Violet jumped as a bullet whizzed past her head. It struck The Damned Thing in its trunk-like nose and bright yellow blood spurted from the wound. The creature howled in shock and Violet dove to the floor as Armitage emptied his pistol. All of the bullets hit home, though most ended up in the monster’s fleshy torso. The Damned Thing’s tentacles flailed in the air and its entire body rippled from the projectiles’ impact.
As The Damned Thing slumped to its knees, Armitage moved towards it, now brandishing his gun like a club. “Violet, you got any more bullets? If you do, now’s the time to use them.”
Violet didn’t think there was much chance of this attack finishing off something like The Damned Thing but she figured she had nothing to lose at this point. She rolled onto her side, took aim, and unleashed her own assault. Her aim was far superior to Armitage’s and she emptied her entire clip straight into The Damned Thing’s head. It was reduced to a bloody mass, bits of flesh and yellow-tinged blood splattering the walls and floor. The creature swayed and tipped over, falling back into the pit.
“Jesus on a stick,” Armitage whispered. “We fucking did it.” He punched the air like a star pitcher who had just struck out the other’s team best player.
Violet rose to her feet, tossing aside her gun. It had suddenly felt very heavy in her hand. “We need to collect the others and get the hell off this island. Somebody’s supposed to be coming tomorrow, storm or no storm. They’ll take us back to Atlanta.” Violet looked down at her dress, which was spotted with yellow blood. It was ruined but she suddenly had no desire to replace it with another one in black. She was ready for a change: new city, new clothes, new vocation. She’d had enough shooting and running to last her a lifetime. Now that she’d avenged her husband’s death, she felt vindicated… but mostly she just felt tired.
Armitage nodded, still grinning like an idiot. “Sure thing, sister. I’d get your gun back, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if we still had some trouble from Main’s boys overnight.”
“You’re right,” she said with a sigh. She bent down to retrieve her pistol and just as her fingers closed around it, she heard a strange sound, followed by a more familiar gurgling noise. Straightening quickly, Violet saw that The Damned Thing was perched on the edge of the Hellmouth. One of its tentacles was elongated out from the body, wrapped around Armitage’s throat. The crime boss’s eyes were bulging madly and he was gripping the tentacle with all his might, unable to pull it away from him. Before Violet could even think about what to do, blood began to gush from the man’s mouth and she knew his throat had been mangled beyond repair.
Seeing him die spurred her into action. Violet sprinted towards the stairs, planning to lock The Damned Thing within. If he’d told her the truth, there was only so far he could go from the Hellmouth. If she outran him, she’d be safe.
Just as her foot touched the bottom stair, a tentacle wrapped itself around her heel and tripped her up. She fell, her chin striking one of the stairs so hard that she nearly bit through her tongue. Blood filled her mouth and she saw stars but she kept moving, crawling up the stairs.
Behind her, The Damned Thing spoke again. It sounded angry, as if it were growing tired of this sport. “Violet Cambridge. Again I give you this chance… become my agent or face death.”
Violet groaned, feeling the strength ebbing from her arms. She was spent, emotionally and physically. She rolled over onto her back, looking up as The Damned Thing waited three steps below her, towering over her body. “Leave me alone,” she said and to her embarrassment it came out as a whine.
“You fight so hard,” The Damned Thing observed. “Why not accept my offer? You have done what you set out to do… you have destroyed those who brought harm to your life. Your husband and your friends have been avenged. Now it is time to think of you. People may die along the way if you work for me but that is because of their greed and evil, not my own. All I desire is to be free of your wretched world! I have grown so weary of it that I no longer seek to have human followers. All I desire is freedom! Find my icons and free me so that your world shall never have to be darkened by me again!”
Violet had to admit that a part of her was very tempted. She’d wanted a new life and this would certainly bring it. She’d travel the world, never having to stop in one place again. She could live forever, with all the money she could ever dream of.
And all it would cost her was her soul.
She looked at The Damned Thing, seeing that it was still watching her, impatient desire in its eyes. Glancing down at her foot, she saw that it was now free. Through a mouthful of blood, she suddenly smiled. “You’ve reached the end of your chain, haven’t you? You can’t go past that bottom stair!”
The Damned Thing shifted uneasily. “Make the choice of your own free will, Violet Cambridge. Do not gamble your life on such assumptions.”
Violet swallowed hard, a clot of blood heading on its way to her stomach. She then spat out the rest, trying to clear her mouth for what she was about to say. “I’ve always hated it when men try to put me on the spot. It pisses me off.”
The Damned Thing watched her quietly.
“Most people don’t know this but I proposed to Walter. He’d asked me twice before and both times I’d blown him off, all because I hated to feel like a man was exerting his will over me. But in the end, I realized I loved him and he didn’t want to dominate me, he wanted me to be his partner. It was the same with Miles, even if he did keep secrets from me. We were partners in that business. I wasn’t his damned secretary or errand girl. I don’t fetch coffee for a man… and I don’t fetch statues, either.” She stood up and tossed her Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector II at The Damned Thing’s feet. “So here’s my answer: Go suck an egg.”
She slowly turned around and took a step up the stairs. She was tensed, expecting to feel a tentacle wrap around her throat and pull her down below. What if she’d gambled wrong, like The Damned Thing had said? What if he could go a lot further from the Hellmouth than that bottom stair?
Another step and then another. By the time she reached the top of the stairs, she let out a long breath and smiled. She turned to look below and she saw The Damned Thing looking up at her. The creature was panting, its elephantine trunk fluttering in the air. She could feel its anger. Never losing her smile, she slowly shut the door to the basement and locked her demons inside.
THE STORM HAD passed but the waters were still quite choppy. Violet stood on the deck of the police boat, a blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders. The boat wasn’t large and it felt very cramped with so many people onboard: there were the three officers who had come looking for McKenzie; McKenzie himself; Jasper Williams; Eloise Green; a still groggy Aleister Crowley; and, of course, Violet. The rest of the patients would be liberated soon enough — Will had used the radio onboard the boat to send back word of what was going on at the hospital. From what he’d said, Violet thought it quite likely that the entire building would not only be shut off to the public but also razed to the ground.
McKenzie moved up to stand beside her. He looked very dashing this morning, with his dark hair blowing in the breeze. He really did look like someone from one of those adventure movies, the types where the hero rushes in at the last moment to save the damsel from the clutches of the dastardly villain. The thought made her chuckle and Will raised an eyebrow. “It’s nice to see you happy again,” he commented.