Never Ending

Suicide Mission

Kostas then bolted out of the building as though his life depended on it; which, knowing the honey badger hellion's anger when it realized it had been tricked, the danger did indeed increase with every second he lingered.

Once his legs felt as though they would give out, Kostas slowed down. He looked around him to see nothing but rocks and pits of fire. "I swear there is no way to tell where you are. Every place looks the exact same." He muttered in annoyance as he continued to walk in the shadows. 

With each step he took, the feeling that he was being watched only grew stronger. Becoming paranoid that he had been found by another hellion, Kostas kept looking over his shoulder, yet each time, he saw nothing but landscape. A sigh slipped out as he shook his head, "Come on, Kostas, pull it together. You've been in Hell for only a week or two, it's too early to be losing your mind."

"You know, some would argue that talking to yourself is a sign that you've already lost it." A feminine voice sounded from beside him.

Kostas gasped in surprise as he turned toward the voice. However, the moment he caught sight of the familiar fiery hair, he glared and crossed his arms. "What do you want?" He spat out bitterly.

"I'm sorry," she smiled sweetly, "Did I startle you?"

"Were you following me?" Kostas asked, clearly ignoring her question.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I've followed you since you came out of that building."

"I knew I felt like I was being watched. What do you want from me?" He huffed.

"I have a bit of news that I am contractually obligated to tell you." She replied indifferently.

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

"Your brother is going to be released from the hospital today."

"Seriously?" He said in surprise, wanting confirmation that the demon was not simply toying with him. She simply nodded in return. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I left the lab ages ago."

"I enjoyed seeing you sprinting and looking over your shoulder every two seconds. You looked like a scared little rat running for its life."

"You know what? I don't even care." He retorted. "I'm just so happy that this nightmare is nearly over for both me and Korbin."

As the news fully sunk in, Kostas felt all strength leave his legs. He crumpled to the ground in sheer relief; tears of happiness rolled down his cheeks. 'I succeeded.' He thought triumphantly. 'I saved Korbin from the hellions; we can finally be together again.'

The demon tapped her foot impatiently as she watched him crying on the ground. "Humans are so dramatic. Hey," she poked him on top of the head. "Did you forget where you are? You're still in Hell--save your pathetic show for later."

As much as he hated her for interrupting, Kostas could not deny her point--he was still in a hellion-filled Hell after all. Inhaling deeply, he stood up and swiped at the remaining tears on his face. "Alright, I'm done. So, can we go now?" He did not even bother to hide his excitement at leaving this place of torture that had caused him so much pain.

She smirked in satisfaction before replying, "No."

"Of course not." He deadpanned. "Let me guess, some part of the contract that you conveniently forgot to mention?"

"Actually, I did mention it." She huffed indignantly. "I said that the second the brat is released from the hospital, you would be released from Hell. You can't leave yet because he hasn't left. The contract stated that I had to tell you the day of his release so that we could figure out where you want to appear back on Earth. Of course, it has to be where no one will witness you appearing out of nowhere." She looked at him expectantly.

After a moment he replied, "I guess my apartment would be the best place."

"Okay, here's what I'll do. I'm going to lock one of the bathroom stalls in the hospital from the inside and teleport you there." 

"Why did you even ask me where--" Kostas started but stopped himself with a sigh. "Actually, never mind, I'll already be inside the hospital so that will be better."

"Well, I better get going, but don't worry you'll see me soon." She winked before turning. Kostas rolled his eyes. "But I think I'll leave you a little going away present." With that said, she conjured a fireball within her palm and sent it high into the air. The once small flame burst midair into a dazzling show. However, Kostas doubted that she wanted to give him a fireworks show.

"What was that?" He said, cautiously.

"Oh, I was just letting the hellions know where you are so that they can give you a proper sendoff." She replied, clearly proud of herself.

"I really hate you." Kostas seethed; however, knowing that he now was being hunted with a new vigor, he began running once again. For a moment, all he could hear was her amused laughter quickly fading away; however, that soon turned into a much more chilling sound. Kostas came to a stop as he heard shouts of excitement coming from every direction--there was nowhere for him to run that would not be directly into the arms of a hellion. The ground trembled as his potential killers made their way toward their prey.

'I'm dead, I'm so dead.' He thought frantically as he looked around him, searching for the first hellion to find him. Unfortunately, he did not have to wait long. Running quickly toward him was a hellion that looked much like a komodo dragon standing on its hind legs. 

At the sight of the large knife the hellion wielded, Kostas sprinted in the opposite direction until an idea suddenly dawned on him. Ignoring his instincts, he turned and ran directly for the hellion.

At the sight of his prey charging toward him, the hellion faltered for a second. However, it quickly recovered from its surprise and began slashing the air with its blade in excitement. As the two got closer, the lizard slowed to a stop; however, Kostas only sped up.

With more determination than he was aware he possessed, Kostas ran directly into the lizard's long knife.

The hellion watched in shock as Kostas stumbled backward with the knife still lodged in his abdomen. After a deep breath, he quickly pulled the weapon back out--only to plunge it once again into his body. Soon, the handle became slick from the blood gushing out of the many wounds.

"What are you doing?" The hellion yelled angrily. "You're dying too quickly. I had so many plans to make you suffer, you can't die yet!" It added before stifling a yawn.

Kostas swayed and fell to his knees. He felt lightheaded from blood loss and his vision swam, yet he absolutely refused to give up. His abdomen burned as he continued to thrust the knife into himself. At last, his actions were rewarded--he died.