Chapter 9

Jonathan and Clancy: Now

     The change was so sudden and so unexpected that for a moment
Jonathan simply froze. His mind was unwilling or possibly unable to
process the transition. Plain bright walls had been replaced by
volcanic rock, the antiseptic aroma of fresh cleaned floors had become
the reek of brimstone and decay. He glanced beside him to where Clancy
was now kneeling, his head in his hands, and screaming. Jonathan was
shocked to find he could see through the other man to the wall of
black stone on the other side. Jonathan looked down at his own
translucent hands; they looked like a photograph printed on
transparent paper. "Clancy, get up!" he said. " Something's happening!
Look at your hands!"
     The other man stopped screaming and stood slowly, staring down at
his transparent limbs in confusion. "This is different." Clancy said.
"It isn't like before." They were in one of the many cells of the
abyss and Clancy explained in a mad rush all of the horrors that had
happened to him in a similar room. Clancy told him about the dragon
and about the worms that wouldn't die or allow him to die. He told
Jonathan about the hooded figures with their counterfeit heads. Once
the man began speaking it was as if a dam had burst in his fragile
mind. He had been trapped inside his own head since the day he emerged
from the restroom stall, able to hear, see and remember but unable to
speak. The worm had been controlling him as though he were a puppet
made of meat instead of wood: a tortured marionette trapped inside his
shattered mind. Now here he was again, in the dark, but not really
here it seemed. Suddenly he dashed away from Jonathan and ran to the
mouth of the cell to look down into the chamber beyond. The dragon was
still there but no longer chained to the floor. The enormous bonds
that had once restrained its many legs were broken; now only one chain
remained. This final chain was attached to a huge collar that
encircled the beast's massive neck. Looking at the dragon now from his
vantage point above, Clancy noticed new details, a row of odd,
flesh-colored growths breaking through the glistening red scales on
the dragon's neck. Clancy was so intensely focused on the sight before
him that he didn't even notice Jonathan had joined him at the cell
opening until the other man spoke. "Those are heads, human heads."
Jonathan's voice was monotone, machine-like. His matter-of-fact tone
indicated that the man was in some degree of shock; Clancy could
identify. Jonathan had been correct though, as Clancy looked closer he
saw that the growths were in fact faces pressing through, their mouths
moving as though gasping for air, their eyes rolling wildly. Jonathan
cursed beside him. Jonathan had just recognized the faces if those six
heads, they were faces he had seen in black and white photos in his
uncle and father's box. They were the faces of murderers. As they
watched, the scales split apart and a seventh head began to push
through. On the ground below the dragon the hooded figures began to
pour into the space from each side and climb onto the dragon's body,
covering every part of its massive frame with a writhing blanket of
darkness. The final chain was pulled tight and beginning to warp. The
entire place was filled with the thunder of the dragon's hideous
laughter. There was a sudden flash of red light and as quickly as they
had arrived in the hellish place, Clancy and Jonathan found themselves
back in the hospital room. The worm was gone leaving behind only the
dragon on the floor which they hurriedly covered again with the bed.
Jonathan's voice was shaky when he spoke. "I'm all for getting out of
this room." Clancy agreed.

Laura: Now

     She had failed. Laura had never felt so defeated and utterly
powerless in her life. She hadn't saved any of the women, hadn't even
been able to save herself. Even the girl who had bolted from the
cellar ruining their one chance at freedom hadn't made it out of the
house. The trucker had retrieved her, dragging her unconscious body
back into the room. Laura had watched that unfold before blacking out.
After killing Nancy the trucker had slipped into an odd sort of
trance. He had slumped over in his chair, his head lying against his
chest. Drool hung from his lip and chin every few moments he would
twitch and shudder then grow still again. As she watched his head flew
up, eyes bulging in there sockets. His skin began to crack and redden
in a pattern that seemed very much like fish scales then the flesh
regained its normal texture and color and his head rested on his chest
again.
     For what must have been the hundredth time Laura struggled to
free her arms from the straps securing them to the table. The right
side was fully immobile, her left arm she could move but only
slightly. She focused her strength on that arm. Gradually the strap
began to loosen. She forced herself to ignore the raw pain in her
wrist and struggled even harder. At last her left arm pulled free; it
was bleeding and cramped but it was free. She pawed frantically at the
strap restraining her right arm and soon freed it as well. Glancing
occasionally at the still motionless trucker, Laura freed her feet and
as quietly as possible she crawled from the table to the floor. Her
chest ached horribly with every step but she was mobile and that meant
she had a chance. Now she paused with indecision. Should she attack
the man? Should she sneak away? How far could she get before he awoke
and pursued her? The man stirred in his chair but did not waken from
his weird state. Laura forced herself not to consider the possible
meaning of the scaled pattern that had briefly covered the trucker's
neck and cheeks. Deciding on a course of action, she mouthed a silent
apology to the slain women and swiftly exited the room. She followed
the hallway beyond the library back to the living room area where she
had been forced into the trapdoor. Laura found the front door
padlocked shut and found all the windows barred. From the library  a
bellow of anger erupted. The trucker was awake. She had to hide. In
the kitchen nearby she found a knife, not a large one but it was
better than no weapon at all. Taking the knife, Laura squeezed out of
sight behind a nearby cupboard and waited.