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...Tease, tease...here's Part 3, it's a short one as I wanted to draw out the agony for the final part...


...Adam remembered. There had been a demon, sharp teeth, blood and an inferno of rage. Tomorrow he could die, not today. He had signed the papers to be such a sacrifice, saving his family and village in the act. That was then but now he was all for life. The monster’s gaping maw had invited him at the end to enter and so he had. No thousand souls inhabited The Wheel. There was only one, and it was hungry. Adam fed it with his anger and his will to live. It was lulled by his weakness and so it sheltered him, and let the beast enter its vile heart. For that was what Adam had become; survival at a cellular level infused him, sustaining him with the lowest of needs. Blood, death and victory were ever his warrior’s calling, and in The Wheel he found a willing aide.


“Hello...”

The Hawker twitched. That voice. He recognised it.

“It’s been a long time, has it not?”

“Who are you?” The question was a stalling tactic as he tried to pry the human’s fingers loose.

“You know me,” said Adam, “and you knew me. Cease your efforts to escape...it just won’t work.”

“Very clever,” the Hawker said, as he reached for his cane. The blade hidden inside would be very useful around about now.

“A-a-rgh!”

Pain speared into his legs and he watched dark blood drip free. Adam’s hands had taken tighter hold, the digits boring relentlessly into flesh.

“Tut, tut...” Adam clicked, now upright. The Hawker screamed as Adam withdrew one hand before plunging it into the chest before him. His other hand now free, he wagged one bloody finger in admonition at the female by The Wheel.

“Standing very still, would be a good choice, right about now...”

The power in the voice halted her. Where was the boy? If he lived he was certainly not alone in there. She giggled once, before pulling free a wickedly-curved dagger from behind The Wheel.

“Flensing...such a lovely word,” she crooned, “I know others, but we can start there...”

Now how long ca I string out posting the fourth and final part for...?

Not long..I can asure you

....and th-that's all f-folks

Nicely done! That last expected twist at the end was certainly not what was expected...

Rayo,

I think the cutoff date for transfers from the old forum was January 13. You will have to repost your other entries.

And here is Part Two, one more to go...


Johnny shouted again. Adam was slumped in his chair, his body jerking and spasming. Occasionally a cry would escape his tightly closed lips, in tune with a more violent movement. One of the women screamed as Adam’s bowels voided in a noisy splutter, the stench quickly reaching Johnny.

“What have you done!” he demanded of the woman, who watched him avidly.

“Me? Why nothing, you span the Dark Wheel. You were warned.”

He reached for her, but snatched his hand back as sharp nails scored his skin. Her bodice was no longer concealing that which it held beneath, flesh tearing its way to freedom. Johnny saw her face change, her mouth widening and filling with sharp teeth. Lambent yellow eyes glared balefully from a face whose skin cracked and suppurated as he watched.

“What the hell are you?”

“An impartial, and very hungry judge,” she sneered, “who will make sure this act is played to its full end.”

A clawed arm lashed out, smashing Johnny in the chest and away from the wheel.

“We wait,” hissed the monstrosity.

*

Clarice was frightened. What had started as innocent fun had now become nightmare. She liked Johnny, but not enough to stay, and so she ran. The flap of the tent twitched as she reached it and a fist slammed into her face, knocking her back into the darkened tent. Blood pouring from her nose, she saw the hawker enter, his hat discarded and any semblance of humanity stripped away.

“And where,” he sneered, “do you think you are going?”

One muscular arm encircled her waist and she was forced bodily back to her chair.

“Oh do stay,” hissed the thing on the stage, “the fun is only just beginning...”

*

...it had disappeared. The fin was no longer visible as it cut through the water. Something bumped against his leg and Adam thrashed violently away. A dark shadow passed below him and the water became stained. Pain wracked his body and he was jerked down, bobbing back up like some fishing float as he was released. It was close now, a hideous head broached the surface and one dead eye gazed at him. As it twisted away, he saw the remains of his left leg hanging from its serrated maw.

This is nothing more than a dream! Screw it! He stopped fighting and let himself sink. Down he went, the water clearing to give him an unimpeded view of the beast as it flashed towards him, its mouth open in expectation...

*

The Wheel spun ever more quickly, light shying from its edges. Darkness crawled along its circumference, nipping and teasing at an ever weakening luminescence. Now it grew, thin tendrils snaking out, before being caught by the whirling structure. Persistent, the darkness won, spiralling away from the wheel, touching gently against the hideous and slavering creature by its side. Now snake-like it made its sinuous way to the remaining humans, latching greedily onto them and sucking them into its deadly embrace.

*

...no! Adam would have none of it. He refused to acknowledge the sawing of his flesh, the pain of separation from his soul, all of it. Anger became his life blood, and he fought. The water was a dark cloud, from whose obscurity darted his demonic attacker. The hand which punched out was crushed and shredded between razor-sharp teeth. Remnants of legs which thrashed in an attempt to obey him were struck again and again. He should be weakening, but pure rage boiled through him. Bubbles formed as heat drove its way past resisting liquid and he roared his challenge as the monster thrust towards him...

*

“We have a live one here,” said the hawker, his fingers trailing down Adam’s sweat-streaked face, “the poor boy just doesn’t know when he’s beaten.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” commented his female counterpart, as she kicked Johnny’s motionless body to one side, “it seems he wants to live...but they all give in eventually.”

Her laughter rattled in her throat. Unaccustomed to such levity her body rebelled, her action ending in a cough and hacking phlegm.

“There is...shit!”

The Hawker stared down at the fingers which dug into his thigh and the sightless eyes, now open, in Adam’s face. He bent the first finger back as he tried to release the boy’s grip, yet Adam’s other hand now locked onto the demon’s flesh, and slowly the human began to stand.

A melding of minds, a fusion of souls, either could describe Adam’s joining with the demon. It was neither of these things. It was a convenience. Adam wanted blood, the demon to escape, and both of them saw an opportunity in the other. Johnny and the girls were forgotten. There was a promised betrayal implicit in the union, but it was a risk worth taking.

Adam took a step back, his fingers hooked into The Hawker’s chest. The man had to follow the boy as he tugged playfully at the open wound before him. He twisted his prize round to position him once more in front of the woman.

“Stop!” hissed The Hawker.

“Are you talking to me?” asked Adam, “Or that?”

“To both of you.”

“You really should pay more attention to your marks,” commented Adam, squeezing his fingers closed, “especially when you are near a war-zone.”

“What are you rambling about?” asked the woman, shifting the blade in her hands.

“Well,” continued Adam forcing The Hawker to his knees, “you assume that you are the only ones hunting tonight. Weak humans are your prey and you saw what you were meant to see.”

A tortured groan caused the woman to spin round. Johnny leant against The Wheel, idly spinning the structure one way and then another. His flesh had greyed; the scratches from her nails oozed no blood, but wept a clear fluid. He patted his right cheek, squeezing flesh back together.

“Johnny.” acknowledged Adam.

“Here Boss,” replied his companion, “ready and willing, as usual. Don’t know about them though.”

Adam looked to Clarice and her friend, “Just sleeping,” he said, “we can take up where we left off later. However before that, we have a job to do.”

“A job?”

“Good. You were listening.” Adam said, slapping The Hawker playfully across the back of his head. “There have been rumours, talk of demons getting above themselves, which of course they just wouldn’t do.  Our superiors asked us to investigate, to prove them and the stories wrong. So, here we are. I do admit we got a little side-tracked. These humans are just so juicy.”

“What?” the woman screeched, lunging for Adam.

“Oh, dear,” he said, easily avoiding her attack by using The Hawker as a shield. “Johnny, would you mind?”

“A pleasure,” whispered Johnny, the cloth of his shirt ripping as he flexed his shoulders, “I owe this bitch a slapping...”

“Johnny, Johnny,” admonished Adam, “language please.”

Johnny laughed as he shook the cloth free, exposing the serrated spine beneath. He hunched over, his jaw extending to its true form and filling with teeth. Long arms hung to the floor which ended in razor-sharp claws.

“Who are you?” she screamed as the first claw ripped into her flesh.

“We,” commented Adam as he dragged The Hawker back towards The Wheel, “are employed to rid this world of vermin. Our masters pay us well, but the truth is that we love our job.”

He grasped the edge of The Wheel with his free hand and pressed The Hawker’s face hard against its surface. Whistling to himself, he span the circular structure, its jagged edges tearing flesh.

“You know,” he said dropping the mangled mess to the floor, “people do us an injustice. We take out the trash, as it were, ensuring that it is disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.”

“Now would be good, Johnny,” with a grunt, the saurian muzzle closed over the woman’s neck, bones crunching as he pulled her towards his Master.

Adam spun The Wheel faster, watching intently as dark tendrils slithered free once more. He swatted them towards their new victims and smiled as they latched on to the demons before him.

“A Thousand souls you said,” he mused, “that leaves room for nine hundred and ninety-seven more.”

Within The Wheel, the feared betrayal had taken place, yet there was a peace-offering; two souls at least worth tormenting.

*

“Clarice,” Adam splashed water onto the girl’s face, watching her with concern.

“Where am I...the man...The Wheel!”

“Now, now,” Adam comforted, “you fainted when we got in there. Johnny and your girlfriend left in disgust.”

The girl looked around at the bustling crowds. She sat, half-propped on a bench, with her head resting in Adam’s lap.

“You want me to take you home?”

She nodded, happy that she had at last found one of the good ones.

Adam helped her to her feet, one arm round her waist to support her. The cry of a hawker caused him to look back and he saw the man twirl his cane in recognition.  He smothered a laugh. That Johnny, he thought, just loves his job.