SAD008 - The Newcomer

Sadie watches as Pascal arrives at the castle...

Snow was falling from the sky; big white flakes, landing silently on the ground, adding to the thick icy blanket.
The Demon’s castle was surrounded on all sides by tall stone walls, topped with rusty barbed-wire and shards of broken glass – an extra security measure implemented by Yens personally.  It was a dark and foreboding place, avoided at all costs by any mortal who happened to find themselves anywhere near its vicinity.
Sadie was sitting on the windowsill in her room, gazing out into the bitter afternoon.  The daylight was fading.
The window was open.  Flakes of snow swirled and danced around her face.  She was cold, but she didn’t care.  She didn’t care about anything anymore.
She could see Yens in the courtyard below her window.  He was standing by the main entrance, smoking a thin cigarette.  She knew he was waiting for the newcomer; that meant they would be arriving any moment now.
A large black bird glided through the air, close to her window, and landed on the castle wall, crowing angrily at something below.
Sadie focused her hearing, homing in on the sounds of an approaching car... the faint purr of the engine... the crunching of the tyres...
The heavy iron gates in the wall swung slowly open, revealing the rough stone road beyond the castle boundaries – the road back to a different world.
A black car edged through the gateway, into the snow-covered courtyard.  It rolled slowly towards the main entrance and stopped beside Yens.  The engine spluttered out, giving way to an eerie stillness. 
The iron gates swung together with a decisive clang, shutting the other world away.
After a short pause, the doors of the car opened and figures started climbing out.  Sadie counted the heads as they appeared... one, two, three, four, five, six.  She heard a sickly laugh from below; Yens was pleased.
Scar was one of the last to emerge.
From her perch, Sadie glowered at him.  She loathed Scar; even more than she loathed the rest of the world.  She watched as he stretched his massive bulk and growled at nothing in particular, then he grabbed one of the other figures and dragged him towards Yens.
Sadie strained to hear Yens whispering in his soft insipid voice: “So, you must be Pascal”
Pascal was hunched forwards, struggling to stay upright on his feet.
Sadie was looking down on the scene, so she could only see the top of his head; but see could imagine his face – pale and drawn and lifeless like the rest of them; black empty eyes that were once bright and shiny.
A pang of compassion flickered in some distant part of her mind.  The man had joined their hell.  There was no way back for him, just as there was no way back for the rest of them.
She strained to hear the voices speaking.
“Do you know where you are?” Yens asked in a slimy whisper.
Pascal nodded his head, languidly.
“And where would that be?”
“In hell!”
The words struck a chord with Sadie.  The man knew his fate.
The itch in her stomach was intensifying.  The newcomer reminded her of the boy... he was a link to the boy...
“We’ve softened him up in the car” Scar growled, “Given him a proper welcome”
“Did I tell you to hurt him?” Yens snapped, angrily, “Did I ask for him to be softened up?”
“He is new!  It is our entertainment” Scar glowered at Yens and spat on the ground by his feet.
Sadie’s lip curled into a scowl.  How she hated Scar!  He made her furious.
“Where is Randy?” Yens asked, looking around the other faces.
Randy stepped forwards – a short stocky man with a cruel round face and cropped blond hair... another Demon who Sadie fiercely detested!
“So, you have your mate Randy” Yens said, “You are convinced you have fully converted him?  You no longer sense his...happiness?”
“It is done” Randy growled, “Beyond doubt.  Look at his eyes... Black!  I have defeated him!”
“Yes, yes” Yens whispered dismissively, “I can see his eyes.  I want to know if you are certain”
Randy growled, “I am”
Sadie watched the scene developing.  Snow had settled on the roof of the car, and on the heads and shoulders of the Demons; they looked cold and irritable.
“Very good” Yens gloated, “He will be pleased.  Perhaps you have made amends for your previous blunders”
Scar started to grumble but Yens ignored him, “Get him inside!” he instructed, “Take him to the hall!”
Sadie watched the six figures bundle in through the door, herding Pascal roughly into the castle like an animal.  Pascal stumbled along on tired legs, his body weak, his spirit broken.
Yens flicked the stub of his cigarette away and followed them in, closing the huge iron door behind him.