The Corruption Within

by Ty Griffin

  “Fourth!” she shouted.

  “Yeah, that one we saw together showed back up and tried to offer me power again,” I admitted ruefully.

  “Four demon encounters, one potentially evil boss, one potentially sadistic customer, two suspicious cops breathing down your neck, and a gangster demanding information?” The pitch of her voice rose with each item she listed.

  The mention of Barnett caused my stomach to tighten into a rock-hard ball, but I tried to keep guilt off my face. “Yeah …”

  “And you think I’m the one in danger?” I started to argue, but Kayla started speaking over me. “No, you need my help. And this may be my only chance to investigate a real mystery, and you are not going to take it away from me!”

  I nodded my head slowly. “Okay, okay. Just promise me that you’ll dip out if things get too bad.”

  She waved a hand in dismissal and said, “Should we go back and break into Gabe’s house? See if there’s something there worth finding?”

  I held up both hands toward her in a slow down gesture. “Maybe we should go talk to the cops before we commit any more crimes. If we tell them what we know, maybe they will let Paul go. Maybe they can investigate Gabe, too, and discover the truth. I don’t really like Tilley and Lark, but they obviously know Gabe, so maybe they will listen to us.” Even as I said it, I realized how little I believed my own words. My experience with cops had given me a fair amount of skepticism regarding their interest in pursuing the truth. But they were the ones holding the keys, and if Paul was innocent, we were going to need their help getting him free.

  “Yeah, okay,” Kayla said, and I thought I heard a similar tone of distrust in her voice. She stood and started walking to the door. “The station isn’t that far, just ten or eleven blocks. We can just walk it.” She opened the door and started to leave, not even looking to make sure I was following her.

  “Kayla,” I called from behind the bar.

  She stopped halfway out the door and looked back at me. “What?”

  I swept my arms out at the restaurant around me. “I still have to work.”

  “Oh, right!” she said. “Oh, crap! I have to work too! Okay, let’s go in the morning?” She turned and left quickly, rushing toward the studio across the street.

  “Seven?” I yelled as the door closed behind her.

  She didn’t stop as she stepped off the curb, but turned to walk backward and gave me a thumbs up with an excited smile. Then she turned back around and hurried across the street.

  Chapter 10

  ◆◆◆

  Gabe made it into work mid-afternoon, before the dinner rush started. He tried to start a conversation a couple times, but eventually gave up after getting only short, mumbled responses from me. I knew I should be more engaging. I should have been trying to get him talking, see if I could maneuver him into giving away some incriminating clue. But all I wanted to do was keep as much space between the two of us as possible.

  I wasn’t an investigator, and I knew myself well enough to know that I was just as likely to reveal my own secrets as I was to discover his. After all, I had sold him out to a drug dealer that morning.

  Conflicting emotions pressed on me until I felt my shoulders curl forward as if trying to form a protective bubble. I wanted to find a quiet place outside with enough space that I didn’t feel like the walls were closing in on me. I wanted to go upstairs and take a hot shower to scour away the grime clinging to my soul. I wanted to run away. The cloud swirling in my mind made it difficult to know exactly what I wanted. All I knew for sure was that I did not want to spend more time talking to Gabe.

  The shift rolled by slower than I would have liked, especially considering how difficult it was to do most everything with one hand holding my aching side. Taking out the trash at night was a particularly enjoyable experience that ended with me covered in spilled garbage and cursing in frustration. Eventually, though, the night did come to an end, and Gabe and I said good night.

  I debated for a moment if I was going to follow him again that night. I was hurting and tired and wasn’t sure how well I could keep up sneaking around behind him. But I decided to at least try to get more information before talking to the cops in the morning.

  I watched through the window as Gabe turned right out of the restaurant, heading toward Walshack Street just as he had every other night. I turned the bar light off on my way to the back door. I had left my keys up in my room and didn’t want to risk losing Gabe while I grabbed them, so I propped the back door open with my apron and stepped into the alley.

  I had learned Gabe’s pattern well enough to know I could turn left down the alley, walk three blocks, and take another left. If I timed it right, I should catch up with Gabe on Walshack without having to actually follow him there.

  I kept my head down and eyes straight ahead as I walked down the alley, trying to remain inconspicuous. I jumped when a gravelly voice spoke from behind a dumpster. The sudden movement sent a bolt of pain through my side, and I let out a small curse.

  “Have you come to reconsider my offer, Ambivalent One?” the harsh voice rasped.

  I peered through the dark and saw the creature that had called himself Veikr. He was hunched down beside the dumpster, his long talon-like fingers resting on his knees and veiny wings tucked behind his back.

  “I told you to stay away from me,” I growled, trying to sound more dangerous than I felt.

  “I did not come to you, Ambivalent One. You came to me.”

  “I did not come to you. I was just walking. And now I will keep walking.” I turned to continue down the alley.

  “I can give you such power, human. Do not refuse me lightly. I assure you, you want what I have to offer.”

  If anyone had been in that alley, I am sure I would have looked insane as I shook my head violently, like I was trying to shake the voices out of my head. I wasn’t entirely sure that wasn’t what I was doing. I made it to the end of the block, ignoring the unsettling creature following behind me. As I turned left down the next street, I heard a scrambling and the rush of wings. Then the shadowy creature called from behind me, “Do not go down that street, Ambivalent One!”

  I turned to shout something witty and defiant over my shoulder, but cut short when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something large and grotesque standing in the middle of the street. I froze mid-motion, trying to comprehend what I was seeing.

  The creature had a round, fat, scaly body with maybe a dozen needle-thin legs reaching to the ground. Its chest, if you want to call it that, was a series of ringed segments, like an earthworm. Instead of a head, the creature’s chest tapered into a suckering disc of teeth.

  I stood, frozen in horror as the creature’s body bobbed and swayed as if inspecting me. Its mouth didn’t even move when I heard its slithering, repulsive voice say, “You can see me, human?”

  In a flash, before I had time to realize it was moving, the creature had me pinned against the wall. Pain exploded through my side as it leaned its weight against me, shoving my chest against the bricks. It pushed its leech-like mouth so close to my face that I ground my cheek into the brick wall, trying to get away.

  The creature clicked its teeth together, and the sound sent chills through my body. “You will give me your soul, human, or I shall eat the flesh from your bones.”

  I tried to fling an elbow behind me, hoping to fight it off enough to make a run for it, but my elbow just sunk into the creature’s side like a large foam roller. Just then, Veikr flew around the corner and landed on the sidewalk a few feet away from me.

  “I warned you, Ambivalent One,” Veikr growled. “I warned you not to come down this street.” He glanced at the creature salivating over me. “Now it looks like you will be eaten.”

  “Veikr!” I shouted. “Help me!”

  “Help you, Ambivalent One? How would Veikr help you?”

  “Go away, little fly,” bellowed the creature pinning me. “This meal is mine.”

  “Veikr,
please!” I begged as foul-smelling slobber dribbled down the back of my neck.

  “If only you had access to extraordinary power. Then maybe you would be able to kill this nasty … thing,” Veikr said in mock disappointment.

  The creature leaned its weight against me, and my chest felt like it might pop like a grape under a boot. Then it shifted its disgusting face toward Veikr and said, “Leave this place. You are disturbing my meal.”

  “No, Veikr,” I yelled. “Don’t go. Help me. I need your help. Please!”

  Veikr’s canine ears twitched in eager attention. “You must invite me in, human.”

  The leach-like spirit snarled and roared, “Back off, Veikr. Or you receive the whole of my attention.”

  Then it put its lecherous mouth on my shoulder. I screamed as dozens of tiny, needlelike teeth pierced my shirt and skin. I felt my body begin to weaken. Like a water balloon with a small hole, I was being emptied. Drained. The monster was sucking out my blood. I tried to push off the wall, tried to wiggle and squirm away from it, but it was too strong and too heavy. The edges of my vision started to turn black, like I was trapped in a long, dark tunnel, and I started feeling woozy. In a panic, I realized I was about to black out.

  Feebly, I mumbled, “I invite you …”

  I don’t know how to explain how it felt when Veikr the demon possessed me. He—poured himself into my soul. Imagine a pool of cold, thick, old motor oil all black and full of grimy particles. Imagine someone was running an electric current through the oil, not enough to be lethal, just enough to make your muscles spasm and skin prickle. Now, imagine slowly lowering yourself into the pool naked while every school bully, every asshole boss, and every dissatisfied middle-aged woman yelling for the manager stood at the edge of the pool pointing and screaming every fear and insecurity you’ve ever had. It felt like that. I was the pool of oil, the electric current, and the bullies were poured into me.

  It felt wrong.

  The next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground at the spidery feet of the leech thing. I looked up and saw it swing its entire body back and forth as if trying to dislodge a squirrel from its back.

  “Run.” I heard Veikr’s gravelly scream. Well, heard isn’t quite the right term. I didn’t hear him with my ears. My brain registered his voice inside my body, as if the sound waves traveled not through the air but through the cells of my muscles and bones, beginning in my stomach just below my ribs. I knew, without a doubt, the voice was not in my head, but I also knew it was not coming from outside of me, either. The sensation made me want to vomit.

  “Run,” he screamed again.

  I pushed myself up to my feet, sliding against the wall until I was clear of the monster. I took a couple careful steps, hoping to not draw its attention again. I made it five steps before it swung its eyeless face toward me and let out a thunderous growl.

  Now, I was not in what anyone would consider Olympic form. I mean, I don’t carry a whole lot of fat on me, but I’ve never been one to spend a lot of time lifting heavy things, and the only real cardio I had gotten in the last several years was trying to stay ahead of some armed badges chasing me. On the other hand, adrenaline is a hell of a drug, and when I’m good and scared I can flat out move. Let me tell you, at that moment I was terrified. I ran.

  I turned the corner, grabbing the brick with one hand to help slingshot me down the alley, and ran. I heard the monster’s numerous legs clattering against the pavement as it chased after me. I could almost feel my heart pumping additional blood and oxygen to my muscles as I ran. Each step stretched a foot further, and I covered more ground quicker than I had ever before. Still, from the clicking sounds of its legs, I knew the creature was gaining on me.

  If I could only just get back to the bar. I didn’t know why I thought I would be safe there. I just knew that it felt safe. It was, in fact, the only place I had ever felt safe. And just like any prey animal, my instinct was to return to where I felt safe.

  I made it down the block and to the next street. I didn’t even think to look for a car as I sprinted across the street. Getting splattered across the asphalt sounded preferable to letting that thing catch me again.

  A nearly blinding light came from my right just before I made it back to the sidewalk, followed by the screech of tires and blaring of a car horn. A second later I heard a thwack of soft impacting hard and a snarling roar of rage come from the monster. I didn’t slow down enough to look, but I hoped the car had bought me a couple more seconds. I covered the remaining hundred feet to the back door of Gabe’s quicker than I would have thought possible and slammed into the door, grateful I had left it propped open rather than now having to try to fumble for a key.

  “Nooo!” screeched Veikr in my guts. “Not here. We must go anywhere but here. This is a bad place.”

  I snatched the apron out of the opening and slammed the door closed behind me. I stood there panting, leaning all my weight against the door, bracing against an onslaught. I didn’t know if the creature would be able to tear through the door in a feat of supernatural strength, or if it even needed to use a door, but I was sucking wind so hard I knew I couldn’t run another step.

  An instant later I heard the clattering steps of the monster approach the door, and its slimy voice reached my ears as if there were nothing between us. “Human prey,” the creature said, “you cannot hide there forever. Come out and let me finish my meal. If I have to find you another time, I will be sure to consume you slowly and painfully.”

  “We must leave this place, human,” Veikr chimed in. “This is a bad place. A dangerous place. We cannot remain here.”

  “Shut up!” I yelled. “I am not going out there.”

  A little ball of sickly warmth began growing in my stomach. It grew hotter and hotter, beginning as discomfort and growing into searing pain. It quickly filled my chest and radiated down into my extremities.

  “You will not speak to me that way, human,” yelled Veikr. The pressure of the heat built up in my chest, pushing against my ribs. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and doubled over, trying to protect myself from spontaneously exploding. “I am Veikr!” the demon screeched. “I am capable of doing terrible things to you. You would be wise to listen to my words, Ambivalent One.”

  A deep red light, the color of smoldering embers, burst from my chest. I screamed and fell onto the floor. The light danced and flickered on the walls, as if cast by a large bonfire. “Stop!” I pleaded. “Please stop!”

  Slowly the light receded through my chest, and the heat in my chest dwindled away until it was just a tiny pressure in my gut again.

  I heard the voice of the monster through the metal door. “I will come back for you, prey. You cannot hide from me forever.”

  I didn’t respond. I just lay on the floor shaking. After a few minutes, I was able to get my breathing under control, and my heart rate leveled out. When I stood, my legs felt wobbly and my entire body trembled.

  “I think it has left now, human. Let us leave this place,” Veikr said.

  I ignored Veikr’s command and stepped into the dining area. I walked straight to the bar and grabbed the first bottle of liquor I could get my hands on. I didn’t even bother with a glass. I just twisted off the cap and took a swallow straight from the bottle. I held my hand out in front of me and watched it tremble for a few moments. Then I took a second swig before setting the bottle down on the bar.

  “Human, I said it is time to leave this place,” came Veikr’s demanding voice.

  “How do I know that thing is gone?” I asked.

  “It is gone. Its kind does not have the patience to wait for a particular prey. They like to cast a wide net.”

  I took another pull from the bottle and persisted. “But how do I know it is gone?”

  “It is gone. And if it isn’t, you now have me.”

  “You?! You didn’t do a damn thing to help me!” I shouted, already feeling a bit of the liquid courage.

  “No?” Veikr asked, condescens
ion in his voice. In an instant, a wave of pain washed over me, knocking me to the floor. I had forgotten about my bruised and aching ribs in my panic to escape. The liquor bottle followed, tumbling and shattering on the floor in a shower of spirits and broken glass. “I kept the pain away, did I not?” Veikr said. “I believe that was helpful. And your running; have you ever run so fast before? I did indeed help, Ambivalent One.”

  “Your help was making me run away faster? That was the power you offered?” I asked, incredulous.

  I had the distinct impression of Veikr’s presence inside me shrugging, and the feeling sent nauseating shivers through my body. “You survived, did you not?” He asked.

  I stood, a little unsteady, and brushed shattered glass from my clothes. The movement caused my head to spin a little (I was always a bit of a lightweight), so I leaned with both hands on the bar and shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

  “Thank you for helping me, then,” I said, trying to communicate more gratitude than I felt. “But I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think I want this anymore. I want you to leave.” Silence hung in the air for an eternity. Cautiously I added, “Please?”

  After another couple seconds, the demon finally responded. “No.”

  “No?”

  “No,” he said again, flatly. “I am now your guest, Ambivalent One. You invited me in and you cannot now force me out. I am here, and you are now mine.”

  “I am yours?” I asked, fear and disbelief evident in my voice.

  “Yes.” he drew the word out in haughty self-satisfaction.

  “Oh god,” I whispered. I could hear—or, maybe more accurately, feel—Veikr laugh as I picked up a bottle of whiskey and started chugging.

  Chapter 11

  ◆◆◆

  I woke in the morning to a violent, ear-splitting screech inside my head. I sat up with a start and immediately regretted it. My head swam and stomach felt like it would leap up through my throat. I rubbed my hands over my eyes, trying to force them open, but the light streaming in the windows was agonizing. I shut my eyes tight, focused on making the world stay still and the contents of my stomach stay inside.