Devils are Here

Charlie was flying. No forest, no Goerge, no pain. He didn't know how long he'd been here for and there was nothing in sight, just hazy darkness, but Charlie wasn't worried. In fact he felt calm, confident, everything was just fine. He couldn't even be bothered to move.

Charlie eventually realized he had no control and was falling, not flying so he shrugged and found a comfortable position. After an imperceptible amount of time the hazy darkness turned foggy grey. Charlie wasn't surprised, it was an interesting development. The fog felt damp and as Charlie passed through he quickly got soaked.

"Hahaha," Charlie laughed out loud. Falling through a cloud, what an nice sensation!

The water and wind was cold but soon Charlie felt a powerful warmth. Sunlight. The fog started to burn away and Charlie squinted in the bright light. His eyes took a moment to adjust and when he opened them he'd already left the fog cloud behind. There was nothing left to obstruct his vision. He was high up in the clear sky with the whole world waiting down below. Charlie smiled, how delightful.

The sound of the wind was deafening and Charlie had to squint to keep his watery eyes open. He caught a glint of light out of the corner of his eye and Charlie turned his body to get a better look. He overcorrected and started spinning at first but he took his time and eventually oriented his face in the right direction.

He saw a massive red sea stretched out below him with no land in sight. The ocean curved and disappeared over the horizon on all sides.

The sea was angry. Waves that could engulf entire mountain ranges ebbed and flowed at an unbelievable scale. Waterspouts writhing like primordial serpents formed here and there at a moments notice. Most eye catching of all was a churning whirlpool that was larger than some continents. Charlie wasn't sure how he knew what a continent was but was totally confident that the whirlpool was indeed that big.

Charlie knew that he would fall into the sea, it was inevitable. As the water loomed larger Charlie felt his anticipation build. He NEEDED to be in the sea. It's where he was meant to be. Charlie wanted to swim, to sink deeper. It was HIS ocean after all.

The raging sea was even louder than the wind. It was truly the storm to end all storms.

Splash!

Like a grain of sand blown about at the beach Charlie disappeared under the churning waves.

The absence of noise was a stark contrast. Charlie also lost all sense of space and had no idea which way was up. All he could see was a rich dark red. The water felt thick and viscous, like blood.

Charlie instinctively held his breath but the longer he spent under water the more he felt he should inhale. His eyes lit up in excitement. He was certain if he drank the water he'd become more powerful than he could possibly imagine. Become the person he was meant to be. It was that simple.

Charlie had a small nagging doubt that maybe swallowing the ocean water was risky but he chose to ignore it, the desire was far too strong. He'd drink and he wouldn't stop for anything.

Charlie eagerly opened his mouth wide open but before he could taste a drop he did stop. Him and everything else. The ocean stopped churning and he stopped moving. He couldn't hear any sounds or even move his eyes. He was a fly trapped in amber and Charlie's endless confidence began to fade into uncertainty as he remained frozen.

"Sighhhh," Charlie heard a voice echo in the silence. He knew at once that he was hearing the world speak. The voice of an ego so massive he couldn't begin to comprehend it's enormity.

"Don't bite off more than you can chew kiddo. It'd be so lame if you died from overindulgence. Now sleep it off."

Charlie thought the speaker was absolutely right, he needed to rest. He closed his eyes and his consciousness began to fade. It was such a relief, he could finally rest. Charlie's last thought was that the wise voice sounded familiar. He just couldn't quite place it...

'Big Bro...?'

...

George was extremely satisfied. He was finally scratching the itch that was this rock throwing brat and it felt so good.

He pulled out a small length of rope form his rucksack and bet down to truss up the squirming kid. Only he wasn't squirming at all anymore.

"Playing dead?" George asked and flipped Charlie over with his foot. Then he jabbed his heel into Charlie's stomach. The boy let out an involuntary groan but had no other response.

"Did you pass out from fear already, Ha!" Goerge laughed. "Enjoy your little nap while you can."

Goerge tied up Charlie's entire body like he was fresh hunted game. With ease Goerge lifted the small boy over his shoulder and walked up out of the streambed.

Now that he caught his prey and there was no more struggle some of Goerge's excitement had faded. He started thinking about consequences, how this might effect his life, his plans. As George walked back through the trail he'd just made he became more and more certain of what had to be done.

'Ive never killed a kid before but this one was pretty much begging to die. I know the girl couldn't have gotten far on a broken ankle. I heard a clear snap. Shame we couldn't have more fun but maybe they'll still be time for a quick romp before I head back to camp. Two villagers got lost in the forest and never came back? How sad! Nothing to do with ol' Goerge.'

Each step felt a little lighter, the sunlight filtering through the green leaves felt a little brighter. This day could still go Goerge's way.

...

Big C woke up in Charlie's body. Being all tied up was strangely comforting and the rythmic bouncing as Goerge walked made him want to go right back to sleep. Mortals got tuckered out so easily.

Little Big C yawned quietly and with mouth open wide engulfed Goerge's entire sweaty bulbous ear. He angled his canines at the base and bit down... hard.

"AAGGHHHHHHHH!!!" Goerge's cry sent the birds in the nearby trees flying. He shook his head wildly but the boy was stuck to his ear like a lamprey eel.

"GET OFF ME!!" Fueled by adrenaline Goerge used both hands and mustered the strength to tear Little Big C away.

L.B. C flopped on the ground like a fish and rolled until he could look up at Goerge. In his blood spattered mouth he had the greater part of an ear. He spat the ear out and grinned like a cat in cream.

Goerge stammered in disbelief and felt the side of his head that was now mangled beyond recognition.

"You! You... little monster!!" Goerge pointed a trembling finger at the tied up boy.

There was a slight incline in the forest floor and L.B. C began rolling down it. Hitting plenty of rocks and roots on the way. Feeling anything at all, even pain was so wonderful for Big C that he broke into song.

"Goergy porgy pudding aannnd pie! Kissed the girls and made them crryyyyy!" He hit the base of a tree and could roll no further so he stared up at the tree canopy and laughed, "Hahahahaha."

George saw red. It seemed like the brat had gone absolutely crazy but that wouldn't stop Goerge from ripping him to shreds. The mercenary took a long knife out of it's sheath on his belt. It was serated on one side, a hunter's tool.

Goerge held the knife in a reverse grip and charged at L.B. C with the fury of a raging bull. He was a few paces away when the child suddenly and inexplicably burst into white hot flames. Goerge stopped his charge and brought his free hand up to shield his eyes from the sudden glare. He could still hear the boy laughing in the middle of the roaring fire. Goerge listened and felt goosebumps on the back of his neck.

Moments after it started the fire died out completely and L.B. C stood up, his clothes and body unburnt. The rope had disappeared like it was never there. L.B. C rotated his neck, stretched out his limbs and stated talking to Goerge like they had been in the middle of a pleasant conversation.

"Having a flesh and blood body again is really wild Goerge my man. Mortals are so messy and fragile but much more real, you know? Cultivators are so preoccupied with appearance even their farts smell like a fairy's garden."

L.B. C bent at the waste and barely was able to touch his toes. "My word, how is a 13 year old boy this inflexible?"

He held the stretch while Goerge stared dumbly. "One notable exception was Slovenly Daoist, he created the most infamous and effective escape technique in all the realms. He generously shared the Passing Wind technique with me one night when we were absolutely trashed on some ancient monkey wine. I was never shameless enough to use it. Slovenly Daoist was a real class act."

"I see now!" Goerge suddenly shouted. "You're a demon! A demon in the form of a child but it doesn't matter!" Goerge spoke at a manic pace and he looked at the boy with beady eyes.

"I, Goerge will be the one to save the land from this evil!" Goerge lunged forward, knife extended, "Die, evil creature!"

L.B. C sidestepped and the knife barely grazed his cheek. In the same motion he placed his left foot on front of Goerge's right foot and lightly guided the man's extended right arm forward by pulling his sleeve. Goerge tripped and and his momentum took him headfirst toward the tree trunk.

"Bang!" The whole tree trembled from the impact.

L.B. C stepped back and touched the tiny cut. "I can't believe I let a mortal mercenary wound me." He said in a self deprecating tone.

"This body has garbage reflexes but I really should get serious. I need to take care of what I borrow." L.B. C picked up a decent sized stick and held in at the ready, facing George.

After the impact Goerge just managed to stay on his feet but wobbled like he had a few too many. The boy's figure blurred in his vision but he ran forward reagardless and slashed widely. All he got for his efforts was a stick poking his injured eye.

"Ahhhhh!" In pain and delerious, George's made increasingly wild blows with the knife and his other fist but try as he might the blurry figure was just out of reach. Ducking and dodging at the most opportune times.

L.B. C used every opening he had to whack and poke his adversary with his stick. There were an endless amount of these openings and he had to stifle a yawn as the fight progressed. Whap! He hit Goerge upside the head. Then with a twist of his wrist jabbed the stick into Goerge's thigh giving him an opportunity to duck under the hunting knife.

George felt like a pincushion. Enough was enough! He had to get away from this monster. As panic overcame his bravado Goerge threw his knife at the boy and without seeing if he hit his mark turned and ran in the opposite direction.

L.B. C moved slowly but confidently and grabbed the knife handle in mid air. Without blinking he tossed the knife around to hold the point between his thumb and finger. He took careful aim and tossed with perfect control. The knife spun through the air, once, twice, thrice, and then with an audible squeltch stabbed into the back of Goerge's calf.

The big man squealed and dropped to one knee. He looked back in absolute terror.

L. B. C slowly approached, he tossed the stick away and picked up a jagged rock.

"Noooo..." Goerge moaned and desperately tried to stand. He dragged his lame foot and had managed to take a step when L.B. C smashed the rock in his fist into Goerge's lower back.

The man stumbled and knelt. L.B. C followed up with a blow to the temple. Goerge fell flat on his back, he didn't know when he starting crying but he was weeping now. He'd give anything for the abuse to stop, anything...

The small boy stood over the weeping man and smiled a crooked bloody grin. He raised the rock up above his head and smashed it into George's mouth, breaking most of his teeth.

L.B. C found a comfortable position and sat down on Goerge's chest. He raised the rock high and brought it down on Goerge's face. Raised it up, brought it down, Raised it up, brought it down. Raised it up, brought it down...

"Squeltch! Splat! Squeltch! Splat!" In this remote corner of the forest the sound of rock hitting flesh, blood, and cartilage rang out repeatedly.

After a short while Charlie's body was covered in splattered blood and gore. Possibly some of Goerge's brain was in the mix.

L.B. C picked a tooth out his matted hair and looked down at Goerge kindly. The man's face was unrecognizable, a mangled bloody mess. Incredibly, Goerge was still alive though that wouldn't be the case for long.

L.B. C brought his mouth close to Goerge's good ear and whispered. "Don't be scared as you pass on Goergy. The hells are empty. All the devils are here!"