The halo breed episode 85 – 86

THE HALO BREED
SEASON 5
HELL IN HADES

The Author

EPISODE 11

Getting Plundered

Tatita was horrible!

She was a gangling, giant-like indigen with a foul smell around her. The smell was so bad that it polluted the air around them.

Sena looked at her with horror and tried not to wrinkle his nose. He wondered how long he would have to be in her presence before they crossed the Desolates.

“There she is,” Hangit said, unable to avoid a twist to his l-ips as he offered the gross indigen. “In all her glory! At least, my doorway will smell good for a change!”

“And is that the thanks she gets for your cruelty to her?” Sena asked so coldly that the look of disdain left Hangit’s face, and he quickly put a hand to her heart area as he retreated.

“Forgive my impudence, Traveller, I beg you,” he said desperately, turned, and fled the dome.

Sena took a shallow breath and gestured towards the table.

“Please, Tatita, eat. You must be famished!”

She lumbered towards the table without a second to waste, sat down, and pulled a bowl of fruit-food towards her. She ate hungrily, noisily, and farted in-between, turning the dome into one bad-smelling atmosphere.

Many of the young ones could not take it and fled into the other doorways, but Sena stayed with her and her brother, and each time she looked at him self-consciously, he smiled kindly.

To live a life like this, to be bullied, spurned and evidently hated, must not have been easy for her at all.

As she was drinking from a bite of the water-fruit, loud scre-ms from outside filled the dome!

These were voices of terror, cries of fear, calls for help!

It was so bad that Sena rushed to the doorway, stepped on the porch, and looked down! He saw a gigantic, ferocious creature walking down the valley. It seemed to be hunch-backed, and it breathed fire as it walked, with fiery fire emitting from its mouth too. It had five jointed limbs on each side of its body, and as it moved, it snatched up the indigenes in sight and stuffed them in its blazing mouth.

The creatures of the Desolates were running blindly towards their doorways, scre-ming with terror!

Suddenly, one of the limbs of the demons reached out and snatched Sena from the balcony! It dragged him down relentlessly towards its yawning gullet which was filled with blazing fire!

The limb had encircled Sena completely, pinning his arms to his sides, rendering him powerless as that yawning gullet came near! Sena could hear the crackling sound of the inferno in the demon’s throat and felt the heat on his face.

He struggled fiercely, but the tentacle around him was unbreakable. As Plunder began to push him into its mouth, Sena opened his legs wide and braced one foot on each side of the monster’s mouth, then he summoned all his strength and began to force Plunder’s mouth open.

Plunder gro-ned and tried to push down and cram Sena’s body into its gullet, but the Halo Breed kept his feet braced against its snout, aware that it was his only chance of survival. He strained hærd, pushing Plunder’s mouth apart to its extreme ends, then the demon bellowed with a mixture of rage and pain and pulled Sena out of its face and hurled him forcibly against the black wall.

Sena grunted with pain as he fell to his hands and knees and fought hærd to push the dizziness away. Plunder’s limb-hand curled around Sena’s foot, lifted him, and slammed him into the wall again.

Sena mo-ned as he fell limply on his back from a fractured skull and broken ribs. The pain that seared through his body was excruciating, and he was losing blood too fast. Plunder reached down, grabbed Sena by the wa-ist, and hurled him with a bellow of rage across the valley!

The sand swirled around his head, and he could barely breathe as he rolled helplessly toward the metallic blue wall on the opposite side of the valley. The impact was an explosive blasting cacophony as Sena’s vision went black, and he crashed down on the hærd floor helplessly!

The wall had caved in where his body hit, and it broke into several huge chunks of metallic blue that rained down heavily on Sena, burying him under a heavy barrage.

The Halo Breed was buried under a high mountain of debris!

Plunder jumped high and landed beside the pile, then he bellowed loudly with glee, and his ten limbs curled into fists of victory as it let out a mighty, prolonged roar of victory, sending fire shooting from his mouth and throat!

He had killed the Halo Breed, and Lord Lastor was going to be mighty pleased, and maybe elevate Plunder as his direct assistant!

Buried under the pile of rocks, Sena Kukah whispered softly, but it was filled with rage.

“I am the warrior of the Spirits, the Halo Breed, and I have no weaknesses! Though I fall under an insurmountable pile of rocks, my faith is resolute, and my ability is beyond end! I will not break!”

And as Plunder watched with sudden horror, the pile of rocks exploded outwards as Sena emerged with balled fists, his scre-m filling the air of the valley.

The fire in his eyes spun with sheer malice as he glared at Plunder, then he suddenly smashed a fist into the blue wall, and when his hand emerged, it was covered by a glove of rock!

Sena did the same with the other fist, and when he turned and faced the shocked Plunder, his fists had gloves of rock! His roar shook the very ground of the Desolates, and Plunder took a step backwards.

Sena roared as his right fist came flying forward, smashing into Plunder’s chest and hurling him against the wall. He tried to explode off the wall but Sena did not let him. He braced himself in front of the monster and let his fists work.

His eyes blazed with unadulterated wrath as his rock fists smashed into Plunder with ferocious abandon! Plunder tried again and again to move off the wall, but his efforts became weaker and fainter as Sena’s fists tore into his body. Plunder’s wails of pain changed to an intense roar of pain and horror when Sena’s fists crushed his ribs and created a h0le in its belly!

Fire erupted out of the h0le in a fierce explosion that threw Sena backwards. The Halo Breed shielded his face with an arm as Plunder exploded into a blast of fire!

The demon roared and took stumbling steps forward, waving its limbs helplessly as the fire consumed it and burned, burned, burned! It crashed to the ground in a heavy impact that sent its burning body exploding out into little piles of burning pieces!

Sena let out another roar of fierce dominion, and then he slowly relaxed as the fire died down slowly in his eyes, and within his soul.

HELL IN HADES

The Author

EPISODE 12

The Proposal

There was a heavy sense of dread as Sena smashed his fists together to break the rock gloves.

And he walked slowly and painfully to the base of the black wall. He leaned his back against the wall and winced as he felt his broken bones moving and coming together as his body miraculously healed itself.

But the tension was all around him.

He could see them, an endless sea of deep blue faces looking at him from the balconies along the wall, looks that were more than dismay. These indigenes were terrified, and it baffled him.

To all intents and purposes, he had just defeated a demon that no doubt had been threatening them, and he expected them to be happy.

He ignored them as the excruciating pain of his body getting healed continued, causing him to mo-n and gro-n as he clenched his teeth to avoid scre-ming.

Eventually, Tatita and her brother, Blindi, descended the steps and stood looking at him. They were soon joined by Skali and some of the young ones who also looked at him gravely.

“Traveller!” Skali said finally, and his voice shook. “You destroyed Plunder!”

Sena spoke with difficulty.

“You know him?”

“Yes, he’s one of the top demons from Hades, and Lord Lastor’s friend! Now, you will let the anger of Lord Lastor be on us! Surely, he’ll come here and destroy all of us!”

“Now I understand why he came,” Sena said. “Do not despair, for he was not after you, but me. As long as I’m here, Lord Lastor will not have any need to exact vengeance on you, for it is me he craves, and I him. I shall be gone, and you would not have to live with any evil from Lord Lastor.”

Slowly, Skali smiled, and the blue of his head changed to its normal black, and soon all the others were smiling and nodding and speaking.

“Go, you infidels!” Skali said quickly. “Go and tell them that they have nothing to fear, for this Traveller seeks Lastor to destroy!”

Chattering with excitement, the little ones left to disseminate the information. Sena was left with Tatita, Blindi and Skali.

“So, you need to cross over to Hades,” Blindi said thoughtfully. “And that’s why you need my sister’s help. She’s the only one who can see the doorways. She can get you through, but it comes with a price.”

Sena looked at him with bleak eyes.

“And what are you talking about, you ungrateful imp?” he asked codly. “I saved you from the clutches of Hangit, remember? Shouldn’t that be more than adequate payment for you?”

“It is more than adequate, and we do appreciate your help and kind gesture. However, there’s more you must do before she shows you the entrance. Remember, if you stay here for more than five turns of the stars, you will surely perish!”

Sena looked from him to Tatita.

“Are you also in on this?” he asked.

She did not say anything.

“She hears, but cannot speak,” Skali said quickly. “She’s been like that for a long time.”

Sena looked at Blindi.

“So, what’s this other price you speak of?” he asked coldly.

“Perhaps, they want more fruit-foods,” Skali said quickly. “But there is enough fruit-foods in the doorways you opened, and we’ll share it, Blindi. You and Tatita are now our family, so please don’t be hærd on the kind Traveller who has helped us so much.”

Blindi licked his l-ips and looked at his sister. It was evident they were under a lot of stress. He stood up suddenly and walked off to one side so that there was space between them, then he beckoned to Sena.

“Seems he doesn’t want me to hear what he would say,” Skali said with a smile. “Go on, Traveller. Listen to what he has to say.”

Sena walked up to Blindi.

“What do you want? Tell me quickly.”

Blindi looked at him with a direct gaze now.

“If you marry my sister, and spends a night with her, she will take you out of the Desolates. That’s the price you have to pay.”

Sena went still, and he opened his mouth to protest, but he saw a desperation in the depths of Blindi’s gaze that made him stay quiet. There was a desperate plea in the boy’s eyes, a message he tried so hærd to mask, and this made Sena know that there was something heavier behind the request. It was not only the mere fact that Tatita had probably never experienced the company of a male; that belied the urgency of the request. Any number of local indigenes would bed down Tatita even if she smelled that bad because the females were fewer than the males, as far as he had seen.

And the request was as absurd as it sounded!

These creatures were bigger than he was, probably with different reproductive org-ns too. So how was he going to be able to bed Tatita? Obviously, Blindi knew all these, but had still gone ahead to make that preposterous request. And for how long would he be married to such a hideous creature?

“You will marry her, and she will be your wife for eternity, and she will follow you to wherever you go. Only if you accept this condition would she show you the entrance out of the Desolates.”

Sena was angry now.

How could he possibly marry this giant rock girl when the women he loved were waiting for him back home? How could he take Tatita to Densua? She might not even survive on earth because she might not be able to breathe that air, unlike Sena who was empowered to survive anywhere by the Spirits.

He started to reject the offer, but he looked back just then and saw Tatita. Her shoulders had drooped, and her head was bent with abject despair, and once again it struck Sena forcibly that there could be more on the table than just a marriage proposal.

He looked at Blindi and saw the boy smiling defiantly, but his eyes had sudden large silvery rings, and it occurred to Sena that this could be their equivalence to tears.

If marriage would get him out of the Desolates, he would do that, but later he would impress on Tatita on how such a marriage might not survive on earth.

“Alright, Blindi,” he said with a forced smile. “When do we marry?”

Blindi gasped and almost fell down, his shock and relief so apparent that Sena scowled with confusion.

“Oh!” Blindi whispered. “Ah! You agreed? Did you agree? You would marry her?”

“Yes,” Sena said.

Blindi suddenly let out a yell so sudden, so vicious, so prolonged, that Sena clamped his hands to his ears. He watched with surprise as Blindi began a weird bow-legged dance of sheer delight as he raced to his sister and hugged her tightly as he spoke rapidly and began to shout.

Skali’s face was thunder-struck as he raced to Sena and stared at him with horror.

“Traveller!” he shouted. “Are you out of your senses? Will you marry a stinking one like Tatita? Do you need your brains examined?”

Sena wondered about the same thing, but he did not say it aloud as he watched Blindi and his sister dancing in circles and holding each other’s hand.

“Dear Spirits!” he said softly. “Protect me, protect my heart. Please!”

tbc