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Angel walks down the hallway of the hotel. Phone in one of his hands. He scrolls idly as Fat Nuggets plods along next to him, making occasional oinking noises.
He pauses, directly in front of Alastor's room, when a soft sound from inside catches his attention. He frowns, leaning towards the door, head tilted ever so slightly. The noise sounds like... His brain refuses to even think it.
He leans in closer, ear nearly pressed up against the wood-
crying?
quiet little sobs sound through the door. Almost too quiet to hear. An image of Alastor, sitting on his bed, head in his hands sobbing pops into Angel's mind. He shakes the image away, it's ridiculous it's impossible.
But that's definitely someone crying inside.
Something absolutely life endingly, dreadful must of happened to make Alastor of all demon's cry like that. Angel considers leaving. Even takes a couple of steps away from the door and then hesitates. the crying has gone silent, surely Alastor won't take kindly to being caught crying. Besides. The room is silent now. Clearly, Alastor is done. but...
He knocks on the door before he can stop himself. There's a strangled gasp from inside the room. Angel frowns at the noise. Sudden suspicion poking at him. That actually hadn't sounded like Alastor. Then again, he's never heard anything but cheer or menace from the Overlord. He reaches up and knocks again.
"Ay, Smiles? You in there?" He calls out softly. he startles away from the door. The high-pitched cry from inside definitely doesn't belong to Alastor.
"Okay, I'm comin in." Angel tries the handle and is surprised when it is not locked. The room is dark, the curtains drawn. The only source of light is the tiny lightning bugs that are drifting aimlessly close to that big open bayou in the back of the room. Angel creeps inside, glancing around cautiously, he closes the door behind himself, just in case Alastor really is curled up somewhere crying his eyes out.
He sees movement in the corner of the room, off by Alastor's bookshelves and the fancy red armchair. Something small and low to the ground that shifts slightly. Angel reaches for the wall and clicks on the light.
Something screeches, high pitched and terrified. Angel presses up against the door, reaching for the handle half in a panic to get out and half focused on the curled-up thing in the corner. Its wide pale blue eyes are staring right at him, mouth hanging open as it screeches, long brunet hair messy and covered in leaves and sticks-
It's a human.
Angel gasps, hand freezing on the doorknob. It's a human girl. She screams at him, tugging her hair and pressing up against the corner she's curled up in. Tears flow from her wide eyes, cutting tracks through the dirt on her cheeks, her screaming cuts off, blinking eyes focused on Angel. She takes a deep breath and Angel realizes she's about to screech again. He throws himself forward waving his hands at her,
"Hey hey!" She flinches and rips at her hair, her bare muddy feet scrabbling against the wooden floor.
"No! No! No!!!" She wails. Angel realizes that she must be terrified of his appearance. Though hecan'tt imagine how a human manages to get to hell without seeing far more terrifying than him. He casts around the room, noticing Fat Nuggets cowering behind his legs, the blessed pig too stubborn to leave his side. Angel reaches down quickly and scoops him up.
"Look! A Piggy! That ain't scary!" Angel shimmy's Fat nuggets in the air at her. The girl sucks in a deep breath but holds it. Eyes flicking from Angel's face to Fat nuggets. She's beginning to hyperventilate. But she doesn't start screeching again, which Angel counts as a win. He sets fat nuggets on the ground slowly,
"Wanna pet him? He's nice! His name's Fat Nuggets." Angel crouches down so that he's not so tall, getting on the girl's level. She doesn't look too young, not like a teenager. but Angel has a hard time telling. It's been a while since he's seen a human. The girl doesn't move, but her eyes fall and track Fat Nuggets as he waddles forward. She gasps as he flops onto his side, rolling over onto his back playfully. Angel snickers at him.
"He's friendly, you ain't gotta worry. My names Angel Dust." He introduces himself. The girl looks up at him. Her eyes are filling with tears again. Her nose running with snot. Angel realizes that she's in pajamas.
"who're you sweetheart?" He asks.
"Where am I?" Her voice is scratchy. Obviously from all of the screaming.
"Uh, well right now, you're in The Hazbin Hotel." Angel says.
"Where?" She frowns. "Where is that?" She looks around the room, the tears spill over, and she sniffles hard. Angel grimaces waving his hands at her.
''Hey doll, you don't gotta cry you're safe! I ain't gunna hurt ya." Angel shifts so that he's on his knees, shoulders slumped and hands up in a placating gesture. The human watches his carefully, wide eyes drawn down slightly in what could be a scowl if she wasn't still actively sobbing.
"Safe?" She huffs out a manic breath, "Fucking safe?" She shudders. "After that *thing* hunted me and Liam down-" She gasps, sucking in a break. "Oh god Liam!" She curls in on herself, head hitting her knees and begins sobbing in earnest again. "Oh Liam, Liam. Ohhh..." she mutters to herself, words getting lost in her knees. Angel frowns and considers going and finding Charlie, surely, she would be better suited for something like this. The girl shudders and instead he scooches forward on his knees. Attempting to comfort her.
"Heey, wanna tell me what thing you're talking about?" He looks up and stares into the darkness of the bayou behind her, listening to crickets and frogs sing, he has a sudden idea. "Did you come outta there?" The girl looks up at him through her messy bangs, her forehead is covered in sweat and little bloody scratches. She looks over at the bayou that Angel is pointing at.
"I don't know. Maybe." She mumbles at him. Angel stares in awe at the little section of Alastor's room.
"Is that... is that earth?" He looks deep into the darkness as if he can figure it out just by staring. A couple of errant lightning bugs drift past him, illuminating the dark with their soft yellow glow. The girl makes a wheezy noise.
"Earth?? Where is this?" she asks him. Angel understands. If the bayou is earth, and the girl came from there, then clearly...
"Don't freak out doll. You ain't supposed to be here-" He hesitates "-Probably. But this is Hell." He tries to say it as gently as he can, but it still causes the girl to inhale sharply and curl tightly. Her body wracking with sobs. Angel just sits quietly, patiently waiting for her to get it out of her system.
"Hey, it's all right. You look like a human. You can probably just go back the way you came." he tries to reason with her. her reaction is not expected. Her head snaps up and she uncurls, arms spread wide and pressed up against the wall behind her.
"No!" She yells at him, beginning to breathe heavily, "No- no no! I'm NOT going back there. No! You can't make me. Not with that THING! There!" She begins to hyperventilate. Angel shushes her.
"Okay! Hey Toots, no problem. Calm down, you ain't gotta go- Jeez would you just calm down?" He huffs at her. She does stop hyperventilating, if only so she can glare at him.
"Don't. Tell me. To calm down!" She snaps and then pushes off the wall, finger wagging in the air at him. "Don't tell me to calm down! I was chased all through that... by some fucking monster... and Liam!!" She reaches up, fingernails digging into the skin of her face. "I saw him- That thing tore him apart. It... It ate him." scratches at her face looking horror struck. Angel grimaces.
Sounds like she's met Alastor then. He considers his options, thinking perhaps it's not the best idea to send her back into the bayou if Alastor is out there doing Satan knows what. The girl continues to claw at her own face, and Angel scooches closer,
"Hey, don't... do that." He reaches out for her slowly, grabbing hold of her wrists and attempting to pull her hands away from her face. She screeches at him and jerks her hands out of his grasp.
"Don't touch me!"
"All right toots! no touchin. See." He lifts all four of his arms away from her, which seems to distress her further but he's not sure why. He feels Fat Nuggets shuffle up to his side, snuffling the air as the girl cries. Angel scoots the pig towards the girl; besides staring, she doesn't have any kind of adverse reaction, which Angel takes as a win.
"Can you tell me your name?" He asks her. She shudders as Fat Nuggets sniffs at her feet but doesn't draw away. She gulps looking up at him.
"Penny." She says, hesitant. Angel smiles,
"Okay good. Good. Nice to meet you, Penny. Can you tell me what happened? How did you get here?" He asks. She shudders and looks up at him, her lashes are clumped together, and her face and nose are bright red. As she stares, Angel gets the feeling she's debating something with herself. He gives her time, she finally must come to a decision, because she relaxes ever so slightly, slumping back against the wall she's cowering against. Fat Nuggets takes that as his sign to oink quietly and shuffle forward more, bumping his nose against her muddy calf. She ignores him.
"My boyfriend- Liam- We were... gunna camp in the swamp... It was stupid because...Everyone thinks the swamps haunted but... We didn't.... we didn't believe.... but then we heard it, at night. It was out there, and Liam went to investigate and I heard him screaming and when I looked outta the tent-" She shudders, her pupils blown wide with terror, voice cutting off like her breath is stuck in her chest. Fat Nuggets shuffles forward some more, moving close enough to nudge her fingers. She startles badly and stares down at the pig. She reaches out carefully, palm up and fat nuggets oinks happily pressing his snout into her hand. She blinks and turns her head slowly to Angel.
"I saw that thing tear Liam apart. Just- tossed him around like nothin... and I ran. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going and I heard it the whole time, behind me, making horrible, horrible-" She shudders "-noises and then suddenly I was in here." She explains quietly, looking at Angel, "Am I dead?" She asks him.
"Naw. I already told you, you ain't dead."
"How can I be in hell then?"
"It's... Complicated. But you ain't dead. Trust me, I can tell." Angel assures her. She stays silent, scratching behind Fat Nuggets ears idly. Angel sighs and turns to stare into the bayou or whatever it is. He wonders if it's a portal to earth or a weird dimension created by Alastor. Regardless of what it is, it belongs to Alastor and, there's one thing Angel is certain he doesn't want to do. And that's snoop through Alastor's stuff... but... He eyes the girl. If she stays here some weirdo will probably eat her alive or try and steal her soul and well...! He might feel sorta bad for her, he thinks Charlie must be rubbing off on him. That or this ridiculous redemption nonsense might be finally getting to him. He blows out a puff of air, the noise startles Penny, but she doesn't do much besides jump.
"All right toots. I decided. I'll help ya." He straightens up, attempting to look reassuring, shoulders squared, easy smile on his face.
"Help me? How?"
"I'll get you home!" He says. She looks confused, eyebrows furrowed.
"How?" She repeats again. Angel rolls his eyes at her, leaning back and placing his bottom set of arms on his hips, his top set gesturing at the darkened bayou.
"Through there. Back the way ya came." The way her face morphs so quickly from confused to pure horror would almost be comical if it wasn't accompanied by her loud yelling.
"Are you insane!" She screeches at him, throwing her hands out wide. Fat Nugget oinks when she stops petting him. "Are you actually fucking insane? you want me to go back out there where that THING is?" She shouts. Angel squints at her.
"Well, I don't know any other way back! It's this or you stay in Hell forever." He snaps, "And stop yellin. You’re giving me a headache." She glares at him.
"Stop yelling...I can't- You can't really expect me to walk back through there. I'll be killed- you'll be killed!" She pauses, "Again?" She purses her lips, the idea of being killed twice tripping her up enough that she's silent. Angel waves a hand at her,
"I won't be killed again. I..." His shoulders bunch up, and he waves a hand in the air as he searches for the right words. Hes not sure how well she will take his next admission. "I sorta know the-uh- monster you're talking about. I can probably get you through just fine. It's either that or you become a resident of Hell. and I don't think you're gonna like it down here very much toots." He says. She takes a deep shuddering breath and thinks for a long time. Long enough that Angel almost says something to her. He ends up not needing to though. When she speaks next, it's with shaky resolve and a trembling voice.
"Okay."
Angel smiles at her.
"Okay." He repeats.
30 minutes later they are both standing in front of Alastor's bayou. Lighting bugs float around their heads. Penny is wearing the shortest coat Angel could find in his closet. It's a noisy waterproof, pink puffy thing that says 'Slutty' in sparkling letters on the back of it. It's too large, but it's better than nothing. She's also got some pink rhinestone studded cowboy boots that fit all right but are, like the coat, too big for her. Her messy brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail and the flashlight she's pointing into the dark is trembling terribly. Angel sweeps his own flashlight back and forth, cutting through the dark and looking for any signs of movement. There is nothing.
"Okay, just... stay close to me. It will be fine."
"Have you ever done anything like this before?" Penny asks him.
"Like this? Sure. Loads of times. It's no big... uh.. deal." He lies and smiles reassuringly at her. Hoping and praying that Alastor won't just ambush them both the second they step foot in the bayou. Angel takes the first step, Penny stumbles a little bit closer to him, and they both walk side by side. The wooden floor under their feet starts to shift, mud mixes in with the planks, the darkness gets thicker around them, the air becoming hot and muggy in a way Angel is not accustomed to. It makes him feel like his fur is damp all over. Lightning bugs startle out of tall clumps of cattails. and then everything shifts slightly, like he's walking through a cold mist. He closes his eyes and when he opens them, the sounds of the bayou are all around. Frog song and crickets and a million other things he can't identify fill the night air. A cool breeze makes him shiver. Angel hears something plop in water to his left and when he turns his flashlight to look, he sees the reflective eyes of a gator as it dips below the surface.
"Earth." He looks around in awe, glancing up, he can just barely make out patches of dark blue sky through the tree cover. He feels something painfully tight on his arm and when he looks down, he realizes it's Penny. Shes got a death grip on one of his arms, her other hand cutting wildly through the darkened forest with her flashlight. Her eyes are wide, and she is trembling.
"Let's go, let's go." She hisses. Angel nods,
"All right. don't get ya panties in a twist." His voice is low. She makes an offended little huff at him but says nothing else. Angel silently thanks Penny for suggesting they wear boots as the mud at their feet turns to ankle deep water. They are silent for a long time. The only sounds are Penny's chattering teeth, and the drone of bugs and frogs. Penny is mostly leading the way, tugging angel with her as she attempts to retrace her steps. The water gives way to a slight slopping mud hill and then they are on a soggy path of some kind, water on each side. The trees are thick enough to blot out any light from the moon.
"You sure you know where you're goin?" Angel asks after they have been walking for some time. Penny's hand squeezes his arm tightly.
"Yes! Shush!" She tugs him forward.
"Okay, just sayin that tree over there's starting to look real familiar." He points at a tall, gnarled tree. She shoots a dirty look over at it.
"It's a tree. They all look familiar." She grumps. Her trembling has mostly stopped, except for every now and then. Angel snickers at the comment.
"I suppose." He says. They walk on in silence. Despite the looming threat of death, walking nearly blind with only animals to listen to, gets boring relatively quickly. "So, yooou- Like porn?" Angel asks. She stumbles in her too big boots.
"What?" She sounds incredulous, though she doesn't let go of his arm. He smiles down at her.
"Porn. Ya know. You like it?"
"What kind of question is that?" She stares up at him, he can just make out her face in the dark, she looks half offended half amused.
"I dunno. Just wondering, that's what I do. I'm a porn star." He explains. She snorts.
"What do you mean you're a porn star? Like before you died?"
"Naw. In Hell. That's my job." he explains.
"Why do you have a job in Hell." She asks him.
"Cuz its hell, babe. Gotta make that money. What about you? What do you do?" He asks. She laughs quietly under her breath, the flashlight sweeping through the trees again.
"Are we really doin small talk right now? We could be jumped any second and you wanna ask me about my job?" She elbows him in the side, and he laughs, surprised by the action.
"Sure! We've been walking a while and its gettin boring. Sooo, what do you do? What's earth like these days?" He asks her. She laughs under her breath again.
"These days? How long ago did you die?" She asks. Angel brings a hand up to his chest, acting offended.
"You can't ask a girl that!" He laughs. She rolls her eyes as he answers, "-I died in 1947. Drug overdose." He adds because that's usually the next question. She is quiet and then shakes her head.
"That's so weird." She mumbles. He frowns down at her.
"It ain't weird. Sometimes people do drugs and things get-"
"-No! it's weird that... You died." She cringes. "I mean. It's just weird that I'm talking to a dead person! I don't know. Everything is weird." She grumbles.
"Oh. Yeah, I guess it would be for you." He doesn't know what else to say to that.
"Plus, you're really old." She adds tone light.
"Hey!" Angel reaches out to shove at her, and she laughs dodging his arms. He’s about to say something else when the entire forest suddenly goes dead silent. Penny stops abruptly, Angel knocks into her back, steadying her by the shoulders so he doesn't send them both tumbling to the ground. He can feel the way her entire body is shaking, and he's surprised he doesn't hear her teeth rattling together. Angel swallows thickly, looking around the dark forest.
He can see trees, and inky black pools of water, hanging vines sway in a breeze he can't feel. Their flashlights cast washed out light that barely cuts through the dark. Something snaps behind them. Angel and Penny whirl around in unison. There is nothing but dark. Then, something soft, quiet, hardly audible calls out.
"Pen-"
A man's voice. its deep and sounds far away. Penny clings to Angel, she's somehow still managing to point the flashlight into the dark despite twisting both her arms around his.
The deep voice grows louder.
"Penny!" It sounds odd. Stilted. Penny shudders but straightens up, inhaling sharply. They hear the crashing of water from somewhere nearby.
"Penny-Help-Me!" The voice influxes in strange places.
"That's- That's Liam!" Penny turns up towards Angel, her eyes wide and wet. "Angel- that's Liam" She turns and tugs Angel's arm towards the noise. Angel hesitates.
"I thought you said he was... dead?" She drags him off the path and into the shallow water, towards the noise, she's panting heavily.
"Yeah, yeah, but he must still be alive. I have to help! he needs help!" Her voice is pitched high and reedy, she sounds almost manic.
"Penny! Help!" The voice is laced with a soft, almost undetectable undercurrent of static.
Angel jerks them both to a stop. Penny curses as she's pulled.
"What the fuck! Please Angel, he's hurt!" She sobs and tugs at his arms. Angel shakes his head, though he knows she can't see him.
"That ain't Liam toots." His voice is low, and all his fur is practically standing on end. The voice calls out to them in the dark again. This time its words jump up strange octaves.
"It is! I- He didn't leave! He was trying to protect me in the end Angel, I swear! He did! He tried" She tries to turn away from him, like she's going to run off into the dark. Angel grabs her tightly by the upper arms and jerks her back to face him. She turns her head wildly trying to peer into the dark behind them "Let me go! Let me go!" She sobs. Angel shakes her, trying to will some sense into her.
"No! Penny! Think for a second- Shit!" He jerks away as she scratches at his face, be he doesn't let go. She snarls at him and tries to jerk back again, the water they are standing in splashes loudly.
"He’s alive..." She whimpers. Something to their left shudders, water rippling outwards in soft circles, bushes rustling. They both look to the noise. There's a man standing there, at least Angel thinks it’s a man, he can only see the upper half of a silhouette, the bottom half hidden in the bushes. It's head tilted to the side slightly. Penny opens her mouth, as if to call out, Angel tenses, pulls her in close, squishing her against him so she can't make sounds. The silhouette jerks to the side, like it's being pulled.
"Penny" it says her name like a wheeze. Penny lifts her flashlight towards the figure. Liam is illuminated by a circle of light, almost like it's some kind of horrific stage play. His head isn't just tilted to the side, it's hanging bonelessly off his shoulders. Both eyes are missing, his bottom jaw is ripped away entirely, it almost looks like he's eternally screaming.
Penny goes limp in his arms, her flashlight falling away and plunking into the water. Angel yanks them both backwards, back onto dry ground. The flashlight remains on, flickering under the water as dirt settles around it. The low light is enough to illuminate the hulking form that slowly presses forward behind Liam, its glowing red eyes burning like coals in the dark. Then, Liam's body rises as if being lifted and as his torso leaves the bushes, Angel realizes that his bottom half is not there.
Angel has seen enough, he turns and pulls Penny along with him, listening to heavy crunching and tearing. Sounds like rain hitting water. He refuses to think about it. Ignores as a soft voice calls out,
"Pennnyy"
He scrambles back onto dry land. Penny is deathly silent, almost completely limp in his arms. He tugs at her as he hears something big splash through the water.
"We need to hide!" He hisses, panic squeezing at him. His voice seems to jerk her back into some kind of consciousness. She shakes and pulls him towards the other side of the bank.
"Penny..." Angel resists, thinking maybe she’s lost it.
"Up! maybe in the trees!" She tugs him harder, turns to stare at him, a hard look in her eyes. He relents allowing himself to get pulled into the water. They splash clumsily over to a tall tree with a wide base. Its branches are up higher than even Angel can easily reach. Penny throws herself at the bark, scrambling up on the roots. Angel can hear large splashing growing slowly closer. He lets his third pair of arms slip out from his torso, He heaves himself up on the roots and scrambles halfway up the trunk of the tree. Turning, he reaches out for Penny. She gapes at his new appendages, but wisely decides that now is not the time to comment. She reaches up and he grabs ahold of her arm, yanking her up to his side. He wraps two of his arms around her. It's awkward, her dangling feet scrabble on the bark as she tries to help him lift her weight. He’s not the strongest demon in Hell, but he can carry her well enough. He heaves her up tossing her onto the branch above their heads. She almost goes over, just barely managing to catch herself with her hands. Her stomach pressed against the branch, legs dangling and looking extremely uncomfortable, without her weight Angel has an easier time climbing the rest of the way. He gets to the branch she's folded over and crouches on it, back pressed up against the trunk of the tree. He grabs a fistful of her puffer coat, about to yank on it when there is suddenly a low growl, and that voice is dangerously close.
"Penny!" It calls. They both freeze. Angel looks down quickly, scanning the water but he doesn't see anything. He looks towards the bank, it's so dark, but he thinks he can see the impression of a shadow. Something tall and perfectly still. Penny isn't facing the thing, but something in her must tell her to stay quiet because she doesn't move. Angel isn't even sure she's breathing.
The shape shifts, Angel can't tell what it's doing. But then there is a loud huffing of air. It tilt's towards the ground, inhaling. It's searching for them. Trying to catch their scent. Angel feels Penny trembling again from where he's grabbing onto her back. The giant smudge of a shape shifts. Angel cannot for the death of him figure out which way its facing. Then, what he presumes is its head, tilts upwards slowly, red glowing eyes slowly becoming the only thing visible in the dark.
He’s going to find them. Angel realizes, he’s going to come over here and-
Something howls, far away in the distance. The sniffing stops with an abrupt huff of irritated breath. There is a pause and then the shape is contorting and twisting in a way that's too dark to understand, it lets out a shrill screech that sounds like something dying. And then suddenly it's dead silent.
Angel doesn't move. And he doesn't plan on moving. Not until he's absolutely sure that Alastor isn't coming back. But then Penny grunts and shifts. Angel looks over at her. Her stomach is still pressed against the branch, arms bent and head hanging mostly upside down. She wheezes out a breath,
"This hurts." She wheezes, trying to push herself up, take some of the weight off her belly, but all she manages to do is slip backwards, her momentum swinging her too far. Angel scrabbles for her, the hold he has on her jacket is useless. The material is too slippery, and she falls. Angel tries to grab her, he's got six hands damn it! He should be able to catch her, but he doesn't, and instead all he does is nearly send himself falling out of the tree as well. They are pretty high up, but there's enough water below that it breaks her fall. At least he hopes it does. She splashes into the shallow water just as Angel jumps down after her. Shes thrashing, attempting to push herself up out of the muck.
Angel plunges his long arms into the water, wincing as she splashes his face and hits him in the arms. He hauls her to her feet and shuffles them both up and out of the water. He practically throws Penny to the ground, following after her. They both hit the mud, on their hands and knees. Angel is shuddering and gasping. His limbs all shake as they attempt to hold him up.
"Holy shit." He brings a hand up to run through his hair, wincing as it gets caught on mud and sticks. "Holy shiiit" He breaths out and rolls over so he's sitting down. He looks over at Penny, she's given up on trying to keep upright and is just laying, cheek pressed into the mud, panting heavily. "You okay toots?" Angel asks. She gasps, looking like a fish out of water.
"Go. We gotta go." she says. though she makes no move to stand. Angel nods, her flashlight is gone, but his is miraculously still in one of his hands. He stands up and looks around cautiously.
"I think he's gone." He says. Penny groans as she pushes herself up, hand's sticking in the mud.
"It will be back." she says. As she attempts to stand, she hisses and goes down on her knee. "Angel, can I see the light?" She holds out her hand. Angel gives it to her without argument. She shines it down on her leg. Right above the knee is a large gash going across almost her entire left thigh. It's bleeding sluggishly, red mixing in with muddy swamp water as it oozes down her calf. Angel winces sympathetically.
"That don't look good." He says. She sighs and pushes herself up to her feet, Testing her weight on it carefully. She winces, but eventually settles into standing.
"It will be all right. Let's go." She says, voice tight with pain. Angel lets her lead the way, she still has the flashlight, and she limps slightly as they walk. Around them the sounds of nature are slowly returning. Angel blows out a puff of air.
"How come the tree?" He asks after they have walked a short distance.
"I don't know. My dad used to take me hunting and would talk about how the dogs would chase stuff up trees. I guess I just thought... it couldn't get us up there. I figured with us running through the water, it might lose our scent and then... lose track of us if it couldn't see us." She explains. Angel considers. but before he can comment there's another high-pitched howl in the distance. It's doesn't sound like Alastor, and Penny doesn't freeze at it. Angel recognizes it as the same thing that howled right before Alastor took off running.
"What is that?" Angel asks. Penny looks up, listening as the creature howls in the distance again.
"Coyote." she says simply.
"Never heard one before." Angel admits.
"Not from the country?" She asks him.
"Nah. City boy. New York actually. The only time I ever went to the woods was to-" He cuts off.
"To what?" she asks, shoving muddy hair from her eyes. Her ponytail is half out of the band and in complete disarray.
"Hide bodies." He laughs nervously. She stumbles, grunting as her bad leg takes on too much of her weight. She shoots him an inscrutable look but continues walking without comment. Angel feels the urge to explain himself.
"I was in the mafia... Family business." He says nonchalantly, not sure why he feels so nervous about her opinion on that aspect of his life. "I'm in hell after all." He laughs humorlessly, trying to maybe lighten the mood. She nods her head slowly, she's looking at him, but her gaze seems distant.
"I- I loved Liam." she says quietly. The declaration feels so random that Angel has no idea what to say.
"He used to be a kind man. I really did love him. And I tried really hard..." She looks down at her trembling hand holding the flashlight, Angel notices for the first time the little golden ring on her finger. "I loved him- I never wanted for things to be like..." She pauses, changes tack, "Life can really be different than how you think it's gonna be. And sometimes all you can do is make the best of it." She says her voice whisper quiet. Angel stares at the back of her muddy head. She turns around and offers him a small almost sad smile. He makes a non-committal noise, and they continue to walk in silence. Each lost in their own thoughts.
They are quiet for a long time. The swamp is oppressive. The muggy atmosphere makes Angel feel like he can't breathe. They each jump at every strange noise in the dark. Angel sees the silhouette of people in every single shadow, in every tree stump. Every time Penny's flashlight reflects off the eyes of any animals, he thinks of Alastor. Eventually Penny straightens up, looking around and then turning to Angel, a giddy look on her face.
"I know where were at!" She spins in the mud and picks up the pace, her limp almost forgotten.
"Are we almost out?" Angel feels his heart skip a beat in anticipation.
"No." she says. Angel frowns. "Well... Kind of! I think the campsite is right over..." She draws out the last word, pushes through a dense barrier of cattails and grass and then they both stumble into a clearing.
it was a campsite at some point.
There are claw marks and torn up earth everywhere. Plastic and garbage litter the ground, there's an upended cooler and a half standing yellow tent. Angel shudders when he realizes that the tent is splattered with blood and chunks of Satan knows what else. As Penny enters the clearing, she visibly shrinks in on herself, shoulders hunching forward.
"No offense, but I don't think this is the best place to hang around toots." Angel says nervously.
"I know but...My car keys..." She creeps over to the yellow tent, and stares down at it.
"Your car?" There is no visible car in the clearing. Angel says as much,
"We couldn't drive the car in here. The road was all blocked off. We got out a bunch of stuff and hiked in" Penny explains, crouching down, wincing as the wound on her left thigh pulls.
"What do you mean the road was blocked?"
"Just what I said. It was blocked by an old wood fence and some stones."
"And you two still decided to, what camp in here?" Angel scoffs at her. She turns around quickly to glare at him.
"Angel! We didn't know. This is- How would we ever guess that something like this was in here!" She hisses at him angrily. Angel crosses his arms over his chest.
"Fine, Fine. Whateva."
"Can you help me look for the keys? They were in my backpack. It's black. It was inside this tent but..." She lifts the tent up slightly, blood rolls down the side, and even from this far away Angel can see that she looks more than a little green.
"Yeah, all right." He turns away from her, not able to get too far away from their single flashlight and scans the area. He notices for the first time that there are pieces of debris hanging from the trees as well. He shudders, stomach suddenly dropping all the way down to his feet when he sees a pair of pants hanging from the branches above. Legs still attached. Hes debating on telling Penny when he hears her huff out a frustrated sigh.
"I found the bag." She says. He turns, shes holding up a relatively untouched black backpack.
"Oh good." Angel starts
"No. Not good. The keys aren't in here. Liam must... of grabbed them when that thing showed up." She drops the bag to the mud. She stares down at it forlornly. "He must’ve heard it and..." She trails off.
"Grabbed the keys and tried to run?" Angel finishes for her. She nods her head.
Without Her
Goes unspoken between the two of them. Angel looks back up at the pair of legs dangling grotesquely from the branches above. An idea forms in his head,
"Could they... uh...Maybe still be on him?" he asks tentatively. She shrugs.
"Guess so."
He walks over to her and picks the flashlight from her hand gently, she looks confused, but allows him, he cringes as he stares down at it. It's covered in blood now, just like her hands. He turns the flashlight, pointing it at the trees. Penny stares, uncomprehending.
"What is-?" It hits her, and she blanches, bloody hands going up to cover her mouth.
"Maybe they're still in his pockets?" Angel suggests. Penny just stares. "Wait here." he instructs.
It's gruesome. The legs are high up. Like something flung them wildly up into the trees. both legs hang over the same side of the branch and as Angel examines the mess, he sees ropes of viscera wrapped around the branch keeping the legs tied in place. He lets his third set of arms out again, considering the best way to climb up there, when he feels something touch his elbow softly. He jerks violently, Penny staring up at him.
"Sorry. Sorry. But Maybe you can use this?" She holds up a golf club. Angel stares down at it.
"Where did you get that?" He asks her. She shrugs.
"It was Liam's. I don't know why he brought it. I don't think I'm tall enough, but maybe you can hit it?" She suggests. Angel shudders, sticking out his tongue in disgust. He takes the club and turns to face the set of legs. He reaches out, he's tall enough that he's able to hit at calves. He shudders again as they sway.
"This is so disgustin." He grumbles. Swatting at the legs again like it's some demented version of a pinata. Penny doesn't say anything, but that's all right. After a couple more knocks the legs slide and then finally tear loose from the branches, falling with a wet splat to the mud below. Penny cringes inwards again, covering her eyes with bloody hands.
"Oh my god-" She cries. Angel reaches out and pats her shoulder. Then he crouches down and feels his stomach roll as he digs around in its pockets. The denim is soaked with blood and Angel actually gags, but he quickly finds the keys and yanks them out.
"Here! Keys!" He holds them out to Penny. She peeks out from between her fingers, drops her hands and takes the keys. "Now let's get the fuck outta here." Angel turns around quickly, desperate to get away from the blood and the gore and the dark and just everything about this horrific place.
There's something new in the center of the campsite.
It's small, kind of round, kind of fuzzy. Something wet glistens all over it.
"What is that." Penny's voice cracks as she notices the thing as well. Angel's heart starts to pound in his chest, his fur stands on end as the feeling of eyes watching them slides off his skin, like bugs crawling through his fur.
"I don't know." He mumbles, creeping forward, flashlight locked onto the lump.
"Wait..." Penny scooches ahead of him, leaning forward, "It's an animal." She says. They both exchange uneasy glances.
"That wasn't there before." Angel says.
"It's a Coyote." Penny says, leaning closer and examining it. Something snaps behind them. They both whirl around, and there. standing perfectly still, is a large silhouette. Soft glowing red orbs float high above the ground. The silhouette creeks, body cracking sharply as limbs move, sliding between trees. Something grips his wrist and tugs. He’s moving before he realizes what's happening. Penny is pulling him in some random direction, her grip on his wrist is like a vice.
There is a great crashing behind them. It sounds like entire trees are being felled, then a keening elk noise pierces the air again, followed by Liam's distorted screams.
"Penny! Help me!" It doesn't sound like Alastor is trying to mimic Liam's voice anymore. It sounds like he's mocking. Angel pulls ahead of Penny, long legs lending to a faster speed. He's practically dragging Penny behind him. They crash through hanging vines, and he just barely manages to keep himself from falling over a log. He turns harshly, Penny's feet slip in the mud, going out from under her, Angel is the only reason she stays up right. He swings her back onto her feet and then drags her onward. He spares a glance behind them.
Through flashes of pale moonlight and their wildly shifting flashlight he can see Alastor. He is large and towering, huge claws and antlers flashing through trees in exploding showers of debris. Angel's eyes lock with Alastor's and-
-Suddenly he is falling through more air than anticipated. Like he's missed the last step on a staircase, and then he's careening into waist deep water. It's freezing cold, He twists around, the flashlight beam illuminates the huge ass tree he's run them into, he shifts to move around it, Aquatic animals skitter past his legs in a panic, either at their sudden arrival or the overwhelming presence of the creature quickly closing in on them. Angel starts to move around the tree, but after a couple of steps he realizes just how deep the water is, how slow it’s making them. Back he decides. He turns, Penny stumbling behind him. They need to get out of the water, get to the muddy ground and run-
Between the dark trees and hidden behind swaying branches a horribly tall silhouette slowly creeps into view. He points the flashlight in its direction, but the darkness surrounding the creature is so absolute that the light only manages to reflect off of its gleaming eyes. It contorts, shifting between the trees, impossibly long arms and giant clawed hands dig into the dirt, scratching giant rivets in the earth. As it twitches closer, rows of sharp needle like teeth become visible, its mouth covered in dripping blood and gore. its long neck stretches, head rotating at a 90-degree angle as eyes fix on Angel.
Angel stops breathing. This is it. Alastor has finally caught up to them. Penny shudders behind him. He can tell she's about to scream. He shoves her backwards, she is much shorter than him, and the water that is up to his waist is up to her chest. She chokes as he pushes her, and then he backs up, pressing her against the tree behind him. He feels her hands tangle in his fur, her face pressed against the small of his back. Trembling obvious.
Alastor's antlers seem to grow even more impossibly long. His deadly smile sharpening as his eyes shift into radio dials, they tick as he creeps forward, Angel can't tell if he's moving on all fours or not. His limbs are long and disjointed and in the dark it looks like every part of him is moving out of sync with every other part. Alastor comes in close, head knocked to the side eyes wide as he examines Angel.
"Heyya Al." Angel laughs going for nonchalant and failing miserably, his voice cracks, pitched way too high. Alastor's smile widens and he leans in closer, the red glow of his eyes casts an unnatural light that catches on the black shifting water below them. Angel cringes away as Alastor inhales deeply, sniffing Angel. Angel shivers and pushes Penny further into the tree behind him.
"Just me here- don't mean to bother you or anything. Just- uhm." His brain freezes as Alastor hisses out a rancid breath. It smells like meat and blood and gore. Angel resists the urge to gag. One of Alastor's long arms reach up and crashes down next to Angels body. Water splashes up, soaking both him and Penny. Penny lets out a terrified squeak. Alastor's head cracks to the other side as he clearly hears it.
"Meat-" Alastor hisses. Angel laughs wildly,
"Meat? whose meat? I ain't got any meat." Alastor leans in even closer, inhaling deeply. The fur on Angle’s face shifts with the breath and he feels it all stand on end, every instinct in his body telling him to run as fast as he can and hold absolutely still. Alastor shifts backwards a little red glowing eyes moving to the left and then to the right and then back to stare at Angel.
"Angel-" His voice clicks around the name, static hissing through the word. Angel gasps, chest heaving,
"Yeah Al! it's me! It's Angel." Angel tries his best to smile, to seem normal, whatever that means. tries to make Alastor recognize him. It works on some level. Alastor leans further away, head lifting into the air slightly as he begins to turn, his mouth hangs open. There's the whirring of static and then a deep voice, Liam's voice, broadcasts from Alastor's mouth.
"Pen-" It clicks off suddenly like Alastor is adjusting it, Alastor turns further, water sloshes around him, splashing up onto Angel as Alastor shifts.
"Penny!" The voice cries from Alastor's mouth. Alastor fully turns away from Angel, giant elongated limbs scratching out of the water and disappearing into the trees. Angel listens as Liam's voice cries for help in the night, fading as Alastor gets further away. He stays still for a long time, Penny still pressed against the tree behind him. When her shaking gets worse, chattering teeth accompanying her, he finally moves, pushing away from the tree. His limbs feel stiff and heavy, and he feels woozy either from fear or exhaustion he can't really tell. He doesn't say anything at all as he helps pull Penny from the water. They climb up onto a bank and Penny falls to the ground, her bare knees sinking into the mud. She hunches over and covers her face with her hands, sobbing.
"Hey, hey, doll it's okay." Angel crouches with her and places a hand on her back he rubs up and down, the puffy material of his jacket loud under his hand. He ignores it and just lets her cry it out. She doesn't take too long. She sniffs, hitting the ground with one hand. Mud splats out and she shoves upwards. She stands shakily, favoring her left leg as blood oozes down her thigh, a single streak staining her cowboy boots.
"Damn it!" She hisses wiping at her cheeks, smearing mud along her face. Angel pats her back some more, muttering soothing nothings at her. She takes a deep breath.
"Thank you." She says, voice thick.
"For what?" Angel asks. She shrugs a shoulder and sniffles again. And then reaches out for his hand. She grabs it and turns, pulling him along.
There is no more chit chat. They are silent as they hold hands, walking quickly and briskly through the muggy bayou. Angel imagines a discordant silhouette, red glowing eyes and a bloody smile watching them from almost every shadow. He shudders, truly terrified of Alastor.
Penny stumbles, and Angel has to work to keep her standing.
"You all right?" He asks. she shakes her head sniffling.
"I'm fine. Just want out of here." Her voice is low, she's almost whispering but not quiet. she sniffles again. Angel squeezes her hand.
"Hey, you'll get outta here. I'm with you, you don't gotta worry." He reassures her. They do not walk for much longer. Angel slowly starts to realize that the darkness is lifting ever so slightly. He cranes his neck, looking as far ahead as he can, and he sees it! A break in the dense trees, pale blue sky, stars and rays of moonlight illuminating a gravel road.
"There!" He’s too loud, Penny startles, but when she looks up and sees what he's pointing at she laughs along with him.
"That's it! The way out!" She cheers and Angel takes off, pulling her along, his grip on her wrist is gentle, she doesn't break away though, laughing with him as they approach the light. They break through the trees, and it's like an oppressive fog is lifted from around them. The air is crisp, cool, clean. He can feel the wind around them, hear grass and trees and none of it sets his teeth on edge.
There is an old wooden broken-down fence in front of them. Angel bounds up to it, He turns to Penny, bowing slightly and offering his hand to her.
"Allow me!" He laughs. She hobbles over to him, a wide smile on her exhausted and dirty face. She takes his hand, and he does his best to lift her up. She winces slightly as her left thigh scratches along the old wood, but then is quick to jump down on the other side, she stumbles but remains standing. Angel scrambles after her, as soon as his feet are securely on the other side of the fence, she throws herself at him, laughing giddily and wrapping her arms around his middle. He catches her and spins her.
"We made it, we made it." She laughs. He laughs with her. He's happy for her. She turns around, there's a car parked a little way away, pulled off to the side of the road.
"That yours?" He asks gesturing at it. she laughs again,
"Yes!" She takes a deep breath, turning to face Angel, her smile is so wide and carefree, lit by the soft glow of the moonlight, "I can't thank you enough Angel. Thank you- you didn't have to do any of this for me. It was my own stupid fault and-Thank you." she reaches for him again and hugs him tightly. He wraps his arms around her and then steps back.
"No problem doll. It was no big deal." He waves a dismissive hand at her, and she scoffs.
"It was. It was a big deal." She laughs, nose scrunching up and eyes crinkling around the edges. She stares up at him, a wistful look on her face. Angel waits for her to say something, but she doesn't.
"What's wrong?" He says, voice light, she puffs out a breath of air,
"It's just... I- well- I wish you could come with me." She says, she looks a little sad. Angel laughs. A single bittersweet sound.
"Yeah. But..." He shrugs. She nods her head. There isn't much to say about it.
"Will you be okay going back through there?" she asks, tone suddenly worried. Angel nods his head quickly, attempting to reassure her.
"Oh yeah. I'm sure you saw him back there. He didn't even try to eat me." He says.
"Yeah... Yeah I guess you're right. But what if you get lost?" She asks. Angel laughs again,
"Toots, don't worry about me. I can handle myself. Just- look. You gotta go. Just go home." He says it gently, hands reaching out and squeezing her shoulders. She stares up at him, the stars reflecting in her wide eyes.
"You're really amazing. You know... I guess... Well... goodbye Angel." She says to him. He nods his head,
"Yeah, goodbye toots. Don't look so sad about it." He laughs.
"But... I'll never see you again. You're not..." she sticks her hands in his fluffy pink jacket. "Oh, you probably want this-" she pulls her hands out and holds them open, gesturing at the jacket. He raises his hands
"Nah doll. Keep it. Looks good on ya." He says. She smiles.
"You really are a nice person." She says. The smile on her face turns small and sad.
"Well hopefully, we never see each other again. You belong up in heaven not down in Hell with me." He says. She scrunches her nose up again, a laugh on her lips-
There are soft white feathers everywhere. They're slowly drifting around him like a cloud, dancing on a breeze that's soft in his fur.
There are soft white feathers on the ground. They are stained red with the blood oozing from the center of Penny's chest.
Penny's wide eyes stare into Angels. Her mouth hangs open in a surprised little,
'Oh.'
Three black claws protrude from her chest, the delicate fabric of his pink jacket ripped and the downy feathers inside bursting out.
Alastor stands behind her, he shoves his claws deeper into her chest, she chokes on her blood, and Angel can't breath as she is lifted into the air.
"No!" He rushes forward, grabbing at her feet, A pink cowboy boot stained with a single streak of blood slips off her left leg. Alastor tears her body in half. Blood rains down and Angel falls to his knees, his arms wrapped around himself. He is unable to look up. He can only stare at Alastor's feet in horror as he listens to the sounds of raw meat being consumed. Alastor hisses something unintelligible. Angel still doesn't look up, flinching hard as he feels hot breath ghosting over the top of his head.
"Aaangel." Alastor crackles at him and once again, turns away, disappearing back into the bayou.