by Michael Todd
The water lapped gently along the River Walk as the barge moved slowly through. A low growl came from Kabbus’ throat, and his mouth curved into an evil grin. All around him were chaos and screaming, but in the real world, the one he could see through his eyes, not a single building had fallen. The only lives taken were the ones he took with his own tentacles.
Along the street people screamed and yelled, falling to their knees in terror. However, Katie was not one of them. She was not flying through debris, and she was not crying in the sky. There was no dead family, no deceased old man, or even any brick building lying in ruins. Everything was as it had been just ten minutes before when she had taken flight to fight him as he seeped along through the river, his tentacles whipping wildly.
In fact, she was doing nothing but lying on the ground, her face contorted in terror as she had a waking nightmare she couldn’t snap herself out of.
11
Pandora coughed, waving her hand in front of her face. She couldn’t tell if what was in front of her was fog or dust and debris from the violence going on at the River Walk. She narrowed her eyes, taking a careful step forward, seeing figures dancing like shadows in the pure white obstructing her view. She looked up at the sky, seeing nothing but a bright purple hue. “I must be in another dimension, but how in the hell did I get here?”
She scratched her head. “Holy shit, he actually slapped me back to another dimension. That bitch is hardcore!”
A light breeze blew around her, whipping her hair out behind her. The fog floated along with it, clearing the air. All around her was a beautiful glistening city, the windows spotless, the ground shimmering, and the air clear of all pollution. It was like being in the perfect place, with nothing out of the ordinary except for her. She turned around, finding groups of people smiling and laughing, their skin shimmering in the light. They were completely naked, but there wasn’t a single bit of shame in it.
Then it dawned on her. This was the alternate dimension she had been to twice before, the one that she had tried hard to get Katie to stop in. “I’ve been here before. This is the place I truly believe was made for me.”
She smiled widely, figuring she’d gotten the better end of the deal if she’d ended up there without any idea how to get back. She stepped forward, reaching out as the others reached for her. The light of the sun reflected off the person in front of her and she squinted, putting her hand up to cover her face. “Wait a minute…this…this isn’t right.”
A frown quickly replaced the grin on Pandora’s face as she got her first good look at the men and women around her. She stepped forward, carefully placing her hand on the man’s chest. It was hard, like plastic. It curved perfectly, creating pecs and a flat stomach, but there was nothing more than a small nick for his belly button. As her eyes dipped lower, she gasped, watching as his crotch curved under and around. It was completely smooth.
Pandora shook her head, pulling her hand back. “Wait, where is your dick? Where are your balls? Where is your fucking belly button?”
She freaked and turned, running straight into one of the women. Her smile was painted on and she could see the roots of where her hair attached to her head. Pandora stumbled back, taking a good look at the females coming toward her. They were all as smooth as Barbies. Their breasts curved around like small mountains with no bounce, no detail, and no nipples. Their crotches were smooth plastic, just a small indention in the center to show she was a woman.
Pandora took a deep breath and put up her hands, shaking her head. “No, no. I made a mistake. Seriously, I…”
As she pointed to herself, she felt her skin. It was harder than she remembered. She gasped and looked down at the plastic sheen on her breasts. “No. Oh, God. No!”
Instantly she began to tear at her clothes, pulling her shirt off and ripping down her pants. She was as smooth as a Barbie too, only she didn’t even have the crease. Her crotch looked like a plastic pair of panties. She screamed, putting her hands over her eyes.
Katie came running up, grabbed her hard by the shoulders, and began to shake her. “Pandora, wake up. Snap out of it.”
Pandora shook her head wildly, more panicked than before. “I’ve got no coochie! I’ve got no coochie! It’s all plastic… It’s all…”
Katie pulled her arm way back and slapped Pandora right across the face. Pandora gasped and grabbed her cheek, slowly looking up at Katie with angry eyes. “Bitch, are you out of your damned mind?”
Katie shook her hand, which was stinging from slapping Pandora that hard. She hadn’t wanted to do it, but she didn’t know how else to help her. And from the sound of it, she was in her own personal hell. “We both are out of our minds.”
She turned, putting her arm out for Pandora to see. Pandora dropped her hand and blinked, then stepped forward and looked around. She was incredibly confused. The beautiful city, the clear crystalline skies, the plastic people—they were all gone. She wasn’t in the alternate dimension anymore. She was back on the River Walk in San Antonio with people screaming and wailing as they ran around her freaking out.
She sniffed, swearing she could still smell the warm plastic of her body. She looked down and began to grope herself, letting out a sigh of relief when she grabbed her crotch and found a soft mound instead of hard plastic.
Pandora spun to look at Katie. “I was in the other dimension, and there were thousands of beautiful naked people. But then I looked closer, and their bodies were made of plastic. They had no dicks, Katie. They had zero dicks.”
Katie raised an eyebrow. “That sounds terrible!”
Pandora shook her head in disbelief. “But that wasn’t the worst part about it. I ripped off all of my clothes, and I was made of plastic too. My crotch was a pressed piece of plastic in the shape of panties, and not even fucking cute ones.”
Katie walked over to her, rubbing her head, and put her hand on Pandora’s shoulder. “You’re safe now, and so is your crotch. We were both having waking nightmares.”
Pandora nodded, taking a really good look at Katie for the first time since she had come back from the dimension. Her eyes were dull, her face was dirty, and she looked absolutely terrified and exhausted. It had been a long time since Pandora had seen her in that kind of shape. Quickly she whirled, remembering that Kabbus had been on the barge. “Where is he?”
Katie shrugged. “I don’t even know how long we’ve been in the nightmare. When I came to, he was gone, no sign of the barge on the river.”
Pandora went over to Katie and they stared at the water, no more trace of the Leviathan or the black fog that crept over the river haunting them. Both were on the verge of tears, and both were holding back, trying to be strong. Pandora gently grabbed Katie’s arm, turning her toward her. “Come here.”
Pandora put her arms out and Katie fell into them without a thought. They stood there in the crowd, hugging each other, not caring how long it took to break themselves free from the spell that still fogged their minds. Both of them felt the terror in their chests slowly begin to fade, and their heartbeats slowed.
Katie pulled back and looked at Pandora. “Thanks. I feel a little better.”
Pandora nodded. “Me too. We need to help the others. We need to wake them from these nightmares.”
Katie sighed. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Timothy sat on the edge of his chair, biting his fingernails and watching the screens. Sean sat next to him in his wheelchair, slowly moving back and forth rhythmically, trying to calm his nerves. There was still no demon signal, no incursion, and no call from the general or Katie. From the satellite feed, though, they could tell that things were chaotic; nothing had changed. They were desperately trying to get any type of reading at all from San Antonio.
Sean slammed his fist on the wheelchair’s armrest in frustration. “I just don’t get what the fuck is going on.”
Suddenly the phone began to ring loudly, making them both jump. Timothy scrambled forward, grabbing the receiver and putting
it to his ear. “Hello?”
He heard a sniffle and a sigh before Katie began to speak. “Timothy, it’s me. Pandora is with me.”
Timothy put his hand to his chest and sank back into the chair. “Oh, good God Almighty, girl. You are going to cause me to just drop dead right here in the dungeon one day.”
Katie chuckled lightly, but he could hear the exhaustion in her voice. “I’m sorry. It’s been wild.”
Timothy shook his head. “What in the hell is going on over there? We aren’t seeing demon readings, but we could tell there is complete chaos. Are you all right?”
Katie let out a deep breath of relief. “I am. I’m okay. I think. Physically, Pandora and I aren’t hurt.”
Timothy raised an eyebrow. “Uh oh. Not physically, but mentally?”
Katie shook her head. “We’ll be okay. But there is definitely something wild going on in San Antonio, and I think this is what was affecting Sonora too.”
Timothy furrowed his brow. “What is it if it’s not a demon? I mean, we aren’t really equipped for attacks by other countries. That kind of thing goes to the general.”
Katie paused for a second since there was someone screaming in the background. Timothy listened closely, hearing Pandora speak, only her tone was soft and caring. “Is…is Pandora hugging someone?”
Katie growled in exhaustion. “That is a very long story. Yes, she is, but you would have to be here to know what the hell that means. Trust me, she isn’t doing it just to do it.”
Timothy shrugged. “I won’t go signing her up for UNICEF, but it’s weird.”
Katie shifted the phone to muffle the noise. “It is weird, but what is going on is even crazier. We have another Leviathan. It has woken and has been slithering along, starting somewhere in Sonora and heading through San Antonio. The last I saw of it, it was on a barge heading down the river.”
Timothy leaned back in his chair. “Good lord. And what is this one’s name?”
Katie’s breath picked up as she spoke his name. “Kabbus, and he doesn’t even need to touch you to turn your mind upside down. If he gets close enough while you are defenseless and stuck in your own mind, he will feed off your fear and leave little human gray freaked-out statues behind.”
Timothy shook his head, staring at the screen. “Oh, my God. This is not good. What do you need me to do?”
Katie looked out at the river. “He went down the river on a barge. I was hoping you could pick him up on the satellite and track him to find out where he is going. We need to be on top of this.”
Timothy sat up straight. “Right. I’ll do my best.”
The barge blew its loud horn again as it pulled to the edge of the river, slamming into the side. Its large bottom hit the floor of the river and scraped along, the whine of the steel echoing across the land. Chunks of dirt fell into the water and trees tipped as the barge finally came to a stop. Kabbus snarled, his tentacles going wild, reaching for the shore and grasping the soil and stones along the edge.
The black fog cascaded down the side of the barge and out onto the grass as Kabbus slithered onto land, his whole body thumping onto the ground below. Without hesitation, he moved toward the highway in front of him, seeing no cars for miles. As he grew close, something shimmered in the air and his body shook. He came to an abrupt stop.
A portal sparked as it opened up in front of him. Beelzebub grunted as he pulled it open and stepped out, smiling at the large Leviathan in front of him. At his feet, small mews caught his attention and the demon whipped his head down to see sweet fluffy kittens running toward him, their fur flapping in the wind and their noses bright and pink. They reached his legs and jumped, more gathering by the second. His stomach churned as they gripped his scales, trying to climb into his arms. They were so cute and fluffy.
Beelzebub covered his mouth, gagging, and stepped back, kicking the kittens off of his legs. They rolled off, bouncing across the ground, and began to play. They pounced on each other, making the most adorable squeaking noises anyone had ever heard. Beelzebub gasped, beginning to freak out. “That’s…that’s disgusting. What… I can’t look at them. They are just so…so…cute. Oh, fuck.”
He stumbled back, falling to the ground as the portal closed behind him. He put up his arms as they charged toward him, jumping up on his legs and bouncing toward his face. He knew they had one mission, and one mission only: to lick him all over with their little sandpaper tongues as their squishy, furry paws tromped around on his face. It was the most torturous thing he could have ever imagined, even worse than being torn apart by Lucifer, and he knew exactly what that felt like.
Beelzebub shut his eyes and yelled, stopping for a moment and remembering who he stood in front of. “This isn’t real. It’s not real.”
Struggling, he sat up and pulled himself to his feet. The kittens were still there, clinging to his body through his every movement. He cleared his throat and swallowed hard, forcing his hand forward and bowing low. The adorable kittens continued to stick to him as he moved. “Oh, Kabbus the horrific, Kabbus the terrible, Kabbus the Nightmare, spare me. I am not here to do you harm. In fact, I am here for the opposite. Do you not remember your friends, the demons? We come from a world that is beyond most humans’ comprehension of a nightmare. We are on the same team. I am a fan of your powers.”
Kabbus tilted his large head to the side, watching as Beelzebub did his best to stand still with the kittens still haunting his mind and clinging to his body. Beelzebub kept his eyes clenched shut, trying to drown out the sound of the kittens with his thoughts and reassurances. After a few moments, though, the sounds stopped, and he could no longer feel their tiny claws scratching his scales.
Very carefully, Beelzebub opened one eye and looked down at his body, the kittens having all disappeared from around him. Slowly he straightened, clearing his throat and relaxing his muscles. The kittens had been nothing more than a waking nightmare for Beelzebub, something he had not been looking forward to when he realized he was going to be dealing with the Nightmare Leviathan. Nonetheless, it was over for the time being, so he could now focus on why he’d come to meet Kabbus in the first place. He knew one thing, though: kittens would not be on his dinner menu anytime in the near future.
Kabbus stared at him with his gray eyes, and Beelzebub felt that if he’d had a soul, the Leviathan would be peering into it at that very moment. He cleared his throat and turned to the side, pointing out on the road. A loud beeping rang out and Kabbus turned as fast as he could, alarmed. His tentacles flailed wildly as he watched a huge semi backing up toward them.
Beelzebub put his hands out. “There is no need to be frightened. The eighteen-wheeler is here to help you. It will take ages for you to get around like this, and you are too valuable and powerful to be walking around on your own…tentacles.”
Beelzebub looked over as two men, their eyes glowing bright red, jumped from the front cab of the truck and hurried to the back, opening the back doors and pulling out the ramp. They then stepped to each side and got down on one knee, lowering their heads in reverence. “You see, they work for me.”
Kabbus stared at the vehicle curiously for several moments before shifting his gray eyes back to Beelzebub. The demon jumped slightly and lowered his head, knowing that looking straight into his eyes was reserved for special occasions. He did not want the kittens to come back. “My minions will keep you safe. The truck is lead-lined. The humans and angels shouldn’t be able to find you. It will block all signals searching for you from above or below.”
Kabbus moved closer, leaning to the side and looking into the large bed. There was a frightened human chained to the back and several large pillows for Kabbus to lie on. His fog slithered up the ramp and hovered in front of the human. Beelzebub watched as her eyes went gray and she seized up, curling into a fetal position. Her face was frozen in fear, and her body no longer moved.
With a smile, Beelzebub bowed again. “This truck will take you to a base that is filled with people you ca
n feed on. You will be able to eat as much as you desire, and when that runs out, there are billions more all over the planet. We can help you acquire them without the hassle you just went through in the city.”
Kabbus breathed steadily as his tentacles relaxed, the energy from the human’s fear surging through him. Beelzebub watched as he began to slither forward, moving up the ramp and into the back of the truck. His body covered the human and he turned around, folding his tentacles beneath him like a cat and lying down on the cushions.
The Damned quickly shut the doors.
12
A portal opened slowly in the center of the base. Carefully, Katie stepped through, Pandora clinging tightly to her arm. They were both shaken up very badly, worse than they had ever been after any battle. Katie and Pandora huddled next to each other for several moments, just staring around the base. Katie shook her head. “It’s almost like I can’t tell what is real and what isn’t. I am terrified that what I am looking at is nothing more than a nightmare. I am waiting for the horror to begin.”
Pandora gripped her tighter. “I know. That was the strangest and most horrifying thing that has ever happened to me. It all felt so real. It even smelled real, and I could hear the wind blowing in my mind.”
Katie shivered. “This is something we don’t know how to stop. And if we can’t even be in our own right minds, it could attack us at any time and we would never know it. Those poor people; they died absolutely terrified.”
Pandora sighed. “It’s almost as if him killing them was a gift—a stop to the horror that was circling through their minds. If it did stop. I hope it stopped for them in death.”
Tears gathered in Katie’s eyes and she put her arm over Pandora’s shoulder. “I’m sure it did. Try not to think about it. Why don’t you get inside?”
Pandora nodded. “Can I? I would feel much safer.”
Katie let go of her. “Of course.”