Never Ending

Big Things Come in Small Packages

Kostas whirled around to face the source of the voice. He furrowed his brow when still no creature was in sight. He listened intently; however, the only sound that greeted his ears was the thundering of his own heartbeat. After a few tense moments of neither seeing nor hearing anything, Kostas let out a sigh of relief. "I must be going crazy. I'm starting to hear things." He muttered while pulling himself up to continue walking. 

"What did you hear?" The voice sounded again.

Kostas felt his body go stiff and his heart come to a painful halt. Still, he could see nothing in the open area around him or near the stone wall he was leaning on. "What was that?" He whispered fearfully.

"Turn your head." The voice replied directly in his right ear.

Quickly, Kostas turned to find a cockroach right beside his head. In a panic, he shoved himself away for the wall and stumbled backward onto the ground. Though the stone was rather unforgiving on his tired body, the shock kept Kostas from suffering too much. "Why are you talking?" He asked while fighting to keep his voice down.

"Don't tell me you haven't met any other Hellions." The cockroach said as it scurried beside Kostas on the ground.

His eyes widened as he tried to scoot away from the approaching creature. "You're a Hellion?"

"Of course." It replied indignantly. "And I'll have you know, I intend to kill you."

Kostas let out a short laugh. "What? I can just step on you; you know that, right?"

The cockroach let out a low laugh at his declaration. In the next instant, Kostas felt his blood run cold and his eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. The once normal sized bug had suddenly grown to be at least six feet high. It continued to laugh as it towered over Kostas and looked at him hungrily. Frantic, he tried to distance himself from the Hellion. However, with his useless leg, he could not stand up unless he was leaning on the wall which was now behind the cockroach.

"Come on." The hellion said teasingly as he watched him with amusement. "Where's the tough guy that was here just a moment ago?" Still laughing, the roach suddenly lunged at Kostas.

He winced and prepared himself for the impact; however, one never came. Tentatively, he opened his eyes. The terrifying monstrosity that had once towered over him was no longer there. "I must have just been hallucinating." He sighed in relief.

"Hearing things and seeing things? You really should get that checked out."

At the familiar voice once again right beside his ear, Kostas jerked and tried to swipe the pest off his shoulder. As quick as lightening, the Hellion darted for his ear. Kostas let out a surprised cry when he felt it crawl inside. He began frantically clawing at his ear, but the Hellion just kept going deeper into his ear canal.

"Awww. Are you scared? Don't worry, I can't kill you like this. But I plan to make you wish that I could." It laughed, sending shivers down Kostas's spine.

He continued to tug at his ear in a vain attempt to get the roach out. His hearing was suddenly filled with a horrible scratching as it crawled deeper still. Tears sprung to his eyes when the Hellion began biting away at the inside of his ear. Kostas howled in pain as the roach relentlessly continued its attack.

"You know, if you keep making so much noise, others are bound to come find you." It teased before biting him yet again.

As terrible as the situation currently was, Kostas knew that his torturer spoke the truth--another Hellion was the last thing he needed at the moment. Not knowing what else to do, he grit his teeth and crawled toward the wall. Once there, he began walking with a new vigor to find some kind of shelter. All the while, the roach continued to add to his suffering--only stopping his bites to ridicule him.

As Kostas was forced to listen to the roach munching on the inside of his ear, he tried to come up with a strategy to lure the pest out. That was when a terrible thought struck him. 'If I die right now, the Hellion will fall asleep inside my ear and I'll have no way to get him out.' He shuddered at the thought of keeping his unwanted visitor that long. 'I just have to be careful. I can't be found by another Hellion.' He determined as he continued to sweep his vision across the open area and along the wall he was leaning on. "It's a wonder no one has come yet. I know I must be emitting a lot of suffering." He muttered to himself.

"You are; it's delicious." The Hellion said giddily.

"Glad you're enjoying yourself." Kostas replied sarcastically. "But if I'm emitting suffering, why is no one else coming?"

"Because I'm eating it." It answered as it scratched along Kostas's inner ear canal.

"Haven't you had enough?" Kostas growled as it went back to gnawing away at his ear.

It laughed. "No." 

Kostas clenched his fist at the response. 'Just you wait until you come out.' He thought as he tried his best to ignore the nuisance. Clutching his now bleeding ear, he made his way into a small crevice that did not appear to be occupied. "Alright, get out." He demanded as he sat down. Ever since being smoked out of his last hiding spot, he was nervous of the close quarters and he wanted to leave the moment the Hellion crawled out.

"Oh, is the tough guy back?" It said in amusement. 

"Enough is enough. Get out." Kostas growled as he once again uselessly clawed at his ear.

"I don't want to." The roach said simply. "It's nice and warm in here and you give off a lot of suffering."

"If you do not come out, I'm going to pour holy water into my ear." Kostas threatened.

"And where will you get said water in Hell?" It retorted.

Kostas thought for a moment. As much as he hated to admit it, the demon had a point. 'I can't take this much longer.' He thought as the roach resumed its biting and scratching. Then an idea struck him. He thought back to a verse that his father had made him memorize when he was young. Kostas cleared his throat as he tried to remember the words. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Not knowing what else to do, he simply continued to repeat the phrase.

"I'm warning you, stop that noise right now." The Hellion shouted.

Kostas winced at the loud noise right up against his ear drum, but he continued reciting the verse.

With a final growl of annoyance, the roach made its way out of his ear. Before Kostas could even react, it shot out of the crevice and was out of sight. He sighed in relief at finally being free from the pest. However, his relief did not last long within the close quarters. The walls felt as though they were beginning to close in on him and his vision started to swim. Frantic, Kostas hurried out of the shelter. The moment he was out and on his way again, he heard a deep, rumbling laugh.

Kostas's blood ran cold as he froze in place. Slowly, he turned around. His eyes went wide when he saw the giant cockroach standing before him. Even at a glance, it was clear that the creature was livid.

"You are going to regret not listening to me." It growled as it menacingly crept closer.