Chapter 5

Persephone’s POV

I was sitting a landscape where there was practically no vegetation as such available. It was a red haze everywhere. There was nothing to be seen except rocks and crags and some smaller mountains. How on earth did I arrive here? I tried standing up but I found that I could not. My hands were stuck and so were my legs and I could not move at all. Where the hell was I?

And the moment that thought came in my mind, was I in hell?

How in the name of the holy goddess could I come to hell? Did I not run away from home just a few hours back?

And then suddenly there was a strange braying sound coming from near me. With great difficulty I could pull my hands up and I felt that there was some sort of gum stuck to my body causing me to stick to the soil. And I looked at what I was wearing. This wasn’t what I was wearing at all. This was something else altogether. There was a strange black leather moulded all around my body like second skin and I was looking like a dominatrix. It was kind of like a cat suit and never in the history of my life had I possessed anything of the sort. How on earth did I come into these clothes I had no clue…but then I heard a strange sound.

It was kind of like a braying sound, when a donkey brayed loudly and it was kind of a distress call and something inside me moved. I needed to help that animal no matter what. It sounded like he was crying for help and was trapped somewhere…I could never ignore the sound of an innocent animal crying. Be it any landscape. It was difficult to get myself free from what seemed to be sticky stuff…but I started walking towards the sound and soon found that underneath a leafless barren tree there was an animal lying.

It looked like a cross between a hippo and an elephant and I did not know what to make out of it. But it was crying out balefully and I went closer to it.

I could see that its feet was in the trap and it was crying out in pain. I did not know if it would harm me or not but I knew that I had to help it. I went closer and knelt beside it and softly shushed. I touched its skin as softly as I could and then I felt that it had been here in this state for hours and his feet was cut and he was bleeding.

“Shhhshshhsh…yes baby, I know that you are in pain…yes I understand..”

The creature cried out even harder and I softly shushed again.

“Will you let me help you? Will you? I promise that it won’t hurt any longer…”

The creature let out a soft snort and I had a feeling that it could understand my words and soon I sprung open the trap and pried its leg out and let it close with a clang and I could see that it had injured its foot. I did not know what bastard would be cross breeding species like this but the animal itself was completely innocent and I could not hold that against it.

“Yes, I know baby…I know that you are hurt but how will I be treating you when I have nothing on me…I will be needing medicines now, won’t I?”

But before I could say anything more or search elsewhere for treating the creature I could hear hooves and more huffing and puffing sounds at a distance and it was growing louder every single passing moment. All of a sudden I could see that there were a lot of Komodo dragons coming this way but there bodies had human features as well and they had spines and tails and it was a gross thing to see but I could not help but look at them with my mouth hanging open.

Where the hell was I?

“Hey you! Get the hell away from it…you are letting our food go..” shouted one of them in human tongue and in English and I was even shocked. How did Komodo humans speak English?

“Food? This creature? Have you seen how pitiful it is?” I asked as I stood up. The gum that had stuck to my skin…the creature was licking it with its hard tongue and I could feel that the gum was getting removed from my body…wow! This creature was eating it as well..

“Pitiful? Huh! How the fuck are you here and alive?”

“Alive? Living? A living one…” there were sounds of such in the group they were in and one of them said,” That is not pitiful. That is a baby. But move away from it, it’s mother will be here soon…and we won’t be able to feast..”

“You want to feast on it? On a fucking baby? What are you? Animals?” I shouted in indignation and I could feel that I was growing hotter and hotter and in the meanwhile the baby kept on licking me and I could feel that the layer of gum from my body was almost gone. The baby was quite fast it seemed.

“You are marked for death now that it has marked you,” said the Komodo man showing rows of sharp jagged teeth and I reeled back in disgust.

“Marked me for death? After I have saved him from being eaten by you idiots? Who want to feast on a child?” I shouted at them indignantly.

“You are not of this realm. How did you come here? How did you even get past the guards?” asked someone from the second row but the front one who had been speaking till now

“What are you guys?”

“We are the mighty Respeln demons of the third circle of Gehenna…”

“Gehenna?” I asked once, racking my brain of where I had read that word,” Hell? Is this hell?” I shrieked a little bit but I was more shocked than anything so fear did not even come to my mind when they all laughed and took a step towards me.

“You are a living one, aren’t you? You were saving that animal but now you will be the one running…” said one of the demons. I looked horrified at the prospect of becoming a prey but in an instant something happened inside me and I cocked my head to the side. It was like in an instant I wasn’t scared of these creatures any longer. Something inside me whispered, they should be afraid of you. You used to hunt them for fun.

“Now now now, aren’t we getting a bit ahead of ourselves boys? Oh…should I call you that or should I be calling you lizards?” I asked with a smirk and they all snarled at me. Someone stepped forward but in an instant there was something in my hand. They were going to attack me and I would have fought but I did not have my knives!

But hold on a second. My hands weren’t empty.

Not one hand, but both hands.

I had a twin bladed axe in my left hand and a curved long blade in other and they both were completely black as if they had been moulded out of darkness itself…

“Calamity!” The demon commander whispered. “She is Calamity!”