Hellacious Hospitality Ch. 07

Forward from the author -

This is a serialized story full of plot and character development. If you haven't been reading since the beginning, please go back and do so to get the full experience.

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Benson was forced to cover his ears against the auditory assault of Elena's catatonic wailing. What had started as a normal scream had become something else, beyond mere fear or trauma. So loud and piercing, it could probably shatter glass. And it seemed ceaseless. How did she even have the lung capacity?

"Elena. Elena! Stop! It's me, Benson! You're safe! Nothing here is going to hurt you!" He rushed to her side, fighting through the cacophonic blitzkrieg. But as he neared, her body spasmed and contorted, and limbs flailed. A whirling fist caught him across the jaw and he reeled in shock, the blow surprisingly fierce. Elena seemed entirely unaware of her actions, her eyes vacantly locked into place, with tears streaming endlessly.

"Caeli! Any ideas? I don't think I can get close without hurting her. That is, if she doesn't beat me up first." He spoke loudly, over the incessant shrieking. He rubbed at his jaw. Seriously, ow! Was she always that strong? The episode reminded him of something along the lines of an epileptic seizure. He worried that she could grow more erratic, perhaps biting her tongue in the process.

There was a pained grunt from behind him, muffled against the wall. He turned his head to see Caeli leaning against the wall, clutching her head in agony. "Ben... make it... stop! It...hurts!" She doubled over and crumpled to the ground, hands still pressed to her temples.

Suddenly, violently, Caeli's horns burst from her head. Not the smooth, between-blinks transition she usually employed, but a slow, horrible transformation as jagged shards pierced the skin above her ears and lanced upwards. Instead of their usual dark, crystalline obsidian color, they glowed a full angry pink color at their centers, and blazingly white at their edges. Her hands had been pressed against them as they sprang forth, and where she had grabbed at them, the flesh scorched and sizzled.

The smooth skin on her back and at the base of her spine rippled and distended, and as with her horns, her wings and tail ripped outwards from her flesh in a bloody shower, spraying gruesome trails behind her, along the floor and against the wall.

She cried a horrible, warbling cry, the intense pain almost too much for her to bear. She bit her lip to stifle her voice, her own fangs piercing her skin and drawing blood. Her demonic constitution was the only thing that kept her conscious, but in this moment, it only seemed to prolong the torment.

"Oh god, Caeli!" Benson raced over to her, and thinking quickly, he cranked the nearby showerhead on full blast, dousing the anguished woman in cold water. It hissed angrily as it contacted her blazing horns, instantly turning to vapor. Under that cooling stream, though, the incandescent spikes dimmed and slowly returned to their normal black color, with the only pink showing at their luminescent tips. The water washed the blood away from the torn flesh at her back, and he watched in astonishment as the wounds began to knit themselves back up. The singed, black marks on her palms flaked away and already there was pale new skin to take their place.

Even though her body seemed to have repaired itself, she trembled unresponsively, her breathing coming in gasping, body-wracking shudders, cowed by the pain and the fear. She curled into a ball and buried her head in her arms, shielding herself in the only way she could, her wings then draping and shrouding her petite form like a turtle shell.

Benson dropped to her side, comfortingly laying his arms over top her quivering, shuddering body. "Oh my god! Are you alright? Speak to me!"

There came a horrible retching sound from within her wing-encased tomb. "I'll be... fine. Just... stop that... screaming," her voice came, weakly.

She didn't look fine, but there was no chance for her to recover without dealing with the source of her pain. He looked back towards Elena's eerily shrieking form, her head now cocked harshly, unnaturally in their direction. Her body hadn't moved from its spot. Her eyes still stared vacantly, but somehow, her streaming tears seemed more sorrowful, than pained. Just a mere flash of emotion, and finally a slight reprieve in the bloodcurdling sound. Only for a split second, though, before the discordant banshee's lament began anew, even more shrill and intense. Was Elena still conscious, through all of this?

Benson tried to approach her again, but it was difficult. The sound seemed forged of the intent to split his skull open, and it was all he could do to press his hands against his ears to hold his brain inside his skull. He only made it a few juddering steps forward, before being forced onto his knees.

As he fell to the ground, the pain seemed to subside, the magnitude of the sound lessening. That's it, she's blown out my ears. I'm going deaf. But as he forced himself to crawl along the ground, the intense pressure indeed seem to dissipate further. Elena's focus never wavered, still turned in Caeli's direction. Was she being targeted?

That single-minded focus reminded him of the thing that he had fought in the office shower room, the thing that had enveloped Crenshaw's body. The thing that had brought Elena here in the first place. Maybe, just maybe, whatever it was that had a hold of Elena could be defeated in the same way.

Benson approached around her side now, and sure enough, the focused burst of sound seemed directed solely at the poor demoness' withering form. Sorry Caeli. Please hold out for just a little while longer. Slowly, steadily he zeroed in on Elena. While she had tunnel-visioned now, there was no telling what would happen if he took the full brunt of her assault. He certainly didn't have the regenerative abilities of a demon to hold himself together, and the glancing blow to the jaw was already a warning not to take a direct physical hit.

Unlike the trial-and-error approach he had taken with Crenshaw's possessor, it seemed he had only one shot at this. Worse yet, he didn't want to risk hurting Elena, so if this attempt failed, he had no fallback plan. It was all or nothing.

Steady. Steady. He crept in a wide arc around the stationary banshee, until he was behind her. Once he was in her blind spot, he rushed in as fast as his feet could carry him, slick as they were on the tiled floor with his wet shoes. That stumbling attempt to sprint forward made the next moment seem to move in agonizing slow-motion. Especially at the last minute, when Elena's neck snapped around, finally attempting to aim in his direction. In that split second, Benson's eyes screwed shut, bracing for the worst.

It never came. He opened his eyes, realizing that he had been successful at putting Elena in a headlock. She tried with all her might to turn towards him, but he was fully anchored to her now. Her arms flailed, but could not find a proper angle and whiffed harmlessly around him. With what took a considerable amount of force, he managed to pressure her jaw shut, leaving her to make only an uncomfortable, strained, gurgling noise. Instead of emptiness, though, her eyes betrayed a pleading expression.

With the threat temporarily neutralized, there was only one thing left to do, to expel the malevolent force that occupied her body. And if the process was the same as last time, then they happened to be in just the right place to do so.

Benson pulled Elena's body off the bench, towards the wall. At least, that's what he aimed to do. But her body wouldn't move. It was anchored fast to the spot, He wrenched at her body with all his might, but the only result was in the creaking of the wooden bench beneath, that he had stepped up onto, one of the wooden slats instead beginning to groan and splinter under that strain.

Whatever it was that had a hold of Elena didn't seem smart enough to make a proper grab at him, but it was incredibly strong, and his arms began to tire, in their continued efforts to wrench her jaw closed. He couldn't hold out much longer, and he had no clues what to do next.

A white blur streaked by his vision. Out of nowhere, Lily buzzed by like a bullet, stopping to hover in front of Elena's face. Her mouth scrunched up into a snarl, and her neck lunged forward, as if trying to take a bite out of the little faerie, but Benson was able to hold her fast, for now. Tauntingly, Lily stuck out her tongue, before blowing a handful of shimmering powder at the young woman's face.

Elena choked and sputtered, and almost instantly, the cloudiness seemed to dissipate from her eyes. She still fought and flailed, though. The biggest change, however, was that she no longer seemed rooted in place. With a great heaving surge, Benson lifted her off the bench and sent both of them tumbling against the wall, under the low shower head of the washing station.

As he had with Crenshaw, he immediately cranked up the cold water, which sent Elena into kicking and gnashing fits, whatever it was occupying her body rapidly losing control. Unlike with Crenshaw, however, nothing seemed to lift away from her body. Oh crap! Also unlike his fight with the Crenshaw beast, he was no longer in the office showers, with its plain, ordinary water, to leech the strength from the dark entity. He was in the Haven now, where magic likely ran innately through its very being. While the creature clearly wasn't enjoying the water, it also wasn't being flushed out of Elena's body, either.

What now? He was out of ideas. He couldn't very well haul her all the way out, back into the outside world.

The faint voice sounded from across the room. Weak, but clear. Caeli's broken body was sprawled out on the ground now, a single amber eye watching the unfolding scene through her waterlogged bangs. "Sleeping beauty," she said, feebly. "Kiss her!"

Here? Now!? Even in their intimacy, Elena hadn't crossed that bridge, in the knowledge that his full devotion laid with another. And to do so now seemed highly inappropriate, against her will.

But it's not like any other options were presenting themselves. And it wasn't as if Caeli had ever led him astray...

Benson turned Elena over in his arms, and wrapping her tightly in his embrace, he planted his lips firmly upon hers, with eyes still open to watch for a reaction. At first, nothing seemed to happen. But then he felt her hand tenderly stroke against his chest, and her lips press back into his. All the while, her body bristled and shuddered as a wispy black shadow rose from her shoulders. It formed a horrifying visage in the air, and attempted to shriek. But without Elena's vocal chords to amplify its voice, its shrill cry was weak and pathetic, and its form quickly evaporated. He slowly closed his eyes, as Elena's return kiss grew more enthusiastic and passionate.

Suddenly, she wriggled in his arms and broke free from his hold, her slim shoulders sliding easily through his wet grasp. His eyes reopening in surprise, he could only watch on helplessly as she had already crossed the room in his lapse of attention, and was atop the prone form of the weakened succubus. After all their efforts, he'd let his guard down, and the creature had regained control to finish the job that it had set its mind to.

With ears still ringing, he feared the worst.

Those fears went unrealized.

Instead, Elena dropped to the ground and knelt beside the injured demoness. Turning off the water the water tap that was still showering all over her, she pulled Caeli's head up off the ground and into her lap, and gently laid her own body over top for warmth.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Elena sputtered, through tears. "Please say something, please be alright!"

Caeli didn't respond verbally, but instead nuzzled her cheek into Elena's soft thighs, causing her to flush red.

Benson got up and walked over to meet the two.

"Elena, are you... you?" he asked, exhausted and dumbstruck over the harrowing events. His own voice sounded muffled in his head, like he was submerged underwater, but his hearing was starting to return.

"Yes. Yes, it's me. Fully me. I'm in control now. But how about her? There's all this blood all over and, oh god. I did this to her, didn't I?"

"Don't blame yourself. That wasn't you. That was... I don't know what it was, but it was inside you, controlling you."

"But it was me. Or a part of me, anyways. At first, I was afraid. And then angry, so angry. Seeing you two together, something just... snapped. The power that I felt surging through me, no, that wasn't mine. But I didn't stop it. Part of me let it happen."

"Well, whatever that was, it seems to be gone now. How do you feel now?"

"Mostly confused, but also concerned. Don't worry about me right now. Is she going to be alright?"

As if to respond, Caeli groaned and stirred. She pulled her head aside, pushing herself away from Elena to cough up more blood, before drifting out of consciousness.

"Oh god, she needs help. Medical attention. Somebody, anybody!" Elena looked around frantically in search of a first aid kit or anything of the sort, but was taken aback at the unfamiliar space she was suddenly aware of. "Wait, where are we?"

Before he could muster a single word to answer, Lily popped into view again from nowhere, this time hefting a great pail of water. Or really, just one of the many basins from the wash stations in the room, but compared to the faerie's small stature, it was larger than she was. Judging from her trajectory, she had filled the container from Iara's bath, rather than from one of the many faucets that surrounded them. She unceremoniously dumped it on Caeli's still form.

Elena shrieked in surprise, receiving a hefty dose of the splash-back from that torrent as well, but Caeli roused, coughing and sputtering. "Thanks, Lily." she said, weakly. Her one exposed eye opened widely in realization, as it peered around the room. First at Lily, then at Benson, and finally towards and lingering on Elena, who had a similar wide-eyed expression that flicked back and forth between faerie and demoness.

"Well, so much for keeping the secret." Caeli said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I guess I have no choice but to kill her, now." She pushed at the ground feebly, unable to support her own weight.

"What?" Elena questioned, still in shock.

"She's joking. You are joking, right?"

The corner of Caeli's mouth twitched upward, in a failed attempt at a smirk. "Well Ben, seeing as I couldn't even if I wanted to in my condition, I'm not even sure that matters right now. She could probably do me in right now if it would so suit her needs. I have no strength left to move, let alone fight back. My healing's probably just about tapped out, as well."

Lily defensively flew in front of Elena's field of vision, gesturing a big "X" with her little arms, puffing out her cheeks and chest in a futile attempt to look big.

"Why are you even telling me this?" Elena's expression of shock mixed with puzzlement.

"I think that was her dark way of telling you that she means you no harm."

"You do get me." Caeli nodded in Benson's direction. Lily, finally in on the joke, lowered her guard and sat on Caeli's shoulder, leaning in to press up against her cheek.

Elena's eyes went wide in realization, at the way they so effortlessly bounced their conversation off each other. "Wait. You, her... She's the one, isn't she?"

"What am I the one of?"

Elena completely ignored the question, her mind suddenly abuzz with excitement. Her eyes drifted over Caeli's horns, and wings, and tail, that she'd been mentally trying to ignore, to manage all of the panic and confusion being thrown at her all at once. "Now it all makes sense! Why you were always so cagey and cryptic when we talked about the other girl in your life. She... this..." she motor-mouthed excitably, but her brain quickly ran out of words.

Meanwhile, Benson had rushed across the room to fetch a towel, and now took advantage of the lull in the conversation to wrap it around Caeli's cold, soaked shoulders. That act brought Elena's mind back to the more pressing matters, instead of her runaway curiosities. "Ohmygod, I was rambling, wasn't I? I'm sorry, we still need to help you, first."

Caeli tried to protest, but she was too weak to effectively resist.

Shooing Lily away, Elena scooped her arms under Caeli's armpits to lift her up and turn her over. Her front was all stained with blood and vomit. Without really thinking, she rushed to pull Caeli's soiled clothes off her. She quickly found the button at her cleavage and had the soaked bra undone in a matter of seconds. The tight skirt proved more troublesome, however. Already practically skin-tight, the wetness just made it cling even worse. Even with the belt removed, the garment resisted. With some difficulty working it down her round hips, the wet cloth snagged in her pantyhose, and suddenly free, the whole affair slid freely down Caeli's lithe, lightly muscled legs.

She turned the water back on to wash her up a bit, but with all the bile fluids flushed away, Elena found herself confronted by Caeli's immaculate and toned torso, and her large, impossibly perky breasts glistening under the streaming water. Her brushes with the wet towel grew slower, her touch lingering and slowing in certain areas, before pausing entirely.

Elena twisted around to look at Benson, not so discreetly revealing her other hand had subconsciously crept between her thighs. Crouched as she was, the short robe she was wearing was bunched up around her waist, baring everything down below. In her exertions, the collar also gaped, and Elena's cleavage was revealed, the erectness of her nipples showing prominently through the clingy wet fabric.

Her face glowed crimson, as fingers plunged into her moistening pussy openly, with no regard for the impropriety of the act.

Her eyes, however, were not filled with lust, but instead with sadness, and other things. Her whole face contorted in an unreadable mix of emotions.

"Benson, deep down, I think I knew. From the moment I saw you two together, the way she held your hand, I knew she was the one you'd given your heart to. I don't blame you. I mean, come on, look at her! Just one look and she's even got me horny! I've never even thought of another girl that way before! I saw you... and I knew why I couldn't have you. Not that I didn't enjoy what we had, but a part of me wanted more."

The glow of her face intensified in her shame and desire. "Maybe it was just my girlish naiveté at the time, but I was smitten by you the moment I met you. No, not in the garage. Four years ago, when you first came to me, all fresh and eager. The way your assurances validated all of my ideas. I had such a huge crush on you, all charming and good looking and the perfect person for what I needed at the time. Life stuck roadblocks in our way, but I never really forgot those feelings."

"I saw you, and her, and then that thing. It whispered in my ear. Offered me things. Made it impossible to tell right from wrong. It told me to kill her, so that I could have you."

"Elena -- "

"What even is this cosplay slut supposed to be, anyways? Is she a fucking succubus, or something?" Her voice suddenly raised, switching from guilty admission to confused anger. She stood off the floor, and began angrily pacing.

Caeli feigned a look of shock. "Oh my, the both of you! Getting it in one! There really is no mystery left in this world anymore, is there? This current era really is something." Her face remained calm, entirely unfazed by Elena's sudden outburst.