Artyom Dereschuk - Hate the Sin

Something like it could only have been spewed up by the mythical Underworld they were heading toward, the boy was sure of that. Nothing that large could exist in the forests around the mine without anyone knowing about it, and it was no coincidence that the photos of it were found right here, above the entrance.

Corpse Eater silently handed him a third photo, and Homewrecker froze. Without a doubt, the photo had been taken underground, as was obvious from the walls of the cave visible in it, and the photographer had done his best to provide as much light as he could for his exhibit. Yet the tunnel seemed to soak it all in.

The boys were staring at a picture of massive gates. Its doors were swung wide open, revealing a seemingly endless corridor behind it. The gates seemed ancient, made of what seemed like stone, yet for some reason, Homewrecker was confident that it was not some man-made artifact. Even though he knew nothing about the culture and history of his country, he could tell that no man could envision something like that. The oval shape of its portal, the bizarre, smooth bas-reliefs and murals that covered the gates, polished with inhuman dedication, and the generally alien and repulsive-to-the-human-eye shapes that were displayed on them, filled him with absolute certainty: no human had ever had any part in constructing this. Even if it was an entrance to some hell or spirit world, the gates would be either more welcoming or more terrifying to the human souls that would be traversing through them, depending on what awaited for them on the other side. The portal on the photo, however? It hadn’t been made with human emotions or perceptions in mind. It was a product of something unearthly, something that had never basked in the sun’s rays or felt the earth’s pull of gravity. Something that was missing its own world, completely incomprehensible and different from theirs.

In a way, the boy felt like the abyss itself had opened up its maw to swallow him whole. Completely entranced by that sight, the boy trembled at the thought that he would have to traverse through those gates.

“Hey, you two!” he suddenly heard someone call from the outside. “You two alive in there? Because if you are, and you’re wasting my time, then I’m going to whoop your asses!”

“We better go,” Corpse Eater told him, and Homewrecker nodded, putting the photos down, back onto the table, where they would be buried in dust for what could be another thirty years.

Only their numbers were calming his nerves.

Desecrator knew that as long as the brigade was staying together, as long as he was following them, he would be all right. They had already fought back successfully once, back when they were blindly ambushed by those nobodies. Now that they had lost their element of surprise, and the General and his soldiers were aware of their threat and were ready for it at all times, there was no way they would manage to get a jump on them.

There was no reason to be afraid.

That’s what he was telling himself, and yet he was still feeling that anxiety dwelling inside of him. The meeting he’d had with one of those creatures, and its mad ramblings, was already being washed away by new experiences, and yet the scar tissue remained. The boy was carefully hiding it from everyone around him, putting on a brave face. Even more than that, he was hiding it from himself. He was telling himself that everyone around him was scared, even if they wouldn’t admit it. It was expected to be a little scared of something so outlandish.

But he couldn’t forget the humiliation of those three seeing him hiding under the stairs. He couldn’t forgive the ridicule in their eyes, the “holier than thou” look that they had been giving him when he crawled out of blood and piss. They had stuck together, they had abandoned him and run off, laughing like fools when they should’ve been behaving like warriors and at least trying to maintain a serious facade. They couldn’t have known what it was like to be chased by one of those monsters, alone, and yet they had laughed at him. They had been acting like kids and yet they had the guts to tell him that he was the coward. The unfairness of that situation was driving the boy mad. He could not tolerate such an injustice.

None of that would’ve happened if not for him, the boy thought grimly, looking ahead. The outline that he had grown to hate so much over the last couple of days was taunting him with how clean and intact it was. Not a scar on it when he so wanted to see it bashed in. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be in such a situation.

The truck up ahead, the one the General was driving in, came to stop, its engines going quiet. One by one, the soldiers stopped as well.

“We’re here!” he heard the General shout. “End of the line. Unpack these bad boys and let’s go in.”

The soldiers up ahead opened the trunks of the trucks and started pulling out the generators and other equipment. Others started shifting around uneasily, and Desecrator understood why.

So this is it, he thought. This is the place. We’re going in.

One of the soldiers unloading the trucks suddenly bent his spine and grabbed it, hissing from pain. “This shit’s too heavy!” he cried out. “What are you standing around for, help me, you slackers!”

“Come on, kid.” Desecrator felt someone lightly push him forward. “Go help your elders, be of some use.”

Grunting, the boy obeyed. My time will come, you asshole, he thought to himself. In a few years, when I finally grow up, I’ll be the most experienced and strong soldier around. We’ll see who’s who then .

The generator was heavy, and when the boy felt it in its hands he panicked for a second that it was going to crush him under its weight. Luckily, one of the soldiers saw what was about to happen and jumped over to help just in time. The boy only grunted again; he didn’t need any help anyway. He could’ve handled it.

While he was unloading the truck, he got an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the cave they were heading toward. From the very first glimpse, he could tell that it was not an ordinary mine.

The mine portal was quite spacious, no less than ten feet wide and seven feet tall. A pair of old rusty rails was running out if it like an orange tongue, teasing all newcomers. No other mine portal was as big or had any rails for mine carts in it, which meant that it probably had the richest deposits of diamonds around. However, that wasn’t what gave away the fact that the mine was special. The entrance was surrounded by effigies and totems that the villagers had no doubt put up after the mine had been abandoned; looking at them, the boy could tell that they were no more than a year old, which meant that the villagers—or, rather, the old priestess—had been visiting the place quite frequently and doing her best to keep what seemed like defensive wards in good condition. At the same time, the boy felt that the effigies doubled as a warning to anyone curious enough to take a walk inside, their snarling faces looking down on unwanted visitors. In a way, it made sense; if you saw a cage that had bars three inches thick, you wouldn’t want to enter it to figure out what was kept inside.

The old man they had picked up from the village was also there. Even though he tried to remain stoic, the boy could see that he was feeling uneasy. Somehow, Desecrator could tell that it wasn’t because of the General or the brigade; the old man was throwing glances at the wards, and his eyes were full of doubt. Even after twenty-five years, the sounds and howling of the underworld were still loud in his head.

The General noticed that as well and tried to taunt the old man: “Not feeling very brave now, old man?” He smirked, looking around at his soldiers. Some noticed that and smirked as well, only for a second to support their leader, before returning to what they were doing before. They weren’t in the mood to play any games.