Doom Story Update

2k words

***

He should be unsettled, afraid of being in contact with this entity, and a part of him was gripped by these things, but something about Sharrya was overpowering these doubts. Maybe it was the fact she was coming on so strong, and for someone who didn’t get a lot of downtime to go looking for dates, he couldn’t help but find it flattering on some deep level.

Maybe he could use that to his advantage, but not now. His favourite series was on, and he was about to show it to someone who’d never seen movies before, and that kind of excitement put such thoughts aside.

-xXx-

“That’s the conclusion?” Sharrya demanded, shaking her bag of crisps at the screen. “I feel as though my soul has been robbed, whoever made this should be put on trial.”

“We call that a cliffhanger,” Andreas explained. “Keep the loose ends loose, and get the viewers excited for the next instalment. This one’s part of a series. Let me up, gotta stretch my legs.”

He thought she’d might protest, but her cuffed hands rose from his chest, and he stepped out of her lap, vaulting over her leg as though crossing a fallen tree.

Brushing crumbs from his uniform, he stretched his arms over his head, a satisfying crick spiking from the base of his spine. They’d been lazing around the cell for hours, longer than Andreas had planned to visit, but he didn’t mind catching up on his favourite shows. Back on the flotilla, there had been very little time to rest between deployments, and this was his first chance since the invasion he could really kick back and laze about without worrying about orders from the admiralty.

Eyes on his back brought him out of his thoughts, and he saw from the corner of his eye that Sharrya was staring at him. It was a different look from the usual, more intense if he had to guess.

“Why’re you staring at me all creepily?” he asked, rolling a shoulder.

“I wish to thank you,” she stated, as though she was ordering him around.

“You… what?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest.

“I’ve never had the time nor the reason to just… idle like this,” she said, visibly struggling to find the words. “Demons do not take time off or participate in communal activities. It’s unnatural, but I’ve always relished variation. Exploring foreign cultures has always been a fascination of mine, but as Baroness my capacity to study is… limited, as you could deduce. These movies are an intriguing insight to your species, with the added benefit of being quite entertaining.”

“If you’d like, I could find a documentary or something,” Andreas suggested. “The world’s not quite as dramatic and exciting as what we’ve been watching.”

“It’s been centuries since I last had the chance to study an alien race. Defeat is more of a learning experience than I realised,” she added with a laugh. The grin oozed off her face, leaving her grim and thoughtful. “It’s sad when I think about it. All those species Hell has conquered, all that culture I helped erase. I… wish there had been some way of preserving it all.”

“Alright who are you and what have you done with Sharrya?” Andreas asked. “First you want to thank me, now you’re saying you regret all the things you’ve done?”

Her eyes flicked to his and then back to her feet, her nostrils flexing as she huffed. “Regret? I wouldn’t word it like that. It is more like I am… unsatisfied in Hell. You said Hell was evil, and perhaps in that regard you are correct.”

Her smile reappeared, but she didn’t laugh. “It seems being prisoner has made me repentant! And so quickly, too. Maybe I should escape sooner than I planned.”

Andreas couldn’t tell if she was joking or not, but she was right in that being cooped up in here was already taking its toll on her. It was as good as time as ever to prove to Selena and Valeria that there was a method to his madness.

“So why don’t you do something about it?” he asked. “You might be a genocidal maniac, but you know deep down that what you’re doing isn’t right. Hell will chew through every galaxy or universe or whatever the fuck you call it until nothing’s left.”

“The universe is infinite, Andreas, there would never be an end, we would simply march on into forever.”

“But think of all the world’s you’ve walked over, all that art you’ve destroyed,” he said, Sharrya cocking her head at him. “You’d have done the same to Earth if we hadn’t fought so hard, and our movies and books and identity would have been just another thing on top of all the things you’ve burned.”

“Is there a point to this train of thought, or are you simply trying to guilt me into a corner?” Sharrya demanded.

“The point is it doesn’t have to be like this. You’re a Baroness, you’ve got the influence and the backing of thousands of troops. You can turn this endless campaign of yours around, give Hell a taste of its own medicine.”

“You’re… asking me to be… a turncoat?” Sharrya asked. She threw her head back, cackling at the ceiling. “Seriously? I knew you were dense, Seargent, but this is outrageous even for you.”

“Is it?” he asked. “I’ve seen demons fighting each other all the time, so it’s not unheard of, right?”

“Lesser demons brawl out of boredom, you fool, and I am far above such petty squabbling.”

“So you’d rather just stick it out because of your pride? You’d rather stay disgruntled do nothing?”

“You do not understand. If a Baron were to rebel against her masters, every greater demon who catches wind of it won’t see it as insurgency, but as an opportunity. The defying clan would be chewed apart from all sides until nothing remains but ashes. That’s the whole point of us being sent across the Cosmos, to redirect our urges.”

“But you’re at the top of the Baron food chain, aren’t you? You told me you bested every other clan at this Shattered Peaks place, who would try and fight you? And isn’t fighting against the odds your thing anyway?” he asked. “Battling against Hell would be the ultimate test of mettle. And it’s not like you’d be lacking for energy, you said you could consume the souls of demons too, right?”

She began to speak, paused, then tilted her head in consideration. The cell was filled with a thoughtful silence, then Sharrya leaned back against the padded wall, resting her head in her hands.

“If this was any other world, I might have considered your proposition. But for whatever reason the Maykyrs are particularly interested in humanity, more so than any other species we’ve come across. Even I couldn’t hope to stand up to the power of a Maykyr, I’d be doomed along with the rest of mankind.”

“Help me help you, Sharrya,” Andreas said. “As much as I hate your guts, even you don’t deserve to get tested on like some experiment. It wouldn’t sit well with me. I might be able to sway them into going easier on you, but you need to offer something first.”

“As much as that’s appreciated, going rogue is a too much of an ask, even for you.”

“What about information?” he suggested. “You know how to stop this invasion? Any VIP’s we could target, what are Hell’s weaknesses?”

“Have you tried shooting us? That seems like a pretty big weakness in my experience.”

“Work with me, Sharrya, I’m your best shot on making this easier for you.”

“Your world is marked by gods, Andreas, and they are here to stay until every last sinner has been cleansed. The will of the Khan Maykyrs cannot be fought. Your world has already fallen and you’re too blinded by hope to realise.”

Andreas ran a hand through his dark hair, muttering under his breath. Her words sparked a shred of doubt in his chest, but there had to be a way to stop Hell, didn’t there? Or at least slow it down enough for ARC to come up with a plan.

Sharrya seemed convinced there wasn’t a way out of this. Either that or she was holding out on him, which was a possibility he couldn’t rule out. He wracked his brain, thinking of everything he knew about Hell.

“What about the gore nests?” he asked.

“The nests?” Sharrya asked, blinking. “What of them?”

“You rely on them for your portals, your corruption. They’re your version of satellites, in a sense. Your whole network turned upside down when I blew up that other one.”

“I’d call it more of a nuisance, one I had to handle personally due to the excessive presence of the ignoramus.”

“But you lost control, right? And if you lost two or five or even twenty others, that’d cripple you, wouldn’t it?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. What are you getting at? You don’t know where the rest of the nests are.”

“But you do, Sharrya.”

Understanding bloomed in her eyes, her expression going from shocked to annoyed. “You want me to sabotage my own operation, is that it?”

“Not just yours, every nest you know the location of, and as a Baron I think you have a pretty good idea where they could be. We’d start with Spain first, hit every nest with an artillery shot or something, and every demon in the country is fucked. They’d be sitting ducks that we could hunt at our leisure. All of Spain would be basically free.”

For a long time she considered him, perhaps not really sure if he was being serious or not. Then she rose herself into a sitting position, leaning towards him. She was so massive that even with him standing they were almost eye-level.

“It would never work. They would be replanted in a second, scores of demons will turn their attention to this little backwater. Destroying the gore nests will do nothing but delay.”

“You let us worry about that. All you need to do is tell me where they are.”

“And why would I do that?” she asked. “You’re asking me to willingly throw everything I’ve built up away, that kind of devastating demand requires an equally devastating compromise. What can you offer me in return?”

Andreas wiped his brow, considering everything he knew about Sharrya and what he could give her.

“Your freedom might persuade you,” he said, Sharrya tracking him as he paced the cell. “But the Commander would never go for that. I could try and wrangle you a better cell, far away from that wraith out there, but that’s not enough for you.”

Sharrya reclined once more, turning her eyes to the ceiling.

“But I think I know what is. You give me the location of every gore nest you know, and I’ll… I’ll let you have your way with me.”

Sharrya looked like she’d been hit in the face with a frying pan, her eyes glowing a fresh shade of green as they locked to his own. “You’ll… You’ll what?”

“From the way you’ve been making passes at me, I’d say you don’t meet many bachelors these days, you’re probably pent up to high Hell if you’re dipping outside your species. You can burn all it all off with me. I’ll give you a lay you won’t ever forget.”

Sharrya said nothing, climbing to her feet without breaking eye-contact. He tilted his head as she came within inches of his face, his skin pricking at her warm aura.

She broke the silence by falling into a fit of laughter, one she struggled to break. When she did, he thought he saw a tear in her eye, one she wiped away with a claw.

“You carinal have a way of keeping me guessing, Andreas,” she laughed. “Do you truly realise what you’re offering me? You, a mortal, are offering your body to a demon. Are you sure you’d even survive such a deal?”

“I’ve beaten you a couple times now, I reckon I can keep handle a root from a Baron.”

A genuine smile crossed her face, one that was small and bright. He had no idea Sharrya could be so cute when she wanted.

“You’d be committing to the ultimate of Sins,” Sharrya said, chuckling like she had just voiced an in-joke. “Even the Maykyrs would be jealous of such a willing mortal, and it would be all mine to claim…”

“Are you in or not, Sharrya?”

“Oh, I am most certainly ready for this. But the question is, are you? Once you’re mine, Andreas, there is no going back. You will be the first mortal to have mated with demon, our souls will be so very much linked.”

“Sounds like you’re trying to get me to reconsider.”