XII. The Making of a Monster

The door to Barnum's chamber slid closed behind Dahl, putting him in a room altogether different. Grey steel plates made up the walls and ceiling, while the floor seemed to be made of loose dirt. A single flourescent light hung at the center of the room, its beam glaring and focused. The edges of the room were obscured by shadow, including a desk on the far side of the room. A figure sat at the desk, his features indistinct in the gloom.

Dahl squinted in the harsh light.

"What do I do now?" he asked.

"Just..." came a whispery voice from behind the desk. "...Do what comes naturally."

As Dahl watched, the walls of the room retreated, leaving him alone under the light in a space thousands of feet across, the edges somehow visible in the darkness. The desk had retreated with the wall behind it.

Without warning, a sword fell out of the ceiling, missing Dahl by inches. It landed with its blade stuck in the dirt. A beam of light glinted across the blade's surface.

"What the hell is going on--" Dahl started. Before he could finish his sentence, a barbed tentacle shot out of the ground and hit him in the face. It stung, but he tasted no blood. Confused, Dahl whirled around, only to be struck again by another tentacle.

"Go on!" came the voice again. "Defend yourself!"

Dahl grabbed the next tentacle as it struck. He pulled, trying to unearth whatever was connected to it. In response, five more tentacles hit him in the legs, knocking him onto his back. He lost his grip during the fall, and the tentacle slid back into the ground.

"You're doing it wrong!" called the voice.

Dahl's gaze landed on the sword. He pulled it from the ground and a tentacle came up to tear it from his grasp. He spun the sword like a veteran, chopping the tentacle off at the base. The ground shuddered.

"Now you're getting it." the whisper called to Dahl.

Four tentacles came at Dahl from every side. He spun on his heel, taking two of them off. He leapt over the other two, landing at the base of one and severing it. He leapt at the last tentacle and removed it.

"Now finish the job!" the voice instructed.

The sixth tentacle rose from the ground and Dahl grabbed it with his free hand. Bracing his feet into the dirt, he pulled with all his strength. Dahl forced the creature attached to the tentacles out of the soil, casting it onto the open ground. Five severed stumps and one tentacle joined beneath a lamprey-like head with no visible eyes or ears. With a confident blow, Dahl took the head off. The creature stopped thrashing.

Dahl felt wind and sensed movement. When he looked up from the creature, the walls and desk were back in their original places. The figure sat on the desk. His features were still shrouded in darkness, but there seemed to be something very wrong about him.

"You have passed the first test, Dahl." he said. "Keep it up and you shall become a true demon."

The figure stepped out into the light. Like Barnum, he was taller than any human had a right to be, but that was where the similarities ended. He was nearly eight feet tall, but this was mostly because his head was enormous, a foot wide by a foot-and-a-half tall. Large, sunken eyes stared out from beneath heavy lids. A nearly invisible nose was above an open mouth with teeth at least five inches long. His body was long and spindly, elongated and emaciated; Dahl guessed that his fingers were ten inches long. He wore the uniform of a World War II soldier.

"I am called Seurot." When he spoke, his teeth moved, but his lips were stationary. "And now for you second test...You must defend yourself against me."

Seurot slashed at Dahl with his long fingers. Dahl saw the blow coming and dodged. Seurot had left himself open, so Dahl went to attack his weak spot.

But couldn't. Somehow, Dahl could not bring himself to act. While he hesitated, Seurot clawed at him again. This time Dahl rolled to avoid him, intending to kick Seurot's legs out from under him. But again, his body refused his efforts. Dahl went to throw the sword at Seurot, but simply could not motivate himself to follow through. He yelled in frustration, and Seurot's attacks stopped.

"Now you understand." whispered Seurot's twisted form. "As a Reaver, there is nothing that you cannot kill. But as a demon, you are subservient to Hell's wishes. You can harm only that which Hell will let you. Now get up."

Dahl righted himself. "This isn't what I signed up for."

"Oh, but it is." said Seurot, returning to his desk. "I am done with you now, proceed to the next chamber."

One of the wall platings fell to the floor, flooding the room with light. Dahl threw down the sword and went towards the opening, only to have it slam closed as he approached. He turned to face Seurot.

"Take the weapon, it is yours now." rasped Seurot.

Dahl scowled and retrieved the blade. The door fell open again.

Muttering to himself, Dahl walked through the gate and into the light.