Eric's P.O.V

Somewhere in the suburbs:

I blink my eyes open when the vehicle came to a halt. I quickly straighten my back in the seat and sober up. Damn! when did I fall asleep?

"Where are we?" I ask.

"Shsh! Keep it down. This place is surrounded by guards." The demon whispered.

"Guards? Again? Oh, man! What are we getting into this time?" I whispered too.

Since there were no street lights, I could barely make out the demon's facial features in the darkness of the night and also, I was having a hard time recognizing the place. I narrow my eyes to focus my vision on the building across the road. It looked like an old two story building with a big yard.

Chubby shifted in her seat and pulled out a glowing amulet from her jeans pocket and the car was instantly illuminated by its dim light. This amulet was a tad bit different from the previous one. The one I had around my neck was pure copper. The amulet in Chubby's hand was in silver color and it looked like it was made out of platinum.

"You know what to do." She said with a straight face. The seriousness in her tone made a chill run down my spine. What is she up to now?

I take the amulet from her and tie it around my neck. It clinks with the copper one.

The text written on the LED signboard flickered on the old building across the road. It read "Joe's slaughter house."

The demon nudged my shoulder, "That's our cue. Let's go."

I grab her by her arm and pull her closer to me, "I'm not stepping out until you tell me what's going on."

She jerks her arm out of my grip, "If I tell you what we are about to do, your 'conscience ' will force you to chicken out." The demon huffed.

I shake my head in amusement. "How do you expect me to do something without letting me prepare for it?"

"Trust me, deado, the less you'll know, the better."

I grit my teeth, "For Christ's sake, Chubby. You're making it hard for me to be patient."

"Save your breath." She rolled her eyes, "We gotta move. Now."

The moment we stepped out of the car, the air felt heavy and ominous. As we began walking towards the slaughter house, I heard a fright, a yell of a dying cow, though the place was deserted. I swallow hard.

The slaughterhouse was surrounded by a fence. The yard inside the fence was quite big. Next to it, I saw few trucks. The foul smell almost made me puke as we passed them by. The slaughterhouse was few feet away when suddenly Chubby got closer to me and slipped her hand into mine. Confused, I turn my head around and look at her. Her black eyes were now completely white as she was chanting something under her breath. I notice how the platinum amulet was glowing around my neck, as if radiating some powerful magic. As the light from the amulet glowed brighter and brighter, I could see my surroundings more clearer. The old building had graffiti sprayed on it with several drawing of a three-headed dog with a serpent's tail, a mane of snakes, and a lion's claws. Before I could inquire, Chubby picked up her pace and so did I.

The slaughterhouse was a few feet away when a low growl vied for my attention. I snuck a quick glance behind me and saw a three-headed dog materialized out of no where and began chasing us, and the worst thing was, the creature was catching up. Fast.

What. The. Actual. Hell!

"DON'T LOOK BACK!" The demon yelled. But it was too late. The instant I turned around, the two-headed dog leapt over me, causing me to fall right onto the ground. I screamed and kicked as the three-headed dog barked at me, their saliva dripping over my face. My heart was beating so hard, If it weren't for the demon distracting the creature away from me, I'd have had a heart attack for sure.

The next few minutes were a blurry haze. I don't know when I got up from the ground and how fast I ran inside the slaughterhouse, all I know is that I succeeded at outrunning the creature from hell.

I was now hiding behind the door, panting. I bend over and put both of my hands on my knees while I try to catch my breath. I felt something damp touch my hand. With a feeling of dread, I brought my hand closer to my face. It was covered in blood. Warily, I look down on my shirt. It was dripping wet from my blood. And pain? Ofcourse I didn't feel any.

I lift my head and look at the surroundings. It was dark and dreary. A kind of fear and fright was in the air. Blood was everywhere, on the walls, on the floor. The stench was unbearable.

The front door suddenly slammed shut and I jumped, my heart in my throat. A pair of red eyes came into my sight of vision and I widen my eyes, not believing them. As they inched near to me, the dim illumination from the silver amulet helped me figure out what was standing infront of me. It was a two-headed giant dog with a body of a lion. Their ears were flattened, sitting against their heads, and alot of fur around their neck. It resembled the three-headed dog which attacked me previously, but this one was way too big. To my relief, the left dog was completely blind.

The creature lowers their heads to my level and the right dog look right into my eyes. I freeze in my tracks. He snarls at me, blowing my hair away from my sweaty forehead and the left one, who is blind, sniffs my head. I stand rooted to the ground, completely motionless and out of breath. I can tell they are mad. Very mad. It was a sight I won't forget for the rest of my life, well... if there is any left.

I was so scared, to the point that I wasn't scared anymore. It was like a switch had been suddenly flicked on and once it was on it would not be turned off. It had seemed to start an unstoppable chain reaction. What is left to fear when your death itself is staring right into your eyes? What I did next was completely unplanned.

I stood on my toes and lifted my hand to pet the right dog's head, and did the same with the other one. To my surprise, they both instantly bow down their heads and have their spiky tail upright.

"That's it. Calm down." I said, peting them. They lifted their heads, their ears pricked forward. The right one's pupils constricted, which means they are relaxed now.

Just then, The main door broke in half down the middle with a loud thud. Chubby stood under the moon light as the broken door fell against her. The two-headed dog growls at her.

"No, no, no!" I wave my hand infront of them, "Sit." I gesture the creature to sit down and it obeys. "Good."

"Making some new friends, eh?" Chubby wore her knowing acidic smile. I noticed she was grabbing her left shoulder. Blood blotched her jacket. I quickly run up to her.

"God, you look like sh*t. What happened?"

She narrows her eyes, "My meat suit is destroyed. All thanks to you."

"What? Me?"

She spits blood from her mouth defiantly, "I'll deal with you later. We don't have much time. A Griffin is already on its way here."

"Whoa! a Griffin you say?" I asked, astonished. I've only seen Griffins in video games and paintings and never thought that they actually existed. "Wh- why?" I ask while leading the demon inside. She sits against the blood stained wall and draw in a deep breath. I crouch down infront of her.

"Well, since I killed Cerberus, the three-headed dog and - " She thrusts her chin at the two-headed creature behind me, "Orthrus here have no powers over you apparently, they figured we are here in full force. So, a Griffin, the most powerful and majestic creature, is being sent down here to protect the prisoner as their last resort."

"Who are 'they'? And what's up with this prisoner? Who is it?"

"I'll explain everything but not now. You should hurry." The demon coughs out some more blood, "A little girl...locked in the cold storage room. Go get her."

"And what if there are more guards?"

"There will be." She wince and screw her eyes shut. "I know you can do this." Chubby's voice drops to a whisper, "Now go."

I stand back up, confused AF, and crane my head to look at Orthrus in the eye. The giant brown creature winks me while slowly wagging its tail. May be she is right. May be I can actually do it. But after this, the demon has got to explain everything. I'll make sure of it.

I wink back at the big bad.

-x-x-

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