2It was a brisk, winter evening in the city of Theeland. Joe Davis walked the city streets as he held his old, worn-out coat over his shoulders. His hat held on tight to his head, yet the brisk wind pierced its frail threads like an executioner's guillotine. With his ears starting to feel cold, he walked the way he came. Within a few minutes, he turned into an old, dark alley where he found an old manhole, the entrance to his 'home'.
After climbing in and sealing it shut, he slowly walked down the cold ladder to the hard, rocky floor of the sewer. Because the sideways by the water were rather thin, it took Joe some effort not to fall into the slimy, gluey muck water.
After a while, the sides of the sewer widened and he was able to walk normally. He decided to stop for a short break. Trying not to fall in smelly toilet water made him feel a bit winded.
Suddenly, he heard something. Joe took a quick look-around. He saw nothing. However, he still heard a tapping echo from out in the distance. A nervous feeling came over him. Worried that someone would find his little den, he started to rush down the sewer.
The tapping started to get louder. Once he reached an intersection in the sewer where three sewage rivers converge into one, he slowed down and looked around. He looked down the left river. He saw nothing. He then checked the right. Still nothing. However, something caught his eye as he looked straight forward.
He saw what looked like a deformed mutant from a freak show. It had glowing red eyes with cat-like pupils. The figure of its head protruded out from its body. Joe wasn't able to see its skin color; the whole front of its body was cloaked in ghostly shadow in which its crimson eyes were the only visible part. They seemed designed to inspire dread in any possible foe.
The figure just stared at him. Joe quickly looked away, about ready to dart down the river to his left. But after a quick glance back, it was gone. In its place was a yellow haze. It seemed to have vanished into nothing but toxic haze.
Joe quickly turned down the left river. However, the tapping once again followed him. Even when running as fast as he could, he wasn't able to escape the clatter that pursued his every step. Within a few minutes of running, Joe came across another intersection in the sewer. This time, however, only two rivers fused into another, larger river. There was only a wall across the other side of the intersection.
Joe looked to his left. The figure appeared again, but closer this time. Its front was still concealed behind a blanket of shadow. Its eyes stabbed into his own.
Joe seemed cornered by the strange figure. He realized that there was only one way to escape. Taking a deep breath, Joe plunged into the cold, mucky rivers of the sewer. The current quickly washed him away from the creature. The creature itself just stared at Joe as he flowed down the river. To Joe, the monster kept getting smaller and smaller and smaller. But no matter how much his distance hid the creature's body, its red eyes remained visible.
Soon, the river began to curve, bringing Joe out of the creature's gaze. A minute later, Joe saw a ladder along the side of the sewage river. It took Joe a little effort to fight the current as he swam to it. Before he was washed down further, he managed to grab the cold metal ladder. He didn't really feel it, however. By now, his whole body started to go numb. Because his legs and arms were getting limp, he almost couldn't climb the whole ladder.
Once he climbed to the top, he checked around himself. He saw nothing. He slowly started to walk down the sewer. Within a couple minutes, Joe reached another intersection with three rivers concentrating into one very large one. A dangerously squalid smell rose up from the great river's sludge.
However, Joe couldn't focus on the sight for long. He suddenly heard footsteps from behind. When he quickly turned around, he discovered the creature to be staring at him from just a few meters away. He now saw its face. The skin was covered in large, moldy warts. The nose had three small nostrils. Its great eyes seemed even more powerful up close. Their bright red color seemed to petrify Joe in his place. Between the two large eyes, Joe notice five smaller, white eyes on its forehead.
Joe quickly regained himself. He quickly bolted down the repulsive catacombs. As he ran alongside the large river, its current seemed to flow faster and faster the further he went. The creature once again didn't chase him. It just watched him run. As he looked behind him, however, he noticed a haunting smirk on the creature's face. Seeing its venomous looking lips in that position seemed to overpower his mind. He quickly turned his head back in front of him and didn't look back.
Joe was almost out of breath. He almost stumbled into the sewage as he began to fall sideways in exhaustion. When he caught himself, he quickly stopped running. He didn't believe the creature was after him anymore. However, he looked back just in case.
Upon looking back, the creature was once again only meters away from him. Gasping for air, Joe almost fainted in front of the monster. As he almost stumbled forward, he could only ask himself, "How is he following me so fast?"
The creature began to walk to him. As Joe tried to run forward, he slipped over a puddle of slime and fell face first into another small puddle of sewage. He slowly got up, spitting some sludge from his mouth. A look of disgust overwhelmed his face. However, it quickly vanished as the creature proceeded towards him. When it was but a few inches away, Joe kicked back, causing it fall backwards. When he got back to his feet, he wheezed his way further down the river.
Finally, Joe found the river's end. He entered a large, round chamber where the large river split into about seven smaller ones. The entrances to each river were tall arches. Between the arches stood thick, eroded columns to help support the tall ceiling. In the middle of the chamber was a lake of sewage with a whirlpool in the middle.
Joe looked around the room. Suddenly, he saw the creature walk out of the arch across to him, isolated by the lake of sludge. A feeling of relief flowed through him.
However, a minute later, A creature appeared in two more of the entrances. Minutes later, all seven of the smaller rivers had a creature standing at its entrance. Each creature glared at Joe with their glowing, crimson eyes. Joe was petrified by the seven pairs of ensanguined eyes. They all looked ready to kill. Even isolated from him, they looked ready to impale his flesh.
Suddenly, he heard a tapping behind him. He saw two more creatures approach him. They glared upon him with demonic faces of hate. All they appeared to know was hate. He noticed something it their hands. They were long pitchforks with glowing tips. He saw viscous white electric bolts run along the ends. They held the weapons over their heads ready to impale Joe's torso.
Without thinking, Joe quickly jumped back into the sewage, praying for his survival, praying for a safe path down one of the seven sacred rivers for his hallowed life. However, as his hopes for blessed life filled his mind, he notice that he was starting to approach the whirlpool in the middle of the great river and the seven divulged rivers. He tried swimming for the first river but was pulled away. He tried for the second but the sludge pulled down upon his feet. He tried the third but with no luck. He tried the forth, the fifth, and the sixth, but still, he was pulled to the center of the lake. He then swam for the seventh blessed river but saw pulled to the middle by the sludge's toxic pulse.
Joe slowly began to drown under the venomous tide. The sewage was itself a monster pulling him down. Venom filled his mouth.
Before his final submission, Joe looked around the chamber one last time. The creatures by the big river frowned upon them with fiery eyes. The creatures at the gates of the seven smaller rivers also gazed upon them with satanic smiles. Soon, the creatures at all eight gates smiled at his pain.
Joe slowly awoke. However, he noticed that he wasn't in heaven, nor was he in Hell. Instead, he noticed that he was in a high tech lab. He tried to move his arms, but couldn't. His legs were also numb. After a closer look, he noticed that his whole body was missing! He was nothing but a head floating in a liquid filled jar, yet he still lived. Though he couldn't turn his head, he noticed that around him the rest of his body was stored in jars. His legs were in a jar beside him and his arms were in a separate jar at his other side. Above himself on higher shelves, he noticed the rest of his dismembered body and organs. His heart had a jar of its own, separated from the rest of his torso.
In front of him, he saw all nine creatures from the sewer. They all seemed to be laughing at him with their crimson eyes seeming to emit fire. In that moment, Joe felt as if Satan himself was laughing at his pain. Maybe he was in Hell.
After a few minutes, the creatures finally closed a door between them and the small chamber in which his body was stored in. Everything faded to black. Joe wanted to dream of escape, but couldn't. In his cold prison he realized that he could do nothing except think…and pray for death.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please read and review.