In terror bathed panic, both scrambling in the frigid waters, the boys felt something grab their ankles. A hidden malice took hold and would not let go. They took a huge mouthful of air in full expectation that this would be their final breath.
They felt themselves plunging, while gripped and dragged, through the frozen fluid darkness at almost the speed of sound. Lungs now empty and all hope fading with them into the shadows of the deep, on a subzero liquid elevator straight to hell. The swirling icy death plunge grabbed them tightly, what felt like bones crushed and lungs fully depleted. With eyes rolling back, their young bodies gave way any remnants of the land of the living.
And then, as if all was just a dream, Austin and Beau lay flat on their backs in a room without light. Surrounded by a circle of burning candles, they began to realize they must be somewhere under the lake. And they were not alone. What could only be described as speaking in tongues, only guttural and evil, could be heard all around them, quiet at first then increasing in volume.
Next thing they knew, each boy was suspended in the air, shackled by invisible restraints, unable to move. Greater candle light gave way to sights not yet seen and two boys appeared near the centre of the room. They appeared terrified and shaking. Sweaty and beat up, with visible lacerations to their faces and arms. The venomous chants became so loud that the boys covered their ears. This gave way to silence and then only one voice was heard. A wailing, clicking yet guttural flow rang out, as though to instruct the two boys. The sound of animals, maybe dogs, were audible. Barking mercilessly and aggressively in repetition.
Without warning and without weapon, the two boys lunged at each other. Hands on shoulders, the one used his head to break the others nose like a ripe tomato. Cheers and taunts rose up, spectating this bloody event. The boy with the bashed in nose grabbed a handful of his opponents hair, gripping and ripping so much that flesh and blood came with the roots. One of the dogs got loose and jumped on bloody face boy, with jaws to his neck and he was brought down like a bag of broccoli. As the hound ripped through his neck, feeding on his spinal cord, the other boy stomped the kids face until brain and bone became one.
Raucous victory screams hissed eerily in the air. Into the light for the first time appeared two.. creatures. Beasts. Aliens. They grabbed ahold of each boy, one live and one dead, and dragged them elsewhere, out of sight. These monsters were easily eight feet tall and covered in scales. No eyes, nor ears, nor mouth were perceptible. Very muscular and sinewy, and one was a dark, crimson red with a white slash down his back. The other a bone white, equally with a crimson slash down his back.
Austin and Beau, still fettered, were lower to standing position, unallowed to move. From the shadows in front of them emerged another beast, fluid in motion and more menacing with each step forward. This one was all black from what they could see. Scaly, calloused and otherworldly. He stopped inches from their faces, and began barking their intimidating dialect. He was not without face, but nothing moved when he spoke. And nothing made sense, until the on-site surgical upgrade eventuated.
In the demons grasp were two steel rods with little jagged arrows on both ends. With one smooth motion, he slammed it into Beau’s left ear into his brain and out through the right eustachian tube. A sharp protrusion out his ear hole, dripping with warm blood. Austin began weeping but his brain piercing was about to commence. And then, just like that, the language of the beasts was translated to English within their ears. Their restraints were released and they fell to the floor, at the foot of this black serpent of misery.
“You will not speak for I have no time for your questions or weak pleas. I will break you. Nothing more and nothing less. You are abandoned. Alone. There is no one coming for you. If you perish within your indoctrination, you will be reanimated and forced to continue.”
The beast began to turn to walk away, then he put his massive hands on the tops of their heads, and hissed. “The concept of faith and hope will be the first to go. When I reveal to you the corpse of your friend and that of your baby brother to your eyes, your only option will be to gouge them out.”
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