The Devil's Hand

Games and Pain

Sebastian’s stomach growled. As hungry as he was he couldn’t stop to eat. Hide and Seek, what a joke. Crow had just bolted off even though it should've been Sebastian’s turn to hide. To make it worse, they were stuck in a mall full of endless halls and rooms. Demons appeared randomly and pretended to shop for severed heads and spears.
        He ran past a food aisle and skidded to a halt. Right there was a humongous pile of fruit. Sebastian’s mouth started to water but he forced his head away and kept running.
He spotted a weapons store full of swords and daggers and almost veered off his path to grab a lance. As his head was turned he bumped into something dirty. Sebastian jumped back and stared straight into the face of a snarling dog. The dog was even bigger than he was and had an angry look on it’s face. Sebastian slowly took a step back then bolted to the side and past the hound. He turned around another corner and paused for a break.
He stood there panting for less than a second when a burning pain seared through his chest. The pain made him gasp for the next breath. Then it stopped. It left as quickly as it came but the ghost of the pain still lingered. He picked up his head and kept running.
“You broke rule number twenty seven. The game will finish when someone goes insane, after that no one can continue. No one is insane yet. Keep running,” an overhead voice said.
Sebastian kept running and running. Occasionally he would stop and take a breath, but each time the pain got worse. It kept getting worse and worse.

* * *

        Rogue was surrounded by demons yet still she fought on. With a dagger in her hand she cut her way through the circle, pulling Sanlief along with her. The game manhunt had become too real. She didn’t care who or what she killed, she only cared if she got out alive. She snarled and bit down on the neck of a demon. Twisting her head she snapped the bones that kept the demon alive. She ripped off heads, stabbed demons in the heart. She did whatever she had to to survive.
        Blood covered the ground yet still she fought on. The demons kept appearing out of nowhere. Pain shot through her leg, she screamed in agony but still she fought, still she killed. She was a murderer and she didn’t care. A demon grabbed hold of Sanlief’s unconscious body and tried to pull it away. Rogue wouldn’t let that happen. She screamed in rage and pulled a sword off her back. It was extremely long and light but Rogue hated it. She liked things that were short and you could hide.
        All you could see for the next second was blood. Blood covered the ground and spat out cut limbs like fountains. The hand of the demon was still attached to Sanlief but Rogue couldn’t care less. That hand wasn’t attached to a body.
        The demons around her were cut into pieces and standing among the corpses Rogue stood gasping for breath. She collapsed, pain blooming in her chest. She struggled to breath as an overhead announcement came on.
        “You broke rule number twenty seven. The game will finish when someone goes insane, after that no one can continue. Keep fighting.”
Rogue clutched her head and screamed. “This fight was going nowhere. It was just monster after monster! It will never end!”
Then she fell on top of Sanlief. New Demons approached but never touched them.

* * *

        Evalïne glanced over at her fellow human piñata. The girl had called herself Shadow but said nothing else even when they were hung up and beaten with sticks. Young demons laughed and hit with them with clubs. Evalïne waited for something to happen, a break in the crowd, a chance for escape.
        With every hit, the metal coils around them grew tighter. Soon Evalïne was gasping for breath. Beside her Shadow had fainted. She was already so skinny. Shadow was covered in bruises and sores, her head was soaked with blood. Evalïne knew that she would die soon. A demon raised her club and hit Shadow again, they always hit her, never Evalïne.
        Evalïne couldn’t stand watching the blood soak the ground, little girls dancing and licking the blood off their fingers. Some even gave up on clubs, they scratched, punched and bit the unconscious Shadow.
Evalïne didn’t care that this would let her live longer, she hated the fact of needless murder and pain. She growled a low growl, alerting the attention of the demon hitting Shadow. The demon paused for a moment, her club lowered then collapsed on the ground, clutching her chest. The demon screamed in pain, gasping for another breath.
Evalïne looked in wonder and confusion as the demon shook violently, her head thrown back. Then the demon lay still, slightly twitching, and fell limp.
Evalïne stared in shock at the body as it shriveled into dust.
“You broke rule number twenty seven. The game will finish when someone goes insane, after that no one can continue. Keep playing.”
Evalïne tried to look at where the voice was coming from but the metal coils held her still. She screamed and tried to push away at the metal prison. The coils fought back, not letting her escape. Evalïne screeched and bit down on the wire. The metal rubbed her gums, the taste of blood filled her mouth. She bit down harder, her mouth filled with metallic liquid.
Pain seared through her head as she pulled the wire away from her body. It sprung back, hitting her hard. She screamed in pain and finally lost it. She screamed and thrashed. Demons backed away from her in fear, a smug smile grew on her face as they tried to hit her again, but the game was over. She had lost her mind.

* * *

        Pain seared in his arm. When he had woken up, he knew it was time to use his code name. He was no longer Aaron. Today he was Arrow. He had been captured long before the others. He knew why they were here. He knew what would happen next. He knew about the games. He knew everything.
        He knew what the others were dealing with, and he knew he hated the game he was in. “Pin the tail on the donkey” had taken a demented twist. Ever wonder what the donkey would feel, having multiple tails being forced onto it’s butt? He knew that pain, and he was met with greater.
        Tied to a wall with Aaron, Arrow was attacked by a mob of blindfolded demons. They each took turns holding up a severed arm, knives stuck through it, and trying to blindly place it on top of his already existing one. He had cuts on his face, an eye now useless. Aaron seemed to be worse off though--blind, a limb torn off. Arrow could barely look at Aaron without flinching.
        Pain shot through his leg, three knives pierced. When the demon took off its blindfold the demon frowned in disappointment and ripped the arm out, tearing flesh with it. Arrow gasped in pain, black flashed in his vision.
        He screamed and tried to kick the demon. But both of his legs were useless, his arms were broken. His heart had been stabbed countless times, but the game was never over. He was always brought back to this world of hell.
        He never wanted this--well no one would. He didn’t care if they ripped him to shreds then brought him back. All he wanted was to keep Aaron out of this. He screeched and howled. He tried to wake Aaron up, it was too late though. Aaron wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t alive either. The King had already decided who to keep and would throw Aaron away when it was over.
        He would win this round, and his clone would be gone! A playful smile danced on his lips as he screamed in joy. He won this round. And his clone would be gone! He would never be haunted by the past again.