Post by Hellboy on May 27, 2010 17:54:38 GMT -5
The house had been built in the early Victorian era and time had not been kind to it. It sat askew on a shaky foundation, waiting to be swallowed up by the swamp beneath it. The wrap-around veranda was mostly rotted through, and the areas that hadn't collapsed already were barely able to bear the weight of the broken glass that used to be windows. The elements had washed the wood to a no-colour grey. The moon sat high in the sky and cast pale blue light down on everything except the house. It was a void of colour.
Hellboy stood at the rusted iron gates of the property and chomped on a cigar. He looked up at the shadowy spires and arches with narrowed eyes. He exhaled sharply, and tossed the remnants of his cigar on the overgrown cobblestone path.
"You sure know how to pick 'em, Blue," Hellboy said over the radio.
"The entrance to the chamber should be in the first floor library," said Abe, as if he hadn't heard a word. A buzz of static accompanied his voice.
"When I get done, we gotta talk about these radios," Hellboy grumbled as he marched up the path.
"We simply have to make do, Red. Without access to the BPRD--"
"Yeah, yeah." He hit a button on his belt.
He knew the veranda would give under his weight, so he delicately - as delicately as a 6'5", 300-some pound demon could - jumped over it and through the doorway. The doors didn't so much splinter from the force as they broke trying to run away from the big red thing hurling itself through them.
Hellboy brushed splinters from his trenchcoat as he eyed the place. It smelled of rot and death. Black stains on the walls and floor must have been old blood. He followed them, stepping gingerly for fear of the floor collapsing. That wouldn't be the first time it's happened.
"I'm in the library now, Blue," Hellboy reported as he stepped in to a dusty old room, cramped by bookcases whose contents had mostly spilled out onto the floor. Age and moisture had left the books unreadable.
"Good. Now, there should be a switch that--"
Hellboy grabbed one of the bookcases with his oversized right and flung it effortlessly across the room. It shattered against the opposite wall and joined the detritus on the floor.
Before him, a doorway.
"Found it," he said over the radio.
"Yes, well," Abe cleared his throat, "Head down to the basement and you should be in the chamber of Anakh F'nagn."
"Jesus," Hellboy grumbled, descending the stairs, "It's always dank basements and dark chambers. For once I'd like one of these world-eating demi-gods to set up shop on a beach or somethin'."
"So you can work on your tan?"
"You're a funny guy, Blu--HUAAAAGH"
A step crumbled under Hellboy's foot and he went tumbling the rest of the way. He seemed to fall for an impossibly long time, which made the sudden, face-first landing in a shallow pool of still water all the more painful. He laid there for a moment and groaned.
"Crap." His voice echoed.
Slowly, he pushed himself up to his feet. He couldn't see the ceiling of the cavern he was in. What he could see was the hulking form of a sleeping demi-god. It dwarfed Hellboy quite easily. Any one of its uncountable tentacles could rend a person in two.
"Red? *fzzt* Are you *fzzzt* --ight?" the radio crackled.
"Yeah. I think I found it," Hellboy replied, staring up at what seemed like a wall of closed eyes.
"The *fzzzt* --ummoning chamber should be directly behind it. Try not to look at it for too long. It *fzzzt* --aid that gazing upon it for too long will drive a man mad."
"It looks like something Japanese people would eat."
"Well, Sir Gray was fond of exaggeration."
Hellboy approached without trepidation. He crackled the knuckles on his left and clenched his right.
"You should still have plenty of time to *fzzt* the cultists before they wake it, but do hurry. Liz is nervous."
"Tell her not to worry," Hellboy said with uncharacteristic warmth in his typically gruff voice, "This won't take--"
An unholy screech shook the walls of the cavern and at once all ten thousand eyes opened and stared at Hellboy. The tentacles writhed in anger, lashing out in every direction at once.
"--crap."
Hellboy reached for his belt and drew the Samaritan. He was a lousy shot, but the Samaritan used really, really big bullets. He pulled the trigger 'till the gun clicked empty.
He learned quickly that it took more than bullets to kill a god.
Anakh F'nagn, despite having a name that sounded like someone coughing up a ball of phlegm, wasn't a being to be taken lightly. It lashed out at Hellboy and before Big Red could think about reacting, a tentacle had him around the waist and up in the air and started to squeeze him like a tube of toothpaste. He clenched his right fist and his teeth and let loose with every ounce of strength he still had in him. The Right Hand of Doom became a sledgehammer-slash-meat tenderizer. He could feel the demi-god's appendage breaking just a bit more with every crushing blow from a fist with the power to punch through solid stone.
Eventually, Anakh F'nagn's grip slipped and Hellboy was in a freefall again.
Okay, he thought, now it's time to mix it up. Now I'm gonna--
Another tentacle came out of nowhere and swatted Hellboy like a baseball. As he flew backwards through the cavern wall, one thought ran through his head.
Crap.
Hellboy stood at the rusted iron gates of the property and chomped on a cigar. He looked up at the shadowy spires and arches with narrowed eyes. He exhaled sharply, and tossed the remnants of his cigar on the overgrown cobblestone path.
"You sure know how to pick 'em, Blue," Hellboy said over the radio.
"The entrance to the chamber should be in the first floor library," said Abe, as if he hadn't heard a word. A buzz of static accompanied his voice.
"When I get done, we gotta talk about these radios," Hellboy grumbled as he marched up the path.
"We simply have to make do, Red. Without access to the BPRD--"
"Yeah, yeah." He hit a button on his belt.
He knew the veranda would give under his weight, so he delicately - as delicately as a 6'5", 300-some pound demon could - jumped over it and through the doorway. The doors didn't so much splinter from the force as they broke trying to run away from the big red thing hurling itself through them.
Hellboy brushed splinters from his trenchcoat as he eyed the place. It smelled of rot and death. Black stains on the walls and floor must have been old blood. He followed them, stepping gingerly for fear of the floor collapsing. That wouldn't be the first time it's happened.
"I'm in the library now, Blue," Hellboy reported as he stepped in to a dusty old room, cramped by bookcases whose contents had mostly spilled out onto the floor. Age and moisture had left the books unreadable.
"Good. Now, there should be a switch that--"
Hellboy grabbed one of the bookcases with his oversized right and flung it effortlessly across the room. It shattered against the opposite wall and joined the detritus on the floor.
Before him, a doorway.
"Found it," he said over the radio.
"Yes, well," Abe cleared his throat, "Head down to the basement and you should be in the chamber of Anakh F'nagn."
"Jesus," Hellboy grumbled, descending the stairs, "It's always dank basements and dark chambers. For once I'd like one of these world-eating demi-gods to set up shop on a beach or somethin'."
"So you can work on your tan?"
"You're a funny guy, Blu--HUAAAAGH"
A step crumbled under Hellboy's foot and he went tumbling the rest of the way. He seemed to fall for an impossibly long time, which made the sudden, face-first landing in a shallow pool of still water all the more painful. He laid there for a moment and groaned.
"Crap." His voice echoed.
Slowly, he pushed himself up to his feet. He couldn't see the ceiling of the cavern he was in. What he could see was the hulking form of a sleeping demi-god. It dwarfed Hellboy quite easily. Any one of its uncountable tentacles could rend a person in two.
"Red? *fzzt* Are you *fzzzt* --ight?" the radio crackled.
"Yeah. I think I found it," Hellboy replied, staring up at what seemed like a wall of closed eyes.
"The *fzzzt* --ummoning chamber should be directly behind it. Try not to look at it for too long. It *fzzzt* --aid that gazing upon it for too long will drive a man mad."
"It looks like something Japanese people would eat."
"Well, Sir Gray was fond of exaggeration."
Hellboy approached without trepidation. He crackled the knuckles on his left and clenched his right.
"You should still have plenty of time to *fzzt* the cultists before they wake it, but do hurry. Liz is nervous."
"Tell her not to worry," Hellboy said with uncharacteristic warmth in his typically gruff voice, "This won't take--"
An unholy screech shook the walls of the cavern and at once all ten thousand eyes opened and stared at Hellboy. The tentacles writhed in anger, lashing out in every direction at once.
"--crap."
Hellboy reached for his belt and drew the Samaritan. He was a lousy shot, but the Samaritan used really, really big bullets. He pulled the trigger 'till the gun clicked empty.
He learned quickly that it took more than bullets to kill a god.
Anakh F'nagn, despite having a name that sounded like someone coughing up a ball of phlegm, wasn't a being to be taken lightly. It lashed out at Hellboy and before Big Red could think about reacting, a tentacle had him around the waist and up in the air and started to squeeze him like a tube of toothpaste. He clenched his right fist and his teeth and let loose with every ounce of strength he still had in him. The Right Hand of Doom became a sledgehammer-slash-meat tenderizer. He could feel the demi-god's appendage breaking just a bit more with every crushing blow from a fist with the power to punch through solid stone.
Eventually, Anakh F'nagn's grip slipped and Hellboy was in a freefall again.
Okay, he thought, now it's time to mix it up. Now I'm gonna--
Another tentacle came out of nowhere and swatted Hellboy like a baseball. As he flew backwards through the cavern wall, one thought ran through his head.
Crap.
