《Theosis》


 Chapter 1: The Weight of Hell

    He lay there for a moment as the world crackled into his mind shaking him from the dream realm as he floated his mind back to reality. Time was infinite and mute all at the same time as he grabbed the cell phone and thumbed the dismiss button on display, laying back and settling his head on the pillow


    He knew he had to get up had to move and become a real person in the world again but the pillows and blankets had made him one of their tribe. They called to him as deftly and surely as the sirens of Capreae. Laying there floating drifting back to the realm of queen Maab, the monster''s claws scattered his thoughts. Spreading themselves back into the ether of sleep all the while the voice in his head repeated its mantra.


    ¡°It''s time to get up¡­ Time to work¡­ Time to make money¡­ You have to get up¡­¡± He was in the middle of telling the voice in his head exactly what it could do with its mantra when a large bump moved his body. Bringing him to the realm of the living he opened up his eyes to mere slits and saw his dog roach...


    Roach was an impressive animal a Colby breed PitBull with wide shoulders and a brown and white painted face¡­ He was intimidating if you looked at him but he was the biggest baby in the world¡­ The beast stood there staring the man down as he struggled to wake himself, knowing he could no longer sink back into sleep. His friend needed to go outside and do his business with a tree.


    With the weight of sleep clinging to his shoulders he forced himself up and dug around in the dim morning light for his faded pajama pants with the marvel logo on them and tugged them on, searching blindly with one eye finding his zip-up biker boots and wrestled them on, He caught a glimpse of himself in The hallway mirror. He was a sight...


    He was not beautiful like you would find in magazines or on tv, especially as he was dressed now. He was a little chubby but his broad shoulders, arms, and legs carried the muscle of a person that has known hard work in his life, He was a little taller than average with his arms slightly longer but not enough that they looked out of proportion or place And he was not an ugly man either. All in all, he had that honest rugged boy in mischief look to him, His short-cropped spiky hair and blue wife-beater shirt adding to this ...


    The tattoos that danced their way like spilled ink across his coppery leather skin added to his don''t fuck with me attitude. It was only a glimpse but he was the most obliviously aware person you will ever meet And the sight brought a curse from his lips.


    "god damn Cole you look rough..." His reflection in the mirror had no reply for him so off he went to take his buddy outside¡­ the in the morning air it was freezing, The kind of cold that freezes the cells in your lungs and makes your nose burn, it was like the first drag off a cool menthol cigarette.


    He was glad that Roach wasted no time in making friends with the greenery and with a few swipes from his paw they turned going back inside. The rest of the morning went by quickly and Cole fell into his morning routine. He finished his ritual in the laundry room, sliding on his light blue arc flash shirt and dark blue slacks, and finished by lacing up his nine-pound steel toe work boots.


    Keys jangled at his waist as he unlocked the door to his monstrous blue Chevy, his SUV wasn''t much to look at but like its owner no matter how beat and banged up it became it always started. He put the key in the ignition setting his cell phone in the passenger seat and rolled the engine over, feeling it flare to life in defiance of the cold, one quick stop at the gas station for an energy drink and caffeine pills, a combination he liked to call tech fuel and he was on his way to work.


    His drive to work was long, and he could feel the stimulants kicking in, burning through his veins and bringing him back to life. Mostly he enjoyed the long drive, it let his mind wander into the worlds of fantasy and daydreams that he had, from an early age his imagination had been his refuge from a bad childhood and tragic life. Falling into the rhythm of the road he let the hypnotic sound of the tires drag him further into his daydreams.


    The sight of the security gate brought him back. As always his dreams had melted the time making it feel like the hour drive had taken only moments. He fumbled in his back pocket for the wallet that carried his I.D. badge and swiped it on the little panel outside his window. It took a couple of swipes before the panel recognized his badge and for a slight moment, he imagined the security office computer was an ancient piece of technology that was held together with silly string and prayers.


    He tossed his wallet into the passenger side seat as he pulled into the parking lot of his facility. He took a smoke out of his pack and lit it with the green butane lighter, listening to the paper crackling as he pulled in a deep drag, Laying his head back on the seat he stared at the building, It was quite large and never shut down, the workers constantly moving in and out of the doors.


    Today was different though it was the beginning of the new year and the almighty upper management had decided to cut back on the workforce over time. Leaving the building to be staffed like a bastardized skeleton crew. He could feel the weight of despair and monotony boiling off the building like waves of steam in snow. This was always the hardest part of the day.


    That moment in between worlds when he would stop being free and would have to become the slave of the workforce. He knew there was no help for it and with that feeling, he steeled his mind and heart at the upcoming onslaught of the day.


    He got out of his SUV flicking the cherry from his cigarette and putting the butt in his pocket, it was an old habit from his marine corps days and he did it without thought, taking off his regular glasses and changing them out with the company approved safety glasses he let out a slow breath and walked into the building.


    He swiped his badge at the panel on the door and it beeped him through the sound of the lock like a hammer against metal as he walked into the hallway that Coles to the production floor. There was always this feeling he got as he walked the floor. Never being sure of what exactly caused the feeling he had become accustomed to it, in his mind he saw it a lot like swimming, when you first jump in, the cool water is shocking to your system until you grow comfortable with the temperature. Today felt different.


    When the transition hit him it was not the smooth cool way of jumping into a pool, but instead, it was like walking into an invisible bubble. He pressed against it with his mind and for a moment wondered if he was still in his head dreaming. He closed his eyes as the world seemed to spin and lurch under his feet, suddenly the bubble popped. Cole opened his eyes slowly trying to get his stomach under control and reorient his senses to the factory environment.


    He looked around noticing the lights were dimmer, and all the usual scents that are associated with making car parts hit him, except in the air was something new. The acrid smell of gunpowder floated about him like fog on a cool morning. His mind raced over the possibilities of the new smell but eventually settled on the thought that a machine had burned up its motor and the smell of its mechanical guts was spreading through the air.


    He passed it off as another machine he would have to fix and made his way to the time clock. The lights remained dim causing him to think someone must have turned the motion detection off to save money and slid his badge through the time clock, waiting for the message, "Punch accepted."


    He looked around scanning his machines for the green production signs that read, "In production" letting him know all of his machines were up and running, but as he did so he noticed¡­ There was no movement, nobody at the machines, no forklifts moving baskets or managers walking the floor checking numbers. In his mind, the fear he was late and missing an all-employee meeting flared inside his head and he ran for the break room.


    His hand touched the smooth glass pane just as he was looking through the door trying to find people, but only silence greeted him. He caught a glimpse of the outside world through the huge bay window of the break room. It has been cold but sunny outside and it was only two in the afternoon. The sun had been out bright and shining, But the sky he gazed upon now was the rust color red of a summer twilight.


    Confusion burst through his head, he usually knew when the plant would be shut down for the day because he was part of the shutdown crew. Though he knew it was not impossible that the day crew had shut down and forgot to call him letting him know not to come in. He walked his way to the maintenance shop where they had computers set out for the workers to check email and finish the paperwork required for their machine repairs.


    Without a thought, he held his badge up to the panel letting it beep his way into the maintenance shop. The first thing he noticed as he walked in was the lights were off. In his mind, this confirmed that the fuck heads on first shift didn''t call him and he had wasted gas driving in when he was not needed.


    He looked around for the light switch and noticed that the light to the inner office of the maintenance shop was on. He followed it like a homing beacon and through the Plexiglas windows, he could see his boss Bill sitting at his desk staring at the computer. Cole stopped for a moment and watched not wanting to interrupt anything important. His boss was not an impressive man.


    A hand shorter than Cole with a handlebar mustache and morbidly overweight, the man often wheezed when he was forced to walk.


    Cole stood there for a moment but when he felt sure Bill was not going to look up and notice him he walked into the office. Bill sat at his desk quietly, only the sound of his breathing breaking the awkward feeling of the room


    "Hey, Bill looks like you shut down and didn''t tell me I wasn''t supposed to be here, what about we give me 4 hours on the books because I clocked in when I don''t have to be here and we call it even" Cole always had a smart ass tone to his voice when he talked but he was charming in his way and most people liked him. Bill sat in silence at his desk, Not moving, just that steady heavy breath of lungs working under too much fat.


    "Hey bill, you ok man?" Cole asked as he reached out to touch the man''s shoulder.


    It happened so fast Cole''s mind was left reeling. Bill came awake at the touch of his hand and reacted like a Venus fly trap lying in wait. The heavy man''s hand grabbed Cole''s in a vice-like grip, the kind of grip one develops over many years of turning wrenches and slinging hammers for a living, And hauled him in close with a forceful jerk, pulling Cole''s face close to his.


    "We didn''t forget Cole, you''re supposed to be here..." Bill''s voice sounded like bone over chalkboard mixed with the fetid breath that could boil the flesh from your bones. Cole¡¯s mind threatened to break, it had to be a dream, he was still in bed locked in one of his horrible night terrors. Pain shot through his hand as Bill tightened his grip and used his other hand to grab him by the thigh. Lifting Cole from mother earth he threw him hard against the wall. He could hear the plaster and boards break. He was pretty sure in his racing thoughts he had cracked a couple of ribs as he hit the floor in a heap. He lay there on the ground his body throbbing with pain, his vision tunneling down to pinpoints as his mind scattered, watching as Bill started to move toward him.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "What in the hell is going on?..." The thought floated through Cole''s mind


    "Hell is right boy, and you''re smack in the middle of downtown!!" Bill roared at him as he used one hand to lift his desk and toss it through the window. The sound of shattering glass broke the fog in Cole''s mind as wind hot enough to cool the sun poured in the windows. He struggled to move, and run, but Bill was faster, one hand grabbing him by the front of his shirt tearing the buttons open and exposing Cole''s flesh to the supernova wind.


    "It''s time to pay the piper Cole baby let''s have a dance..." Bill laughed in an insane way that sounded like rattlesnakes crossing pavement, Cole''s mind broke into survival mode. With a great effort and searing pain in his ribs, he lifted his hands above his head and attacked his assailant''s arms, trying in vain to strike the pressure points that would make the arm go dead and release him from the monster''s grip, But blow after blow only brought more of the horrid laughter from the beast that had been his boss Bill...


    He watched as Bill pulled back his free hand. The skin ripping and tearing away from the bones in his fingers as they extended into long jagged claws. Bill pulled his hand back readying for the strike. "15 minutes Cole baby, you lasted 15 minutes in hell!!" The demon let out a vile laugh of victory and plunged his hand toward Cole¡¯s chest


    Cole knew it was coming and there was nothing he could do to escape the blow, he could almost hear the wet thump as the claw reached his bare skin, And he knew death was upon him. Hanging there limp and helpless he waited for the eternity it took in life and death situations for the blow to land.


    He felt peaceful as the monster''s fingertips hit his chest and felt it sear across his body like molten lava. The pain threatened to take his mind as the force of the blow pushed in on his chest. There in that moment, he screamed in his mind. Somewhere outside of him he heard another scream, it was vile and like nothing he had ever heard before, the scream was coming from Bill


    He had pulled his hand back and all that remained was a charred bloody stub, his scream carried, building until the concrete mortar began to crack and Cole covered his ears with his hands tucking his chin into his chest to protect him. Looking down at his chest he discovered the tattoo he wore there glowed with a white light that reminded him of the phosphorous grenades he had trained with while in the Corps.


    It was a remembrance tattoo with his daughter''s name in runic and a triquetra in the center and it burned like acid on his skin¡­ Cole''s mind lurched as it fought with reality but in the end, instincts and ancient training won out. He looked passed the demon ignoring the pain in his body another trick he had learned in the Marines. He shoved it into a box he kept in his mind and summoned the killer inside his soul.


    Old and faded the killer emerged sinking into Cole''s body and taking control. The pain was distant, the fight the only thought, cold eyes ran over the room using their adrenaline-fueled senses to search for anything that could be used as a weapon. His eyes fell onto the bucket in the back of the room, behind the chair that Bill had been sitting in, there standing like Excalibur in its stone he saw it. A brass hammer standing tall above the mismatched tools. His body screamed as he forced it forward, but he had a job to do. He rolled his way over to the bucket as the monster wailed and cursed, trying to crush his skull with the sound.


    "You fucking fuck, what is it you bring here, you little piss ant, I watched heaven fall to its knees, and you think kitchen witchery will stop me!!!" Bill''s defiant shout echoed into Cole''s very bones but in it, he could hear fear, ¡°Fear is good, only things that can die feel fear¡­¡± the killer in his head informed him


    It was a moment stretched to the breaking point, Cole hammer in hand had regained his footing and Bill stared at him, with hate-filled, burning eyes that had begun to ooze like candle wax in the hot sun. Bill screamed, charging at him, but Cole was ready, and though he had not fought in years, his body and the killer within took over.


    Driven by sheer force of will, Cole parried the streaking claws. He moved clumsily, as his body had more weight on it since he had been a Marine, but it was good enough. At first, the fight was like a dance, Bill in his monstrous rage striking at his chest, throat, and guts as Cole blocked, dodged, and struggled to keep his stance.


    Then it started flowing back, like a veil lifted from his mind, and Cole could hear the war drums beating in his chest. The feeling of the fight flared in his veins and the bittersweet metallic taste of bloodlust touched his tongue. He was home. The killer again, a demon of his own making locked away in his head, drowned out with therapy, cigarettes, and booze. The killer was loose, and it felt good to be free. His anger feeding his muscles, his reactions, and senses.


    He smacked away Bill''s hands, throwing them wide in an arch leaving the demon open. Cole took the advantage without a thought, twisting on his feet, rolling into his opponent, striking him with the force and weight of his entire body.


    The brass hammer took Bill across the chin, a satisfying crack of bone and thump of muscle greeting Cole, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile. The monster fell, curses still falling from his lips as he hit the ground. "Rule one in a fight: being on the ground is death. Jump him!" the killer''s thought blasted Cole''s mind, and he followed the instructions as any good soldier would. He fell on top of Bill, his hammer swinging, again and again, his skull sounding like a watermelon splitting on concrete with each blow.


    He could feel the monster''s claws raking his skin making his tattoo burn with each strike, but Cole had the fight. It was over, he stood gasping for air in an effort to clear the rage from his blood and lock the killer away.


    Bill twitched on the ground, blood and bone covered the room like a Jackson Pollock painting and all Cole could do was laugh, A maniacal evil laugh at what he had done. Another bad habit that he had picked up in the Corps and this one had earned him a nickname.


    "Welcome home Joker," he told the killer in his mind, ¡°I think you need to stick around for a while." He could hear the insane laughter in his head and he knew at the end of this he was going to have an even harder fight to lock Joker back up deep in his soul.


    Cole let himself slide down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. Bill''s remains had stopped twitching in their death throes, they had begun to bubble and steam letting out a noxious fog into the air of the office.


    It smelled like a cat had pissed on a tire fire and then rolled around in week old skunk. Cole could feel his stomach begin to quiver at the stench and he promptly vomited on the floor to his side with a sickening sound. The brass hammer that had saved his life sat in his lap the weight of it bringing a small comfort to him. The room had begun to turn green with bill''s death fog and Cole knew he had to get away from it.


    With muscles that screamed from their long forgotten movements, he hauled himself from the floor, pushing the door shut and jamming a floor mat under it to keep the fumes from spilling into the shop. He made his way to the light switch by the door, listening hard for any movement in the dark. The lights flicked on, not with their usual fluorescent brilliance, but with the subtle ruddy glow that always comes from industrial lights when they have grown old and underpowered


    The shop had a metal sink set up next to the garage door where the crew would wash the grease, metal splinters, and debris of the day off of them. Right, above it stood a mirror, a sort of dented piece of metal, Polished just enough that you could check over your uniform but never good enough for the close-up details. He looked at himself in the mirror, blood and gore covered his skin where it lay bare from his torn shirt, but his reflection was not good enough for him to check his wounds. His ribs ached in the familiar way he had long ago learned to associate with broken and cracked bones.


    "They are just cracked, go through the procedure, assess the damage, are you bleeding?" Joker''s voice cut through his haze making him start the routine at his feet, flexing and relaxing each body part, feeling for pain, cuts, and if the limbs were functional. Lastly, he turned on the faucet to wash the massacre of flesh from his chest, the stench of sulfur burned his nose as yellow liquid poured from the faucet.


    The smell reminded him of aunt''s well water back home, it had been dug too close to a sulfur pocket and had always carried the stench of rotten eggs, and while it smelled horrible it was still safe to drink. He put the tips of his fingers in the running water and it oozed over his skin. The feeling of clean water covered in slime reminded him of pond scum, but at least it had not eaten away his flesh.


    He hit the lever on the paper towel dispenser that hung on the wall and used them to clean the blood off his chest. Relief flooded through him as the remains of his fight washed off of his skin, there was no cut. He knew there should be a gash big enough to bleed him out crawling its way over his body, but all he found was chestnut copper skin. It was his tattoo that caught his attention.


    It was the same as always two ravens above each breast, a triquetra in the center, and underneath a name spelled out in Celtic runes that went across his entire lower chest. All of the tattoos were colored in various shades of black except the raven''s eyes, which were blue, but now as he looked at it, he could see dim light emanating from it, Glowing faintly like a child''s glow stick he had given to his kids to use during Halloween.


    He cupped his hand over the inked flesh thinking it was a trick of the light, but no, there beneath the shadow of his hand the ink was glowing with a bluish green light."What the fuck is going on here?" His words fell from his lips as a slight whisper, "This has to be a dream, I''m locked in a dream, I need to wake up!" he closed his eyes as he realized he was talking to himself and began gathering his will.


    He had suffered from night terrors since he was a child and though most kids grow out of them Cole was one of the lucky few who had not. He pulled in his will and imagined himself floating in a dark black pool, he had learned long ago to control his dreams, at least to the point where he could wake himself up, most times. He felt the dark pool surround him, filling him, it was him and then he floated to the surface, just as he had done hundreds of times in his life.


    All he had to do was reach the top and break the surface and he would wake from this horrible nightmare. The darkness shifted, and Cole grasped at the nothingness trying to hold onto it, fighting with all he had to break the surface and end the dream, it shifted in the grasp of his will and then floated away from him, scattering like smoke in the wind.


    "This isn''t a dream Cole baby, you know that you feel those ribs, this putrid air burning in our lungs, we have been shifted, kidnapped, shanghaied to the never-never world." Joker''s voice cracked through his mind as a harsh laugh. "We can''t be there, no living man can enter hell and leave... It''s God''s decree, a law of creation and it can''t be broken I know that.." Cole threw his rage-filled thought at joker


    "True but who said you''re going to leave, and for that matter who says there aren''t ways around the law..." Joker''s voice fell back into laughter as Cole stepped away from the sink looking out the window into the ruddy red twilight. His thoughts rolled over themselves giving him the possibilities of his situation, his passion had been spirituality, everything from Jesus Christ to Aleister Crowley


    He knew there was lore and myth about people being taken into the ether by changelings, brownies, and all sorts of otherworldly boogiemen but this, this was straight out of Greek myth and he was Persephone. The P.A. system crackled and sparked to life cutting Cole''s thoughts short as his attention shifted to the noise.


    Music picked its way across the room, falling into a song his mind recognized and his thoughts began to roll in time to the lyrics of ¡°Welcome to the Jungle.¡± He listened to the song as it abruptly cut away the static of dead air filling the room. He heard a small sound like someone clearing their throat just before a Smoky sultry voice spoke.


    "Sorry about that Cole baby, but we appreciate a good laugh every now and then." A polite laugh paused the speech from the P.A. system and continued. "Now that I have your attention welcome to our little shop of horrors, you must be wondering who am I, don''t fret about it Cole baby you aren''t the first to come here and you won''t be the last." Amusement seeped through the woman''s tone as he listened and joker cackled, "We''re fucked..."


    "Allow me to explain," the woman''s voice purred "You are here for our enjoyment, every so often we get bored you see, tempting humanity to sin, all to make father cry at his lost loves, but it''s nice to get a reboot, something fresher than the damned souls here in Hell, so Cole boy, it''s a game, you play and maybe you could walk out of here, lose or refuse to play and we swallow you up..." A rumble shakes through the speakers of the P.A. system, the sounds of people shuffling to sit down causing the woman to pause.


    "Here is the game, three buildings, three days to find your way back home, find the way out and we send you on your merry way, run out of time or die... we feast!" The voice purred through the static, breaking through the scattered thoughts of Cole''s mind.


    "You have one hour to prepare, let the game begin!.." The P.A. cut off with the woman still laughing plunging the factory into an eerie silence, not even the hum of the normally running machines to break it.


    Cole searched his mind looking for answers, frantic thoughts bouncing around his head, "What is this place?..." The thought skimmed through his head, he reached down to scratch his right arm, the tattoo had begun to itch and made his skin feel like it was crawling. The itching grew like ants trying to peel away his flesh bringing his attention to his arm.


    It was covered in the black letters of a poem written about him, a token of love that he had decided to place on his skin to carry forever. Over the years he had grown used to the dark script covering him, in this place the ink glowed with a faint reddish color. As he glanced at it his eyes caught the moment in the ink and for a moment he thought it was a trick of the light.


    Doubt flooded from him and replaced itself with confused awe as the glowing letters and words moved themselves to the blank space of his arm spelling the words, "You are in Theosis" in bright red letters.

 Chapter 2: Born of Fire, Baptized in Blood

    Fear started to take over his mind; this had to be a dream, but the pain, the voice, and the overall feeling of reality - though bent and askew - made him all too aware he was awake. He ran a probing thought through his mind, searching frantically for his spiritual personality aspect known as the Father. He made his mental way to the garden in his mind. It was a place of beauty and peace that he had made to keep his virtuous and good personalities comfortable. He had another place for the less desirable aspects which was nothing more than an old wooden box wrapped in chains and sealed with a lock.


    He got to the garden in his mind and began to step forward, and slammed into something invisible. He felt it out with his mind; something had put a barrier around his garden. The good personalities were there on the other side, sitting by a trickling stream, laughing as they spoke to one another. He beat his fists against the barrier - or at least he imagined beating his fist against it. Out in the real world, or wherever he was, Cole looked like he was standing in place, staring off into nothing.


    "That''s not going to work. This place is the Theosis; it gives power to things that are normally weak back home." Cole turned his gaze from the garden to look at Joker as he spoke. "And how would you know this? You are a killer, my battle aspect. What would you know of this place!" Cole spat back at his aspect, anger and frustration seeping from his very skin. It made sense if the other aspects were bound that Joker would have more influence on his mind than normal. As far as he could tell, it was he and Joker alone.


    "We all may be different and have different functions, but we share common information. How could I protect you from the world if I didn''t have access to such things?" For the first time, Cole noticed that Joker was different. He still had the presence of wrath and rage flowing off of him, but his tone was cool, collected, and cultivated.


    "Just what I needed: aspects changing in mid-crisis." Cole''s thought floated through the air, and Joker''s eyes widened in mirth. "We are in your head, dumb fuck. I can hear you. Now we have to stop wasting time; you have already been standing around like an idiot with a piece of string for a half hour. It''s time to get to business. We are in the shop; shift over and let me drive for a bit. We need weapons, armor, and first aid if we can carry it." Joker''s tone shifted from insult to command, yet again something that only happened in the most dangerous of times, usually when Cole''s life was in mortal danger.


    The shift, as Cole had come to call it, happened smoothly, like getting into a shower or slipping into a cool dark cave. He let go of his control on his mind and let Joker slip into his consciousness, stretching his control into his body. He was still Cole; he could take back control, but for now, he let Joker drive as he watched.


    The world became a blur as his eyes swept over the room, looking for things he could use to defend himself. On a peg in the corner of the dimly lit room hung a welder''s leather jacket; he moved with efficient grace as he grabbed the jacket and slung it over him. Most of the men that worked with him were of the large breed, and the jacket felt loose. The answer to this came from the fall arrest harness hanging next to where the jacket had been.


    He slipped on the harness and tightened the straps as best he could, making the leather bunch up and stick out. He let a small laugh slip, realizing in his head that he must look like a can of busted biscuits.


    "It''s not the best, but it will have to do. Maybe we can find something better." Joker''s voice broke through, splashing ideas on the walls of Cole''s mind of what the ideal armor would look like. "Easy for you to say; right now, our balls are in our throat from the harness," came Cole''s reply.


    "Suck it up, buttercup. We have to make sure we don''t get swallowed up by this leather jacket, and if we get lucky, we might find things to add to this harness." Cole had no answer for him. Joker was good at making weapons and armor out of nothing; it''s what he spent his time doing in the box. But the harness cast doubts in Cole''s heart; it wasn''t armor. It was true it made the jacket snug, but the harness itself was just a set of straps like a mountain climber would wear, and the torturous jock strap in it made his balls feel like they were being squeezed in a vise. Images of monsters grabbing him and tossing him like a lawn dart exploded through his head.


    "Quit wasting time with all that silly shit; we aren''t going to be thrown!" Joker snapped. Their eyes hit the clock, and twenty minutes were left ¨C only a short time to find a weapon. The brass hammer had fallen on the floor, left there in the confusion of what had happened.


    He picked it up and swung it, testing its weight and balance. It was light, which meant he could swing it longer before becoming exhausted, but it was brass, and both of them knew the metal was soft. If they came up against something big or needed to bust through a wall, the hammer would become a nice little paperweight.


    With a resounding clatter, Cole dropped the hammer onto the table, determination fueling his every step as he made his way toward the toolbox at the far end of the workbench. He could feel the form of the weapon they needed beginning to crystallize in his mind. It took a beat for him to locate the proper tools, but with the aid of a crowbar and a bit of raw strength, he managed to wrench open the stubborn lid of the toolbox and extract what he was seeking.


    Another hammer, a small sledgehammer, its blackened head marred from use, the handle loose and slightly splintered. Placing it in a vice, he used another hammer and punched the wood out, leaving the head void of a shaft.


    Minutes ticked by like wildfire, and Cole found himself wondering, "Do monsters keep on time, or are they early?" Forcing the thought from his head, he grabbed the items he would need from the shelves that held what maintenance men called "raw stock." It was really just metal of all shapes and sizes, cut in different lengths.


    He found a piece of steel just long enough to make a good handle for the sledge. Wasting no time, he fired up the M.I.G. welder and secured the shaft to the head. A good-sized bolt lay in a bucket on the work table ¨C the kind of bolt they used to anchor heavy machines into the concrete floors.


    A nearby grinding wheel took the bolt tip to a point, and he quickly dropped the visor on the helmet used for welding and fused the bolt to one face of the hammer. "Good, good, we only need one more thing!" Joker''s laugh danced in the air as he ran to get a length of chain and metal clamp from a nearby bin.


    He didn''t rest; Joker was on a mission to protect and kill. He welded the chain to the shaft of the hammer, then the other end to the clamp. It wasn''t an impressive clamp, just a ring of metal with a screw in it to tighten it down. Slipping the clamp over his hand, he tightened it down to his wrist, swinging the weapon into his hand and dropping it again.


    "Fun, fun, fun... We are going to kill again, Cole, man-o, ah freako!" The thrill of the fight began to rage through Joker. Cole could feel his body heat up as the surge of adrenaline hit him, telling his dark secret: he loved the rush.


    "One question," Cole interrupted his insane companion. "With this harness and this hammer on our arm, again, I say, what do we do when someone plays yo-yo with our body?"


    "Shut up, fucker, you are such a Boy Scout. You afraid of getting your knees skinned up? This is awesome, chain hammer for the win!"


    The wall clock''s relentless ticking echoed through the room, each second passing with unyielding certainty. Cole''s gaze remained fixed on the minute hand, his heart caught in a frantic dance of terror and anticipation. Joker, once a cacophony in his mind, now fell eerily silent as the minute hand struck the twelve, signaling the end of the hour that had been granted to them.


    He waited in the odd pregnant silence of the shop. He had expected a gong or bell to ring out, marking the start of the battle, but nothing came. Cole made his way to the window that overlooked the floor of machines that grew from the concrete of the factory. In the pale light, they looked twisted and wrong, their metal glowing faintly in the dim orange-hued light.


    The details struck him, standing out like a junkyard; the whole place reeked of death, decay, and sulfur. From the corner of his eye, he caught a movement drawing his attention to the floor. A black mist had begun to roll out like a fog at a rock concert, snaking its way across the machinery, climbing it, and obscuring his view.


    The mist picked up its intensity, billowing out like a storm rolling over the ocean, and Cole took a step back as it slammed into the glass, cracking it. He had little time to think before Joker was screaming at him, "MOVE, JACKASS!" They ran for the door as a window frame shattered with a crack, sending broken bits of glass and drywall into the room. He risked a glance back as the mist swirled around into dust devils, falling into themselves and becoming a mass of humanoid shapes.


    "We gotta move; they have called the Djinn to track us." Joker''s normally insane tone was focused and direct. Cole jerked open the door and threw himself out into the hallway, careless to notice if the Djinn mist had filled it. Luck seemed to be on his side for the moment as the hallway was empty of djinn fog. Risking a glance back into the window that let the bosses know people were in the shop, he caught a quick glimpse of the Djinn.


    It looked human for the most part, if humans had skin the color of asphalt and cracked with glowing red lines. Tendrils of fog twisted their way off its body, blurring into the air like steam. The demon looked to be about his height and slender to a fault, but the thing that disturbed Cole the most was the Djinn''s eyes ¨C they were solid glowing red, like pools of lava hot hate.


    "We have to go unless you''re up for your first fight now. Run, hide, study, and plan," echoed Joker''s advice in Cole''s mind. The urgency in those words injected life into his legs. A howl emanated from the room he had just fled, a sound that seemed to defy reality. It was as if the wind had birthed a dust storm, stripping the flesh from a rage-filled dying animal. The mind-shattering howl urged Cole to curl up in a ball, make himself small, pull the covers over his head, and hope for the best.


    Cole found himself in a position he could not have dreamt; the innate human fear coursed through his veins, eons of evolution awakening his lizard brain as fight or flight instincts clouded his and Joker''s better judgment. He ran blindly across the open factory floor, zigzagging through the gaps between the towering machinery, the chilling sound of rushing wind at his heels, growing ever nearer. The mere thought of the Djinn''s fog catching him fueled the fear and adrenaline surging through his legs. In a fleeting moment, his mind snatched control from the primal fear, allowing him just enough clarity to rein in his racing thoughts.


    Random facts about djinn and demons struck through his head like lightning, "What kills a djinn or demon? Demons are immortal so the story goes, djinn are mortal, what stops a demon?" The thoughts raced through his head, banging together with a survival-born speed until finally, the answer exploded in his head.


    "IRON!" And with that thought came a plan trailing in its wake. All he had to do was stay alive and run to the other side of the plant. It would be a full-out half-mile sprint, but there was a machine that the other technicians called the old grey mare. She was the oldest machine in the building and was equipped with deep-cutting lathes for turning drive shafts and, best of all, she was made of iron.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The Djinn''s fog was splashing its way toward him, touching the back of his heels, and Cole knew that if he stopped for even a moment, the beast would have him. His legs burned with exhaustion; he was not the young Marine he had once been. The weight of his body, steel-toed boots, and welder''s jacket took its toll quickly on him, causing the air in his lungs to burn, but he learned long ago to shut off his body''s screaming, pushing himself beyond his limits and paying the price later.


    He pushed through, running as fast as his legs would take him in the dim orange light of the building. Ahead of him, his eyes caught movement; inside the eerie glow of the factory were people moving towards him in a slow, shambling motion. Joker took over, suppressing his fear as his eyes darted to the figures in front of him.


    "We can''t stop! We are going to have to bust our way through!" Joker''s voice screamed over the random thoughts crowding their shared mind. He raised the hammer in their hands and readied it for a sweeping blow. "Wait! What if those are real people like us? They could be trapped here; we can..." Cole''s voice broke into silence as the flat of the hammer struck a woman on the side of the head.


    It was a solid hit, and he knew from the way her bones sounded like jello dropped on pavement, it had been a death blow. "We can''t waste time on what-ifs here, Cole. We got a demon beast thingie on our heels and these fuckoffs in front of us. It''s do or die, baby boy!" The hammer smashed into another body, clearing a path as Joker''s laugh escaped from their mouth.


    It was gruesome work, butcher''s work soldiers called it, close in hand to hand, swing and pray. Joker was good at this kind of thing, always had been. It had been Joker that got Cole through the war in his youth, though he tried to bury those memories and the nickname he earned.


    Joker forced them on, a swing from their hammer now and then to clear the way of people, beasts, or angry wooden pallets, all fell before them as they ran. The fog began to make its way around them, flanking them on either side, pushing forward faster than Cole could run. It was going to cut them off and trap them.


    The light dimmed as the fog enveloped them whole, plunging them into darkness. He pulled his run to an abrupt stop, not being able to see where he was going in the darkness meant he could crush his head on a wall, fall into a hole, or trip breaking his leg. The fear and panic burned in his stomach, making him feel like he had swallowed lava-laced lightning. Closing his eyes in the darkness, he listened for what he knew he would find, the sound of footsteps crushing against concrete, and from the sound, they were coming closer.


    "What now, genius? We are caught!" Cole snapped to Joker. "Well, maybe if you worked out more and laid off the taco truck, we could have outrun him, fatty. Instead, now we have to fight." Malice oozed through Joker''s voice.


    The shadows of fog parted like a theater curtain, letting light spill into the darkness. Cole had to cover his eyes from the shock of brightness, but through the pain of his pupils trying to close up to pinpoints, he could see a silhouette moving towards him. The tunnel behind the shape began to close, and he could move his hand from his eyes, taking the first good glimpse of his enemy. There was no question it was the Djinn; its skin, cracked and jagged, leaked red light illuminating the darkness.


    "You are the one I was sent for," the djinn''s voice sounded like a breeze over sand. "How frail you are, descendant of Adam. Not even an hour has passed, and you''re trapped, facing oblivion. Your death may not bestow me honor, but your soul will nourish my fire for a while longer..."


    The lungs in Cole''s chest burned white hot from his run; he tried to push away the fear he felt. Instead, he felt resigned. "How am I supposed to fight this? I''m broken, spent, out of shape, and this is a demon."


    "Fuck off, Cole, this is no demon, it''s a Djinn. We have already smashed a demon''s head in. Are you really going to give up without a fight? You going to lay down while this thing skull fucks you? Or are you going to fight?" Joker''s tone was harsh, and it bit deep into his soul.


    Cole was a lot of things, had committed his fair share of sins, but the one thing he was not was weak. Anger boiled through his veins like napalm. Fear fell off of him in waves, the adrenaline drove through him, steeling his resolve. Fear had fled, and in its place stood defiance, the kind of self-destruction that had led him down many a dark path.


    "What the hell are you doing, just standing there gawking at me? I thought you''d be a disappointment, but it looks like you''re gonna give me some fun after all. Good, I was getting pissed off at how easy this was." The Djinn''s dry voice cackled, and Cole''s mind snapped into focus on the mythical monster. The fog had them surrounded, taking away his option of running.


    "Move over, it''s time to get this started!" Joker commanded as he took over Cole''s body. The Djinn''s roar came out like a gale in a sandstorm as he rushed forward, his form melting from solid to mist and slamming into Cole. Cold sparked its way across his body, followed by a searing pain that spread through his veins, shocking his mind with pain. His mind went white, pure white and quiet.


    He felt himself floating weightless in the void, everything he felt was outside the bubble of quiet. Thoughts, pain, love, and fear skittered their way outside of this calm. He could stay here, right here in this light, he no longer had to move or fight, no more nightmares or heartbreak. In this void of white, he could rest.


    He began to let the peace fill him, felt the oblivion entering his soul, off in the distance he knew his physical body was dying. Closing his eyes, he prepared to surrender to the abyss. "You can''t..." A voice floated into Cole''s private heaven. "Wake up, Cole, you can''t rest yet. You have work to do." Anxiety began to fill the void of his existence. He knew this voice, it sounded like home, but deeper. Images began to burst into his mind, the rolling hills of his childhood, the face of his great-grandmother, his time in the Marines, and the feeling of pride. He had grown up dirt poor, he had fought all his life, never given up, he had clawed, tooth and nail out of Hell to get what he had, he would not lay down now!


    Anger flared in his chest as he opened his eyes. There in the middle of the blazing white void stood a man. It took Cole''s eyes a moment to adjust, but he could make out the details of him. Blue jeans and a denim jacket over a dark green shirt, his hair long and black pulled back into a tight braid at the back of his head, and skin the color of a copper chestnut.


    "Feel the rage, Cole, feed it, and go... This isn''t your time to rest, little brother." The identity of the man and the impossibility of his existence risked breaking Cole''s mind. That haunting voice echoed through Cole''s being as the ghostly force of his older brother''s fist slammed against his jawline.


    "GO!!!" His brother''s words followed the blow. The void burst like a soap bubble on grass, and Cole fell into the dark.


    Confusion formed in the dark as he fell, his mind and body fighting to make sense of what was happening to him, and then pain, shocking searing pain ripping through him, tearing through his skin and scouring away the confusion, his awareness returned, Joker shouting in defiance of the black fog engulfing them.


    "It''s about time you came back to the fucking party, Cole, now be a good little shit and help me." Joker''s words were a snarl through gritted teeth in an effort to keep the mist out of their body.


    Clarity came in a short burst of images from Joker as they shared a mind and thoughts. Cole knew the djinn was trying to crush them. The tattoo on his chest and arms glowed with a fierce purple light, and somehow he knew that light was sustaining him, keeping the Djinn from crushing him. He felt the rage in him rise, he could feel it like a thread, burnt red and throbbing inside of him, connecting him to everything inside of him and to the Djinn...


    He could see it through his shared eyes, the Djinn was an electric outline in the fog, he could feel an emptiness in the pit of his stomach. Hunger bloomed inside of Cole, a desperate starving need, he felt his skin burn with lustful need as he pushed out his emotions into the mist. He could hear Joker screaming at him, telling him what he needed to do to survive the fight, but Cole ignored him, all there was in him was hunger, he was gluttony.


    He felt it, a small click in the back of his head at the base of his neck, a tingling sensation like a thousand hot needles were being pressed into his flesh. The hunger and rage pushed him, guided him, the needles moving to his mouth, forcing him to open it wide. Hunger, need, and bestial desire pushed him as his jaws strained open, he could feel the bone hinges cracking, but it felt so good. His lips began to burn, the emptiness inside of him pulled hard against the Djinn''s mist. He felt the mist enter him, flood him, pooling into his belly and then racing across his skin, it was ecstasy.


    Lightning streaked across his eyes as his vision turned to blood-red light, in the distance he could hear a scream, a blood-curdling scream coming from something in its death throes. He felt pressure against his face, hard, and furious, as the hunger pulled in the last of the mist...


    "Shiva!!..." The words cut through the distance to Cole''s ears, loud and frightened, the sound brought him back into an eerie silence. Not even the hum of the machines broke it.


    "May the gods have mercy on you, Cole, it has finally begun..." Joker''s voice was the first sound to break the quiet, but the tone took Cole by surprise. There Joker stood in the realm of his mind, back straight and his arms crossed, looking down at him as he knelt on the floor. His hunger had not left but had receded into a small throb at the bottom of his belly.


    "What just happened?" Cole''s broken thought came through heavy gasps of air. "Dude, you ate a fucking genie, swallowed him whole just like those sharks on shark week, did you see his fucking face when you did, priceless." Joker''s reply ended in a maniacal laugh chilling Cole to the bone.


    "What does that even mean, Joker?" His mind raced like he had popped a whole bottle of caffeine pills and then snorted a line of cocaine. "It means you ate a djinn and now its power is inside of you, at least it looks like it''s inside of you."


    His eyes focused on the stark reality of what Joker had said; his flesh was glowing, more specifically the veins in his exposed flesh burned with a brilliant red light, just as the djinn''s had. Shock wore away to calm, his body felt lighter and whole, overall he felt as though he had slept for a week and could run 10 miles, even though he had exhausted his body in the hours since he had landed in Theosis.


    "Need to get a move on, boy, the djinn will not be the last of the wicked things sent after us." Joker barked the order through his mind. "But what happened, I have questions and you seem to know, how do you know, you can''t know anything that I don''t know, you are just a figment of my..."


    "MOVE, BOY!!" Joker screamed through the caverns of Cole''s mind, taking control of their shared body and making them break into a full run.


    Cole took a back seat in their mind as they ran back over the bodies of the people they had slain in their mad dash to escape the djinn, but as they ran past, Cole noticed he could make out the features on the fallen faces; the room had brightened like someone had flipped on floodlights.


    "It''s brighter in here now." He thought, "No, Cole, it isn''t. You consumed a djinn, and now the game is different. Some things will be natural, like the vision and the strength we have now; other things you are going to have to figure out on your own, but remember everything has its price, now shut the fuck up, we need to get to the center of the building."


    Cole watched from his place in the back of his mind, the distance to the center of the building was not that far, but they had been running full out for fifteen minutes or so now, and his body did not seem to be tiring under the strain.


    "Freaking Theosis, I hate this place, a mile can be a step and a step can be a mile here, or we could be in a loop trap, fucking Alice in Wonderland bullshit." Joker''s frustrated reply fell from their lips as he pulled to a dead stop.


    "How do you know so much about this place, Joker, matter of fact, how are you taking over when we aren''t in a fight, and why has your appearance changed?" Cole''s anger and frustration had overpowered his common sense; usually, this landed him in hot water, and this time was no different. "Jesus flipping Christ, Cole, I can''t hold your hand through all of this and keep you alive. We are in a fight, a fight for our lives, and I don''t know how I know; I just do, and I look however you want me to look, that''s how it works, this is your mind!"


    "I''m not playing around here, fucker; I want to know what you know right now, or I swear by all that is holy, I will sit down right here and wait for a hobbit to come eat us." Cole shot back, the resonance of his anger flowed through their body, and he could feel heat seeping off his skin like sweat in the wind.


    Joker knew this feeling; Cole was being stubborn, and there would be no budging him once he dug in. "Fine, but at least let''s go into a room or something where we can space out and have a girl''s night." Joker replied.


    They walked for a moment, looking for a room to hide away in. Cole took the time to adjust to his new sight. Everything around him was more detailed and vibrant but had a strange red tint to it. A thought struck him, and he placed his hand on the wall, holding it there until he felt the cement block heat up. He pulled his hand away, and to his small surprise, he found his handprint glowing on the wall.


    "Holy shit, I have heat vision!" He exclaimed out loud. "Dude, you ate a goddamn djinn; they are born of smokeless flame. What else did you not expect? Hey, did you know the sky is blue, and water is wet?" Joker''s sarcastic laugh punched the message home.


    They walked between the factory''s wall and the open space where the machines sat, humming in their low tone of standby power. Cole was caught off guard as they stepped up to a door at the end of the wall.


    "Where did that even come from? We were at least a hundred yards from the end of the walkway," Cole pondered. "You don''t listen well, fucker; I told you a mile is a step and a step is a mile. Pay attention!" Joker shot back.

 Chapter 3: Iron and Desperation

    They stepped into the room and found it quite sparse. Like most factory offices, the walls were dingy and tinted yellow from the oil mist that hung in the air. Against the window sat a small desk with a computer flickering through its screensaver. A cheap office chair faced the supervisor or whoever was in the office, so they could look out on the floor and see the workers doing whatever they were doing.


    To Cole''s relief, this office had blinds on the window. They were old and cracked, but he pulled them anyway and twisted them shut. "Good thinking, now we will never see ''em coming!" Cole ignored the comment, sat down in the chair, and responded, "Out with it, what is going on?"


    Joker stood for a moment looking into Coles''s mind as though he was thinking. Something was definitely different about him here. Joker seemed more and more like his own person instead of a personality conjured up to help Cole deal with fighting and killing. Everything from Joker''s stance to the way he was taking control of their body was feeling different and becoming more frequent.


    "I don''t know why I know these things. I don''t know why I know about this place or how it works. It''s like I have been asleep for a really long time, and now I am waking up. A fog is lifting from me, and I just know." For a rare moment, Joker''s face was serious as he spoke. Cole could see the effort playing across his face as he tried to remember.


    "But I made you. I imagined you to be the personality for me that killed, so I could do what had to be done and come home alive. How could you know something that I don''t?"


    "I don''t know, Cole. I''m starting to feel different, like I am trapped in here with you, but at the same time, I feel like I am you. I don''t know what that means, so don''t ask. I''m not the great magician Humphrey."


    Cole''s mind was silent for a moment as thoughts bubbled outside of him. He could feel the separation that Joker spoke of, and yet the connection they had. He concentrated on this feeling, trying to separate and isolate it away from himself. That''s when he felt it. Just behind the feeling of Joker, there was a force: red, glaring, and bright. He reached for it with his mind.


    "That''s the djinn. After you ate him, his magic pooled right here. That is what you are using now." Joker''s tone had broken the silence of his mind. Of course, the figment knew what he was doing. They shared sanity, after all.


    "it feels good, it''s... I can''t even describe it''s like sex and good food and Christmas as a kid." Cole''s thought was a whisper. He reached out with his will and touched the djinn''s power, relishing in the feeling that flowed over him.


    "Cole, be careful. You don''t know how..." Joker''s warning was cut off as the power consumed their mind, turning everything deep bright red. He felt the power wash over him and build quicker than a blink, releasing in a sudden rush as the bubble of magic popped.


    There was a loud ringing in his ears as he opened his blurry eyes. Slowly, the world came into focus around him, light and sound coming back to him in muffled tones. Pain coursed through him in waves. The world shook and waved beneath his feet as he tried to focus. Destruction greeted him. The outer wall of the room had been burst outward, spilling rubble and stone as far as the eye could see.


    ¡°Jesus and Mary, I told you to freaking stop. You have no idea how dangerous magic is¡­¡± Joker spat at him. The pain began to leave as the world came into focus for him. ¡°We have to go now. That was so fucking loud. We are going to have everything in this nine hells on us, and we still have to get to the center of this fucking fun hou¡­¡± The words trailed off as their collective attention was drawn to a sound rising from the darkness.


    He did not wait for his balance to recover, pushing heavy legs as fast as he could. Cole ran, their muscles fed with the fuel of desperation and djinn fire. They ran without thought. The sound followed behind, growing louder. In the fleeting logic left to him, they knew it was catching up. Another turn past the machines that lay dormant, humming sleeping giants of industry. ¡°What is that? Seriously, why is everything so freaking fast here? Fuck, seriously, just fuck.¡± Cole''s anger bit through the flight-or-fight nightmares in his head. ¡°It sounds like a swarm, but angrier, like if hornets had babies with crickets, and then that baby had kids with a rattlesnake... Oh, I know what that is, Cole¡­ we gotta hide, we gotta hide now.¡±


    ¡°What are they? Where are we going to hide here?¡± Thought skittered away as the feeling of Joker¡¯s control slid into his frayed nerve endings. The orange glow that pervaded Theosis gave just enough light for them to pick up the details. The images came too jumbled and fast for him to make out, but Joker sorted through them quickly with the djinn''s sight. ¡°Why is it darker now? Did we bust our head on the wall?¡± Cole asked, trying to keep the fear from consuming him¡­


    There was no answer in the flickering flight, just picture after image until one scene stuck. He looked at the thought held in their sight. Everything was washed over in the dimming red of the djinn site. His eyes focused on the center of their view. It looked cold, absent of all heat, leaving a stark black blob in the haze of Theosis. ¡°We are going to cut this close. Listen, Cole, as soon as we get in here, I need you to put your hands on the door and touch the djinn fire again. But this time, think of mist floating away in the wind. Push that feeling into the door and all around us."


    "Wwwhat is that place? What if I explode?" Cole stammered.


    "Shut the fuck up, boy, and do it. I will explain it if we live!" Joker''s voice was harsh and commanding as he sped their body forward, crashing into the blank spot with full force. He braced himself for the bone-jarring impact that would follow, but to Cole''s surprise, the wall gave way and he realized they had run through a door. He felt the cool metal under his fingertips as Joker slammed the door shut. "DO IT NOW!"


    Without thought, Cole reached out to the djinn fire inside of him, feeling it hum its way through his flesh. He brought up the memory of an old creek behind his childhood home, the feeling of a cool and humid day as the fog lifted off the water, and watched as the wind scattered into a perfect blue Hoosier sky. "Push, jackass, push!"


    The feeling came naturally to him, the hum in their body became a rush flooding down his arms and through his fingertips. He could feel the magic melting into the wall, everything was in harmony, a chord struck in perfect rhythm. The sound crashed outside the wall building to a crescendo of angry buzzing and cracking bone. "Hold it, Cole, keep pushing it out, it''s working. It can''t find us, just keep pushing." The coaxing in Joker''s voice almost broke his hold over the flame and he felt his concentration waver for a moment. Whatever was on the other side of the door grew frustrated, having felt its prey vanish from its senses. The hum of djinn fire in his veins began to flux, it was becoming harder for him to hold his focus on the image of the mist. His body felt as though a mountain was weighing down on him, threatening to crush him at any moment.


    Sweat dripped off him pooling on the ground at his feet. He was losing his grip, the magic was scattering away. "Please, please just go..." The prayer fell from his lips as a whisper. The swarm buzzed back and forth from where they hid and then receded into the distance. He waited for the sound to fade into silence and collapsed to the floor, barely holding himself up with hands and knees. "Good job, Cole baby, very good job..." Joker''s voice carried in it something Cole had rarely ever heard, respect.


    He gulped in air through burning lungs, slowly feeling his body return to its resting state. His muscles ached, his skin burned like he had been scalded, but he was alive, and with that feeling came a brief relief. "What was that? I feel like it''s the first day of boot, I''m shredded." Cole''s thought echoed through the empty quiet. It took Joker a moment to respond as he looked at him in their shared mind space. This was always an odd feeling, to have one''s imaginary friend stare at them and realize they are staring.


    "That was a hell swarm. You know of them, think back to your church boy days. They are one of the plagues God will release in the revelations. They live between here, hell, and purgatory. I remember more and more the longer we remain here. I am remembering who I am, Cole. I am remembering what you are. I can feel it there, just behind what we are together."


    "What are you talking about? You are really starting to piss me off with all this Yoda, master of secrets bullshit. Why couldn''t those things find us in here? What did I just do? What is happening?" Cole''s rage flowed through his thoughts, but the figment merely smiled their trademark crooked smile.


    "This is a door, a special door, this place has laws, old laws Cole, laws spoken in the dark before reality was formed. The first thing I can tell you is iron is powerful here. It can channel and block all but the strongest magic. This is why you read about it so much in your fairy tales. The true laws last no matter how mixed up they get. As for what you did, you pushed the djinn fire into the metal and used its natural properties to block us from the swarm''s view, physical and magical."


    "Honestly kid, you held it together longer than most of the old magi I once knew. That lot would have passed out in ten minutes trying to hide from a swarm like that." The laugh that ended Joker''s answer was familiar and comfortable. He sat there in the dark of the room, letting everything that had been said wash over him. It was chaotic, pushing at the very edges of his logical self. He could feel his mind wanting to shut down from the absurdity of it all. This was not a dream.


    "No Cole, this isn¡¯t a dream. It''s the reality behind reality, the realm where God and Satan walk. It is as real as everything you can touch, feel, see, and hear. It''s been a long time since I have been here. I looked for you for a very long time. So many fucking rituals, fucking teens all dressed up in black lipstick and spouting words they didn''t even understand, but I found you."


    Cole''s attention snapped to Joker, probing him with his will and djinn fire. "Don''t do that Cole. The djinn fire is almost used up, and you are, as you say, shredded. We are going to need the last of it to heal you and get to the center of the maze. I will answer your questions in time so quit being all drama and fucking brimstone."


    He let go of the djinn fire but still felt Joker out with his will, pushing past the image that was his figment. Pictures broke the quiet in his soul, blasting through with the feeling of eternal fire and despair, the sound of a thousand tortured souls screaming in agony to a god that would not hear them. "What the fuck are you?" Cole''s voice trembled as he pulled his will back from the monster in his head.


    "Yes, I do believe an introduction is in order since you ate me in your youth, and forced me into this image. Hello Cole, my name is Asmodeus, crowned prince of hell, and in charge of all of hell¡¯s gambling houses."


    Fear of the biblical raced through Cole. This demon was not lying. He could feel him, could see his face behind the image. "Get out, get the fuck out of me now! Foul demon, you have no power here, I cast you out!" The scream raged across them.


    "You forgot to invoke the father''s name kiddo. Not even the demons that clean my shit would flee from that weak-ass invocation. Besides, Baby boy, I can''t leave. You aren''t possessed, you ate me, swallowed me up like a Babalon whore. I''m afraid you are simply stuck with me until you die, or we die. I''m not sure how that part works. Let''s not find out."Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "If I ate you, then why are you still here? Shouldn''t you be gone like the djinn? I am pretty sure I shat you out a long time ago."


    ¡°It doesn''t work like that with angels and demons or your kind. Eat one of us, a god or demi-god and we stay with you, I did try to possess you, I could feel you in the house, but we have no time for that, the past is the past, and we have to go.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to kill me? How can I trust you?¡± Cole asked his voice trembling, he felt so violated, used and most of all betrayed. ¡°Look we really don¡¯t have time for this, I told you, I don¡¯t know what will happen to me if you die and I can''t get out of here, there is a very good chance I would just float out all Casper like, but there is a chance I could die with you or worse than that I could be trapped in your fucking corpse for eternity!¡±


    ¡°Now seriously we have to get a move on, we have to get out of here before the time is up or we will not finish what has to be done in Terris, besides I have grown a little fond of you fucker, and if you repeat that I will eat your fucking guts.¡± Joker''s tone was one of cool ire, steady, and even as if he was merely explaining facts to a child. ¡°Now listen Cole first things first take off that harness you look ridiculous¡±


    ¡°You told me to put it on asshole!¡± Cole shot back ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about, we are better than that, now take it off, you have a crown prince of hell in your meat sack, act like it, I will talk you through using the last of the djinn fire to regenerate yourself, while you get out of your clown suit.¡±


    Time slipped by as they worked their way through the healing process. Cole could feel the djinn fire leave his body, it''s light dimming as exhaustion washed out of him and his cuts mended. ¡°We have to move Cole, it''s time to stop running and start fighting. The best way out is through.¡±


    ¡°Did you just quote Robert Frost to me?¡± Cole''s thought floated across his mind, echoing. ¡°When are you going to learn, not only am I eons upon eons old, but that we share the same mind. What you know, I know, and Mr. Frost was a good man to party with¡­¡± Fondness bloomed from the demon as he spoke and he struggled to shake it off. ¡°We need a plan. We have our hammer, this mismatched suit, and our wits.¡± He thought the question to Joker, feeling it hang in the air between them. ¡°There is much more we have. You can eat magic. We have the collective trait of human creativity, not to mention your tattoos. For whatever reason, they seem to function as wards here. We got this,¡± was Joker''s reply.


    He reached out with his mind and surrounded himself in the numb of the killer. The rush of adrenaline, pushing through his veins, burned time into a thick molasses of heightened senses. The door came open more forcefully than he expected and bounced off his shoulder, leaving him feeling foolish and self-aware as he stepped into the fading orange haze of the Theosis orange-covered factory.


    He walked, taking in his surroundings with a quick proficiency born of a soldier used to war. Their collective mind grabbed onto details they could use for cover or advantage in a quick fight, cataloging and piecing together weapons of opportunity. ¡°I have always loved the human capacity to find clever ways to kill each other. You all have a serious thirst for all things death. Demons and angels alike have to watch something happen and copy it before we can use such a thing. It¡¯s just one more reason why all of creation hungers for a soul¡­¡± Joker''s tone enviously crashed against their thoughts as they made their way through the maze that should be leading to the center of the factory.


    The way Theosis rolled over itself, expanding and contracting, made his mind swim. The distances were hard to judge, and there was this feeling that he had walked miles and yet had not even taken a step, which was giving him a headache. ¡°There has to be a better way to do this. This place is designed to trap us, even I can see that, but the feeling here is making me sick. We have to find a way to break through this illusion and skip through the fun and games, or it''s not going to matter at all.¡± His idle thought broke across to Joker, who looked at him smirking. ¡°What if we could find a way to search all places at once, travel all paths, and find the dead ends, traps, and craziness instead of wandering around each one?¡± Joker''s reply dripped with a knowing feeling.


    ¡°Well, I am all for that, but how can we do that? I thought you said your kind can''t really come up with new ideas like we mere humans.¡± Frustration seeped into their mind. ¡°Oh, we can''t, but I have seen this trick before, long ago from the Magus who freed his people from enslavement. As I remember, they became tired of wandering in the desert. There were some rules they had to follow, and basically, everyone was bitching at the Magus to get them out. Now, that guy used his faith to have a flock of birds search for the way out, and we don¡¯t have that or the faith of a magi, so we will need to adapt the concept.¡± Joker''s thought brought up the memory of sand and heat, with a feeling of deep and powerful loss, but with it came the idea of what he needed to do. ¡°I have to eat the swarm, don¡¯t I?¡± The question was followed with a feeling of disgust as Cole wrapped himself in the idea of it.


    "Not all of it, at least I don¡¯t think so. As I remember, the hell swarm is a magical insect, but it is as I say an insect, and they have a queen. We just have to get the queen."


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know how I ate the Djinn. It all just kind of happened. How do I even make that happen again, Joker?¡± Cole¡¯s question didn''t even have time to fade before he felt his skin begin to itch and crawl. A reddish glow emanated from beneath the leather of his jacket. He pushed the sleeve back to see the words of his tattoo swirling, arranging itself into a word reading ¡°Instinct¡± in bold scarlet letters.


    ¡°Did my tattoo just answer my question like a smartphone?¡± His surprise melted into the answer already forming in their shared mind. ¡°Ok, well instinct, that¡¯s not much of an answer, but it¡¯s what we got. How do we find the queen?¡± Cole¡¯s question hung in the air.


    ¡°The queen is always with the swarm, in the middle of the swarm actually. As for how to find the swarm, that¡¯s the easy part!¡± Joker''s reply came with his wicked laugh as the demon grabbed control of their body. The swift surprise of his attack left Cole sputtering in their mind, leaving his will stunted in the face of his possession.


    Joker took in a swift, deep breath and screamed, the sound echoing off the hollow walls of the building and traveling in crashing glory away from them, trailing off into the distance. ¡°What in the literal fuck are you doing?!¡± Cole screamed in their mind, but the only answer was Joker''s demonic laugh. The scream had barely faded before they heard the buzzing coming for them. The sound of angry insects and breaking bone came from all around them and grew louder at an alarming rate.


    ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!¡± Profanity spilled from his lips as Cole took control of his body in the short time it took for the swarm to surround him. Pain ruptured through his flesh, as pincers and stingers ripped their way across his flesh. This was not the sting of a regular bee or wasp, but something more to torture the souls of the forever damned. It threatened his very sanity, driving madness into the numb he wrapped himself in.


    ¡°Get to it boy! Eat! Eat the fucking world!¡± Joker laughed. Cole could feel power flowing out of the demon and into his body, making his skin hot and his tattoos burn. The pain became dull and distant as he opened his mouth, the swarm rushing in to fill the space, stifling his scream. Rage replaced all thought, and Cole bit down to a satisfying and gooey crunch. The taste was rancid against his tongue, the smell of raw sewage baking in the sun against the texture of rotting flesh melted into his vision, with a gag, he swallowed, forcing the mass down.


    Bite by bite, he guzzled the onslaught of putrid bugs. Fear boiled in his mind as he struggled for breath between bites, and his vision began to dim. Then he felt it ¨C a subtle but slight shift in his mouth, the popping and cracking sound of bone as his jaw unhinged, making his bite deeper and longer. The feeling of falling surrounded him, and he breathed in deeply, watching the swarm funnel into his mouth as his hunger pulled them in faster.


    Hunger filled his mind. It seeped into his flesh, tore away at everything he was and could ever be. He was lost on the edge of it, teetering between himself and the abyss. ¡°THAT¡¯S IT COLE, ONE MORE BREATH AND WE GOT HER!¡± Joker''s voice was barely a whisper over the madness that tried to consume him. But with one last crunch, the hunger snapped, leaving the room in stark silence.


    The pain still burned through him. His stomach lurched and rolled in cannonball turns as bile rose in the back of his throat. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for you to be sick kiddo, it¡¯s the venom. It will pass as soon as your body adjusts to the magic. Now get up, we got work to do.¡± Joker''s tone was matter-of-fact, neither snide nor belittling, but rather of a man that was used to giving orders and having them followed. He got to his feet as the poison''s effects slowed down to a manageable point and felt inside himself for the magic.


    He could feel it deep inside his chest, and it unsettled him. The sensation of magic was both familiar and surprising to him, and with a mental shrug, he pushed his mind out as Joker had instructed him before. In the theater of his thoughts, he could see the magic ¨C a golden ball surrounded by black and grey smoke. Reaching out with his will, he touched the smoke of the ball and felt the presence of thousands of tiny minds, mismatched and stitched together. ¡°That¡¯s the swarm, nasty little buggers but fierce. You are going to have to separate them from the queen which is the glowing ball in the middle.¡± The demon''s tone instructed.


    ¡°If you know so much about how to do this, then go ahead and do it already, it''s not like you haven¡¯t taken over before!¡± Cole chided his companion.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t work that way, Cole baby. I can control our body, I can control my magic, but your magic, that is yours, connected to your very soul. Not even God messes with free will,¡± Joker replied.


    Cole shot the demon a look that could have melted glass, his frustration crashing into the feeling of slipping time. He needed more time. ¡°Be creative. How can I do this? What would they do in his fantasy novels?¡± The thought had barely formed in his mind before an idea burst through it. A tingling feeling ran down his spine, leading to a pressure in his head as his will gathered around him, flowing through him. It took a moment to find his focus, but he pushed the weight of his thoughts through the writhing black smoke to the golden light at its center and, with a mental jerk, pulled it free. The multitude of scattered, fragmented minds focused sharply into one thought: ¡°Your wish, our queen.¡± Cole felt a smile wash across his face as the magic boiled in his veins.


    The experience of using the swarm had not been pleasant. He discovered that somewhere inside his body, the swarm itself had taken up a physical residence. They had not materialized from some other dimension but had come vomiting out of his mouth like a bad horror movie. The whole event had thoroughly disgusted him and left Joker in a fit of laughter, broken with the cackles of ¡°Welcome to hell, Cole!¡±


    They ran down the corridors, the swarm fanning out in all directions around them, finding the dead ends and pockets of collapsed time, warning them away. At first, the sensory information had overwhelmed them both until Cole had figured out how to filter it out through the golden light of the queen. Now, the distance melted away in a buzz of certainty.


    Hammer in hand, they ran sure-footed, taking corners and hallways alike at near full speed. His swarm returned to him as he ran, crawling their way down his throat and back to the place he tried not to think about. The path in front of him opened up into the wide sprawling space of the forge facility. The machines seemed to be working here, as he could see red molten steel floating from vats in thick, blistering strands. The smell of sulfur lay heavy in the hot, stagnant, dry air as he pulled his run-up short to get his bearings.


    ¡°We need to be careful here, kiddo. This place feels off. We may be in a pocket of Theosis where it''s closer to hell, a thinning in the walls. If you cross over, there is no turning back.¡± Importance dripped from Joker''s warning. They looked out over the sprawling machines, looking for anything that would be out of place. Furnaces sat in neat rows, pouring ruby metal into the runoff troughs. In the distance, the hydraulic hammers pounded their steady beat and chime of shaping cold steel. Shadows crawled their way across the floors in the ambient light of the steelwork.


    ¡°This room has always been dim and depressing, but here in this place, it seriously looks like a Wes Craven wet dream.¡± Cole''s thought brought a laugh from his demon, but the realization was clear to them both. Other than the machines, nothing was moving on the factory floor. Stepping lightly, they made their way to the center of the room, where the offices should be placed. In the other world, he knew that inside would be an elevator that would lead him to the second floor of the building. It was where all the upper management would sit in their pristine white shirts and have meetings and other things that upper management was wont to do.


    The light was low, but just enough for him to make his way to the office. Looking over his shoulder, he reached for the doorknob, feeling a sense of nervous dread breaking through the numb. He stopped his fingers on the knob and slowly turned it, hearing the latch catch and knock with a loudness he could feel in the pit of his stomach. "For the love of Christ, Cole, stop pussyfooting about and get on with it!" Joker chided him as he pushed the door open and stepped inside.


    He looked out over the windows to the factory spread out before him but could see nothing except the machines pushing on in John Henry fashion. "Is it just me, or was that a little too easy? I mean, seriously, I had to eat bugs to get here, and we just walk on through?" Cole''s thought was tinged with nervous relief. "I don''t know, I don''t trust it. There is something off here, but I am a demon of the first fallen. I really don''t trust much."