Chapter Three: The Waiting Game Continues…
 
 
Erin, James, and Valarie huddled together and waited. The air was thick and heavy with the weight of their anxiety and fear. In her head, Erin could hear the slow tick-tick-tick of the clock that counted down to the next demon to step through the door.
 
“Whoever is next,” James said quietly. “I’m sorry. None of you – us – deserve this.”
 
“I want to go home,” Valarie said, crying softly into James’s shoulder. “I want to see my Dad.”
 
“They won’t kill us,” Erin said. “But...”
 
“It doesn’t exactly make it all that much easier,” James finished and he tightened his grip on the girls’ hands. “When they come next, don’t let go of one another. If they want to make a meal of us, let them work for it.”
 
They all wound their arms together and gripped tightly to oneanother’s hands, eyes staring towards the velvet curtain and together in solidarity, they waited. They only needed to wait another ten minutes before the aforementioned Egan walked through the door. If the other demons had been large before, this one was a mountain. He wore a tight fitting sleeveless maroon shirt that greatly showed off his formidable muscular upper body and around his waist he had some sort of gathered fabric with a jeweled broach on his hip from which dangled many chains of gold. His hair had been cut close to his scalp which allowed the long wicked horns to show to better effect. Both of his ears were pierced with many gold rings.
 
“Oh, well look at this. I see a few someones’ have already been in the cookie jar,” Egan said, flashing his wickedly sharp teeth. He walked over and bent down to lean an arm on the metal shelf, regarding the three huddled humans with great amusement. “Luckily they left me the one I’ve been craving all day.”
 
Erin held tighter onto James as Egan’s shadow fell over them. Yellow eyes peered back “It’s James, right?”
 
She felt his whole body tense, but James didn’t answer the giant. They just stared and waited. Egan seemed disappointed at their lack of response. “Rude little things, aren’t you? You’re suppose to say hello back...”
 
A large hand came for James and even as thick fingers wormed their way between Erin and Valarie, they still clung together desperately. Yellow eyes narrowed and he growled at them, a deep vibration that sent unpleasant tingles through their bones. “The others will get pissed at me if I hurt you, but if you two don’t let go of him, I don’t mind helping myself to seconds and thirds.”
 
Before she knew what was happening, James had let go of her and her grip slipped and both her and Valarie tumbled the few feet down to land harmlessly onto the cushions below.
 
“James!” Valarie shrieked.
 
“Ah, so it is James,” Egan said to his soon to be lunch.
 
“Let him go!” Erin demanded. She didn’t wanna see it. She didn’t wanna see another friend disappear into a demon’s belly. She didn’t want to hear their cruel laughs or see them rub their engorged stomachs, to hear them tease and taunt. She didn’t want any of this. Stop. Just please make it all stop!
 
“Just let it be!” James yelled back at them, surprising both girls. “I’ll just...see you guys after, alright?”
 
Egan laughed, eyeing the human. “Well look at you, all chivalrous and whatnot. Awfully kind of you to calm your friend’s fears.”
 
“Just get it over with, will you?” James’s eyes were shut tight and his whole body was tense, waiting for the plunge.
 
“You’re making this way harder than it has to be, kid,” the Demon said with a disproving shake of his head. “I’m just gonna eat you. It’s not the end of the world.”
 
James opened his eyes then, full of fear and anger and hurt. “Fuck. You.”
 
Egan’s mouth pulled back into a devious smirk. He shrugged. “Have it your way, kiddo. I’m easy.”
 
Like Danny before him, James was thrust head first into a demon’s gaping jaws. Egan didn’t waste any time playing with his food like any of the others. Instead, he tilted his head back and let gravity do most of the work. The bulk of his neck stretching out and expanding to make room in his gullet for the human to slip inside. When there was nothing but James’s twitching feet left outside of Egan’s mouth, he swallowed once and once again. Two gulps and the human was gone. A record. The lump that was James squelched down Egan’s thick neck to disappear into his broad chest. The only sign that the boy had arrived in his devourer’s belly was an ominous rumble from the organ and a slight quivering of his abdominal muscles. Egan’s belly seems quite happy with it’s new plaything and rumbled contently.
 
As Egan licked his lip of the human’s taste, he rubbed slow circles over his stomach and then let out a loud belch. Laughing, he addressed the struggling meal inside him. “I’m almost impressed, kiddo. You’re stronger than you look, but you’re gonna need to kick a whole lot harder to get out of my stomach. There’s a good bit of muscle between you and freedom. Ease up on it though. Only way you’re getting out is when I say so. So just make yourself all comfy and –” He belched again and narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “Fucking stop that you little shit! I’m trying to keep air in there for you to breathe! You kicking like that just makes me –” he belched into his hand. “ Augh. Fine, then if you like. Keep at it kid. Unless you wanna suffocate? Then you really will die.”
 
The fervent jiggling slowed and stopped. Egan sighed in relief, giving his belly a light pat. “Now be a good lunch and sit still.” After a moment of just standing there and concentrating on his movement inside him, Egan nodded with a pleased hum. “There’s a good, lad.”
 
He looked back to Erin and Valarie and winked before turning to stride back to the door. Just before he closed it, he stuck his head back inside. “Thanks for the grub, ladies. He was delicious.”
 
The door shut and then there were two.
 
……………………………………………...
 
Valarie wouldn’t stop crying and it made Erin feel all the more wretched because she could no nothing to help. There was no help for them.
 
“How can they do this to us?” she cried. “Just...just swallow us like we’re nothing! Like we’re just...just food!”
 
“I guess to them that’s what we are,” Erin replied and then grimaced when she realized how cruel it sounded. Even if it was true. Valarie cried all the harder.
 
“Michael and James and Danny, they’re people!” Valarie ranted through her angry tears. “Not food! They’re good people! And they just…!”
 
Erin could do nothing but rub Valarie’s back, trying to bring her some sort of comfort. But she had to wonder now that it was just the two of them, which would take that dark slide next? Aware of how selfish she was being, Erin desperately wished it wasn’t her. Their answer came much quicker than either of them had expected. It hadn’t been but a minute since Egan left, James squirming away in his stomach, that for the fourth time that day, the teal door appeared. It opened agonizingly slow, the dark just beyond swallowing up all the light so that all they could see of the next Demon was his hand clutching the door. Pale with long fingers that ended in sharp black nails. Two green eyes, like emeralds, stared at them from the dark before the Demon stepped fully into the light.
 
Not purple, Erin thought. He’s not here for me...
 
The Demon was dressed in all in white from his white long coat to his white vest, to his white shirt and trousers. His shoes, were a deep ruby red that matches his long red hair that fell in loose tendrils about his face and his two long twisted ebony horns. A gold pocket watch attacked to a glittering gold chain peeked out from the breast pocket of his vest.
 
“Good,” he said as he swept his emerald gaze to the remaining humans, his voice a low timbre. “They’ve already eaten, then.”
 
Valarie and Erin did not move, even as he fully moved into the room, deftly slipping his coat off his shoulders and folding it across his arm. Seeming to ignore them for the moment, he strode over to the metal shelf and carefully laid his coat down, and smoothed out the wrinkles. His green eyes turned to them before focusing in on Valarie and the corners of his mouth curled into the smallest of smiles.
 
“Hm,” he hummed, eyeing her hungrily. “I do hope Gobbler was sufficient in tending to your needs in the way of food. He’s attentive, but can sometimes be a bit literal in his interpretations of orders.”
 
When neither girl answered, he frowned. “Did he bite our your tongues, or do you simply refuse to answer me?”
 
“He brought us sandwiches...” Erin offered robotically, her voice barely above a whisper.
 
He nodded, undoing the cufflinks and rolling the sleeves up. “Good. My name is Rolland and I am the founder of the Commorisco Club.”
 
Valarie eyed him warily as he walked around the cushions, looking about the room as though he had never been there before. He reached up to grab the glowing orb that was their source of light and seemed to be examining it. The strength of its brilliance not seeming to effect him. Rolland released the orb and it floated back to it’s spot on the ceiling. He then walked the entire circumference of the room, fingers trailing across the velvet curtains and every so often, he would pause and pressed his hand into the wall. It took nearly five minutes for him to be satisfied with his exploration of the room before he turned his glowing green eyes back to Valarie. She had curled herself up into a ball and watched him fretfully from over the top of her knees.
 
“Are...are you going to eat me?” she asked, her voice shaking and despairing.
 
“Of course,” Rolland answered simply and in only two steps, he stood above her. “Your recovery took longer than we would have preferred, but that is our own doing. We were too eager and drained too much of you too soon. You’re bodies did not respond well and you slept for an entire day. But you are recovered now and in prime condition for a feeding.”
 
She didn’t meet his eye and her shoulder shook with real effort not to start sobbing. “We’re not food.”
 
The demon raised a single eyebrow. “What a silly thing to say when I have come to you with the sole intention of ingesting you.”
 
Valarie shook her head, face red and eyes swollen from crying. “WE’RE PEOPLE! NOT FOOD!”
 
Without word or warning, Rolland reached down to grab her up. But Valarie seemed to have found some measure of courage and fought back, rolling onto her side and kicking up at the reaching fingers. It was a short struggle as Rolland easily snared both her hands in one of his and used his other to grab her around her hips and pull her up. The moment of bravery was spent and Valarie was left to wiggle fruitlessly in his gasp, whimpering and shaking as her diaphragm spasmed, making her hiccup.
 
He narrowed his eyes at her, a dangerous aura pulsing from his person.
 
“You are here to serve a purpose, little girl,” he told her, voice firm and commanding. “My friends and I require a stable supply of living energy to maintain us. For centuries we’ve persisted on nothing but lowly ghouls and demons who do not hold any physical form once they’ve been bled of their life force. And frankly they taste absolutely vile.”
 
Valarie tried to wiggle her hands free, but he tightened his grip, making her wince. “Humans are a different matter entirely. You’re rare and are of a different make than any creature in the Netherworld. Properly seen to, a single human can keep a high ranking demon fed for its entire natural born life and will suffer no ill effects of routine and frequent feedings.” His lips pulled back into a faint smirk. “That makes you a priceless commodity. One we have paid for and for which we expect an equal return. This, little miss, is your reality from this point on. My suggestion is that you reconcile with this fact. Make peace with it. Otherwise, you are in for a long and arduous existence. Now, fortify yourself. I am bored of this conversation and I am very hungry.”
 
With that, Rolland slipped Valarie’s feet into his mouth. He wasn’t rough with her and he didn’t rush. He took his time, savoring her flesh and ignoring the pitiful squeaks and cries she produced with every slimy fleck of his tongue. He breathed slowly through his nose, his eyes closed, as he concentrated on the exquisite flavor sweeping across his tongue. With a deftness that belittled his true nature, Rolland opened his mouth just a bit so as to give himself enough room to use his tongue to scoop under Valarie’s behind and usher more of her in. His lips seals around her middle and she began to hyperventilate, softly pleading with him to stop. But he made no indications that he head or cared. His grip on her arms remained as he slowly fed more of her into him. His first swallow pulled Valarie in with a sudden jerk that made her shriek in fear. Her pleading mantra growing louder and more fervent. Another gulp and only her head and arms remains free from Rolland’s eager mouth.
 
“Please...please no...please...” Rolland swallowed again and Valarie’s tear stained face slipped between his lips. He released her hands then and allowed them to move about unhindered. His jaw moved back and forth as he tasted the human, rolling her lazily about with his tongue until at last he seemed ready to finish his meal. With a final dooming swallow, Rolland had eaten up the pitiful human girl. As composed as he had been throughout his tasting of her, Rolland did not seem to be able to resist putting a hand to his middle to feel for the moment she slipped from his esophagus and into his stomach. He hummed quietly to himself, lightly rubbing. Erin could pinpoint the moment it happened, because almost immediately, Rolland took a deep breath and looked down towards where Valarie lay within him. “You will be supplied with fresh air to keep you alive as I feed.”
 
He rolled his sleeves back down, securing them once more with the gold cufflinks, before contiuing to address his belly. “I suggest you remain still, child. When my food fights back, it gives me indigestion and can negatively effect this process and prolonging your stay. So behave yourself and I will be done with you in short order.”
 
Rolland turned back to the metal shelf to retrieve his long coat and slipped his arms into it. He straightened it across his shoulder with firm tug and then brushed his hair back, one hand gliding along his horn and the other returning to his middle to give it a final, approving rub. “Good girl.”
 
He pulled the gold pocket watch out, flicking it open and then he turned his eyes to Erin. “Magnus is running late, but I imagine he will want to feed the moment he arrives. Don’t give him any trouble, human. We have a meeting to discuss the next agenda and we are already far behind schedule.”
 
Rolland turned away from her and with a sweep of his coat, he was gone, and the teal door shut. The velvet curtain closed and Erin was left all alone. She took in shuddering breath before she broke and began to sob and cry, not caring if anyone heard her. She screamed and pounded the floor with her fists and let everything inside her spill out. By the time she had nothing left to give, she lay on her back, panting and starring up at the orb, not caring if it stung her eyes. Time became meaningless again as she lay there, head pounding with a headache. She pulled herself upright and looked at all the abandoned cushions. Four of them. Four cushions for four humans now stewing in the depths of uncaring and cruel demons. And as soon as this Magnus Demon showed up, she would once more take a trip to his belly. He was late for his meeting. What did it matter if he hastily ate his dinner. She was only food after all. Just like Danny, Michael, James, and Valarie...
 
She laid down on her cushion then, her back to the door, and decided she would wait for this Magnus to come. If she didn’t struggle or fight, maybe he would be quick and she would just fall asleep and then wake up with a bad hangover. Maybe that was how she would maintain herself through all this chaos. Docile placidity. So when the sound of the curtain and door opening sounded for her, she did not move. She did not look. But, then she heard a familiar voice that sent her heart racing and she sat bolt upright to see Archeon enter the room, one arm cradling the sleeping form of Danny and with his other hand, he held a white piece of cloth that he brushed across the sleeping human.
 
“And then there was one,” he said, grinning knowingly at her. “Poor little Erin having to wait on Magnus. Rolland’s pretty miffed he’s so late. He’ll have to hold the meeting while he’s feeding. So I guess that means you’re invited too. Ha!”
 
As he spoke, Archeon ran the cloth over Danny’s face and hair and then once more over his arms and legs. Erin watched in equal confusion and fascination and before she could stop herself, she asked “What are you doing to him?”
 
“Just drying him up a bit,” Archeon replied, not annoyed by the accusation in her question. “You little guys tend to end up a little...damp, when we bring you back up.”
 
The image of Gobbler regurgitating the munitions box sprung to her mind and her revulsion must have been obvious, because Archeon laughed. “What? You thought we just waved our hands and magicked you all out of our bellies? Ha!”
 
“That’s so gross...” Erin said, shuttering at the thought.
 
“That’s how it is,” Archeon replied, seeming satisfied with his job and slipped the rag into a pocket before laying Danny back onto his cushion. Erin could not help but notice the striking care Archeon handled Danny with when the boy was unconscious. When he was awake and kicking, he was so much different. And looking into the demon’s face, Erin was certain it wasn’t hunger in his eyes that she was seeing. “Sleep well, my little Snack.”
 
“His name is Danny,” Erin said angrily. Archeon looked at her, quirking an eyebrow at her. “Not Snack. His name is Danny and he’s allergic to peanuts and he plays the guitar and he is a person. A person you ate. Twice.”
 
“Oh, he’s alright now,” the demon replied with a nonchalant shrug and taking another look at the boy in the blue hoodie, still slightly damp from his misadventures inside his belly. “Alright, Danny it is then.”
 
“...and he’s terrified of you.”
 
Archeon’s face broke into a grin as he stood up. One with genuine humor behind it and not the domineering hunger of a predator. “Ah, that’s only because doesn’t know me well enough yet.” He patted his now human-less stomach. “Knows my belly decently well though.”
 
“Doesn’t it bother you at all what you’re doing to us?”
 
He sighed. “Erin, you’re putting far too much emotion into a very simple truth. We are predators. We feed upon others to maintain ourselves. You humans are not so different. You hunt and kill and consume other creatures. My fellows and I do not need to kill you to satisfy our predations, though.”
 
“You took us from our homes!”
 
“No,” he said. “The demons at The Black Hole did that. We purchased you from them. And before you start in on that tangent, let me remind you. If it was not us who you all were served to that night, you would all be dead. Truly digested by another demon to whom you would have been served.”
 
Erin opened her mouth to try and argue further. She wanted him to feel bad for what they were doing. For making them all fear and cower and…She was crying again.
 
“Look at me, human,” Archeon said and when she turned her head to look up at him, she jumped back in fright. He was so close to her. She hadn’t even heard him move. His eyes glowed red and his face was placid and serious. “There are far worse thing waiting for you out there than us. Keep that in mind.”