape and size as soon as he fixed his eyes on it. There were edges to the building that seemed to melt into each other as they vibrated right in front of his eyes. He thought he was losing his mind, but then again, anything was possible in this place. And what the hell was this place, surely not hell.
They both set their backs against the cool wall of the building to catch their breath.
"Look, you have to tell me something about whatever is going on here. I saw you back in the white room when you injected me with something. What was that about? Whatever it is, I want out of it. I want to go back to my boring life."
The woman grinned at him. "Really? Aren't you curious about this place or about what happens next?"
"Fuck curiosity if it gets me killed. How do I get out?"
"You don't till you find us what we are looking for in here."
"I just got chased by skull faced demons who were going to skin me alive, do I look like I give a fuck about whatever it is that you are looking for?"
"There is no one else who will get you out of this place. You are stuck, for better or worse. We need those files and they are here somewhere. Find them and I will come and find you."
"The sin records that your old coot of a boss talked about? Shit, this is a wasteland, lady. There are no files here. Files are supposed to be in computers, do you see any computers here?!"
She moved closer to Otrahun and took his face in her hands. "They are here. I know it, and you know it too. Find them and we are square. You will save the world from the coming apocalypse and we'll load you with so much cash that you will never need to work another day in your life."
He looked at her. It was the first time he noticed that her eyes were a deep aquamarine color that seemed to shift and change the more he looked at her.
"I will do it on one condition," he said, "I need to know your name."
"I'll do you one better. Call me whatever you like, once you have the files."
Otrahun looked around him. The geometrically shifting buildings were still there. Their colors leeching out into the sky and each of the buildings seemed to vibrate with an alien energy.
"I guess I can start looking in one of those buildings."
He turned around and the woman was gone.
And in her place stook Oak with a pair of drumsticks in his hands.
"Why did you run, Mr. Yaway?"
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