Into The Abyss

The dog was so cute.

Jeez. I didn’t know they made dogs that cute. This was not a guard dog breed. Even though the thing was translucent and incorporeal, I could tell it wasn’t gonna be any good at deterring strangers. That was for damn sure. Unless the way it guarded its home was by killing strangers who trespassed with adorwable fuzzy fluffiness.

Edging toward the pit as quickly as I dared, I kept an eye out for any tentacles. It was a good thing that I was looking because I could see not just the one that had Baby – Who names a dog Baby anyways? Not now, focus man. – but also new tentacles sliding up around the sides of the pit and questing blindly in slow undulations for victims to possess.

It resembled a messed-up sea creature. One of those things that clownfish liked to live in. An enemy? No. Anemone. Fuck! A tentacle suddenly elongated and slapped out to snag at me and I had to jump over it then tuck and roll to dodge another trying to take advantage of the distraction.

They’d made like they couldn’t reach much beyond the pit until I was well inside their radius like the tricky little demon assholes they were. Focus you, dummy! I scolded myself sternly determined to live in the moment and pay attention to what was happening right now.

Forcing myself to look at the pit tentacles as a single opponent with multiple arms rather than multiple opponents working in concert, I managed to avoid getting whack-possessed. Like a hangry flailing toddler in an arcade, the thing was out to hit me in the most effed-up game of whack-a-soul ever. The pit was getting pissed. Its tentacles thrashing in angry frustrated undulations.

I swear, I must’ve looked like an idiot hopping from side to side and wiggling to dodge shit. Because I realized that Sammy hadn’t been able to see this pit and tentacles until after she’d been possessed. Maybe most other people wouldn’t be able to see it either? Made me glad that it was getting dark.

It also, made me distracted since I automatically started wondering why I could see the demons and the pit, and the tentacles but Sammy never had. Was this what her kid Caleb was telling her he saw, and she had no idea was here? And what had been coming into the house?

So far everything I had to deal with didn’t seem capable of moving on its own without a body. My mind just kinda blanked out for a second.

So far. Everything. Needed. To take over. A Body.

Shit!

Where was the thing that didn’t need a body?

Did it know that something hadn’t gone according to plan up here? Was it on its way now? Was it coming? Would I be able to fight it, or would it be immune to my crucifix? What would happen if the tentacles touched me? My mind threw questions around faster than the tentacles were coming, and it wasn’t helping my concentration any.

“Arg! Fuckshitdamn!” I shouted out with pain and anger as I discovered what would happen if one of the tentacles touched my bare flesh. It burned. A lot. I could smell a burning brimstone and sulfur scent…and…cooking pork? Did people smell like pork when they got cooked? Why did I smell like pork?

I almost vomited right there. At least I would have been aiming for the pit. But the poor puppy whined, and I doubled down my efforts. The hell with this dodging shit. I would just kill anything I could with my cross. That was just about all I could do. With a lunge, I slashed through three tentacles. One landed on me as it fell, and I gritted my teeth to avoid shouting again.

It tried to burrow into my unprotected chest, and I stabbed it with the blunt cross in my hand before tossing it also back into the pit. That became my method of destroying the tentacles; cut one off, then toss it in the pit. And still Baby – Who names their dog Baby? – kept sliding closer and closer to the pit in little tugging jolts.