The Fourth Phase

TWENTY-FOUR

It was the smell that woke Boss from his coma; the putrid stench of decay and death. It surrounded him, seeping into his pores and assaulting his nose. He tried breathing in through his mouth, but that made him gag. The thick air tasted like rotten meat. Bile rose up his throat and he vomited the acidic liquid out. He gasped for air, but breathing in the polluted air made him gag again. He forced himself to calm his breathing, to focus.

His breathing under control, his other senses kicked in. Excruciating pain lanced up his arms and legs, threatening to return him to his coma. Turning his head, he could see sharp bone protruding through his left hand. He struggled against the fastening as panic set in, his heart thumping in his chest. Boss turned to look at his right hand; that too was fastened with bone. And he could feel another one through his foot. Waves of pain cascaded over him and he clenched his teeth together, riding it out. What was it Dee had said to him? There is always a way out?

He peered through the dim light. He could see another figure strung out on a rack of bones across from him. Boss shuddered, realising what had happened; he had been crucified on a cross of bones. He could make out Beth’s blonde hair a few metres to his right. She was still, eyes closed. Boss prayed she was alive. He glanced around the room. It was a large open area, as far as he could see through all the bones and entrails. The walls, floor, and ceiling were concrete. A steel set of stairs rose up from the floor to a small metal landing. Pivoting his head, he could see another set of stairs at the other end of the room.

In the center of the room, bones had been piled up into a throne. The Alpha they called the Trophy King sat on top. A small cage made from bones lay to one side. Inside it, a small figure was curled up.

The Trophy King was watching Boss, his yellow eyes glaring at him. He leant his head back and bellowed. The bellow shook the bones. Boss screamed, and desperately tried to wrench himself free. He had tried to remain strong for George, for Beth. He had tried to protect them from the beasts. But he had failed. Now the Alpha was to have his revenge. An avid gamer, Boss had spent hundreds of hours facing monsters; when the monsters became reality, though, he ran and hid. Dee had inspired him to fight and survive, to live on.

He looked around again as despair washed over him, pulling him into its dark embrace. Hundreds of skulls on spikes lined the walls. Skulls of all different sizes. The Trophy King bellowed again, rising from his throne. Variants poured into the chamber, surrounding him. He reached down and pulled the figure from the cage, then pointed at Boss and howled. The gathered Variants joined in. The howls grew in intensity, rattling his teeth and hurting his eardrums. Boss gasped as he recognised George’s red hair. Tears flowed freely as he contemplated their fate.

The Alpha lifted George up, grasping the boy around the neck with one of his huge claws. He picked up a shard of bone with his free claw and, with another look at the crucified Boss, stabbed George in the eye. George’s scream tore into Boss, shattering his soul.

“Leave him alone! Kill me! Just please, leave him alone,” Boss screamed at the Trophy King.

The Alpha shoved the still-screaming George back into the cage and, with an astounding jump, leapt in front of Boss. His sucker mouth pulled back, revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth. His rancid breath fumed out. With a snarl, the Alpha jabbed the shard of bone into Boss’s leg, twisting it. Boss screamed in pain and fought to free himself. He didn’t care if he died trying, but he just wanted to kill this monster from hell. He managed to lift his left hand off the bone, and feebly hit the Alpha on the shoulder. The Trophy King hissed at him and clenched his wrist in his claw, cutting into the skin. Then he slammed Boss’s hand back onto the bone nail. Boss screamed again, his voice growing hoarse. The Alpha bounded over to the crucified Beth. She was now awake, the horror evident on her face. Her gaze met Boss’s as tears streamed down her cheeks. The Trophy King turned to him again and bellowed. Turning back to Beth, he stabbed her in the right eye with the shard. Beth let out an agonised scream, squeezing her remaining eye shut as blood poured from her now-ruined one. Boss cried with her, trying to comfort her with his empathy.

A Variant leapt in front of Boss, and he felt crushing pain on the side of his head as his vision dimmed and faded to black.