In Darkness Dwells

It seemed the best idea, so Volker, Sam, and Sorine set out on horseback with several other men. They brought a cart with them to transport the cage, but their travel time slowed to a crawl once they left the road. Nevertheless, they reached the train late in the morning, no different from when they left it.

"Has no one really come to investigate this?" Sam asked in disbelief. "A train just goes missing and neither Warsaw nor Bucharest think to send anybody to take a look?"

"Considering how much debris was on the tracks on our way here, it's possible that help simply can't reach us. All it takes is a foot of bent rail to keep any trains from coming through," said Volker.

"Over here!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to Sorine, waving them over from down the line. They arrived to find several dead Romanian soldiers, all showing signs that they had been slain by Danut. Numerous bullet casings littered the ground, indicating they had tried to put up a fight, but it was clear how well that worked. There were also hoofmarks, showing where their horses had panicked and taken off.

"Once these guys are reported missing, help will surely arrive," said one man.

"But it took them this long to get here on horseback. The tracks must be completely unusable. There is no telling how many men they'll send or how long it'll take to get here," said Sam. He crouched down and examined the bodies and the torches they had carried. "This happened recently. No more than twelve hours ago."

"So Danut came here after we drove him off? But why?" Sorine asked.

"Oh God, look over there," said Volker. He pointed to the base of the cliff, where the dead passengers had been buried. They hesitantly approached, finding the mass grave dug up and all the corpses missing.

"We wounded him last night, so he came here to feed and regain his strength," said Sam.

"How many people were buried here?" Sorine asked with her face turning pale.

"Dozens," Sam muttered.

"This doesn't make sense," said Volker. "I can understand digging them up to feed, but why take the bodies? He left the dead soldiers behind."

"Who knows how that monster thinks. Let's just get the cage and get out of here. I don't want to be out in these woods when it gets dark," said Sam.

The group worked fast, finding the cargo car with Volker's cage inside. Fortunately, the car hadn't landed on its side, so they got the hulking steel craft out. It was not an easy task, as the cage was large and extremely heavy, but that raised everyone's hopes that it would work. If a rampaging rhino couldn't smash its way out, then even Danut would struggle. Once they got the cage onto the cart, they left the area as quickly as possible. They also took the dead soldiers to provide a proper burial at Runa and use their equipment.

They arrived at Runa just as the sun was approaching the horizon. The villagers had been busy turning the Town Square into a fortress. Barricades were erected between the buildings to create a ring, and all outward-facing doors and windows were boarded up. All the villagers were gathering in a few buildings, huddling together in fear of the coming night. It would be a cramped, uncomfortable evening with little sleep, but it was the safest place for everyone.

Sam, Volker, and all the men were anxious, each armed with whatever weapons they could get. Hammers, sickles, and hatchets hung from belts, pitchforks and knives were tied to shotguns and rifles as makeshift bayonets, axes and scythes were sharpened, and wooden spears were distributed to the women as the last line of defense. Numerous torches and lanterns burned in the Town Square, keeping the area lit so Danut couldn't sneak in. Their defenses had one weakness: an opening meant to lure Danut in so they could attack from all sides. All they had to do was wait, but that in itself was agonizing.

The men paced back and forth, peaking through the boarded-up windows. Those with rifles sat up on the roofs, trying not to shiver. As the hands of the tavern clock reached ever higher, no sightings were reported, but they could hear plenty of noise in the village. An inhuman growl echoed, accentuated by the occasional snarl.

"Come on, you bastard," Sam muttered, standing on the tavern porch with Volker.

"Do you think he knows we're here?" Volker asked.

"He's already circled our location twice, so there's no doubt about it. I don't know if he's smart or a coward."

Sam checked his gun for the umpteenth time that night. Three bullets. Shotgun shells were aplenty, and veterans like himself living in Runa had a stash of rifle rounds, but no one had any pistol ammunition.

"I must ask, why do you check your gun so often? Even when everything is safe and quiet, I see you checking that thing. That cylinder is going to pop out soon if you don't ease up."

Sam sighed. "This is the Colt 1851 Navy Revolver that my grandfather used in the American Civil War. It served him well then, so I brought it with me to use in the Great War. When America first joined the fighting, we had no fucking idea what we were doing. Our tactics hadn't changed since Gettysburg. We were still doing bayonet charges, for Christ's sake. Our training left us completely unprepared. Anyway, in one of my first battles in the trenches, we get the order to advance. I run my ass off along with hundreds of other guys, and we're just getting mowed down.

I drop down into a shell crater and try to shoot over the edge, but my rifle is jammed, and I can't get it working again. So I take my pistol and fire a couple of rounds, I don't know how many for sure, but I think it was three. We pause there, and I don't even think to reload because I'm trying not to throw up. Anyway, we get the order to charge again, and here I am with a busted rifle and what I assume to be three bullets in my revolver. So me and the guys jump into an enemy trench, and now we're fighting up-close and personal. I see one German and put a round between his eyes--no offense."

"Some taken."

"I see a second, and pow, right through the heart. I get the drop on a third and pull the trigger, but all I hear is a click. It turns out I had fired four shots earlier from that pit and didn't realize it. Anyway, the German soldier points his rifle at me, and I'm sure I'm about to die, but one of my guys shoves me out of the way and ends up taking the bullet in my place. I grab his gun, kill the enemy soldier, and then try to help him, but he's dead.

I wasn't paying attention to my ammo, and someone got killed instead of me. Since then, I've had this nervous need to always know exactly how many bullets I have in my gun. Before I go to bed, before I get up, any time I'm alone, I just have to be sure. If I don't, my stomach twists into a knot, and I get overcome with dread. That click of an empty gun echoes through my brain. It's the sound of death. Speaking of death, do you think this thing really can be killed?"

"Hopefully not yet."

"Wait, you still want to take him alive?"

"Of course, this is the find of the millennium."

"That's insane. We're literally dealing with a monster of Hell. This beast can't simply be captured like some animal from your jungle safaris."

"Don't you understand what Danut is? Living proof of the ethereal, of the divine, that this world goes beyond what the five mortal senses can perceive. Imagine being able to put an actual demon under a microscope, imagine being able to study the psychology of a man possessed."

"Danut isn't simply a deranged man or a mindless beast. He is pure evil. Nothing good can come of letting him live."

"Regardless, I have to take the risk."

"Why? What could be worth it?"

"This isn't merely about the institute. I may not have seen the horrors of the Great War, but I am living in the nightmare of its aftermath. Germany is starving. The Treaty of Versailles has left my country gutted like a fish, and if we are ever to recover, we'll need a valuable resource. Whether it's utilized as a research subject, a weapon, a trophy, or a chained pet, having this monster in Germany's possession will help us regain authority and prestige, even if it's just a little."

"I spent plenty of time in Germany after the war, and I know things are terrible, but if you let him live, you risk dooming your homeland and the world in the process."

"Well this is all assuming we can get him into the cage."

Despite Volker's drive, the night ended without a single shot. Most were grateful to have one evening without violence and loss, but many men felt cheated of the chance to kill the monster and end the horror. They felt Danut was toying with them, wearing down their patience. That was until they left the Town Square and discovered what their enemy had been up to. In family plots and behind the church, every grave in Runa had been desecrated, and the bodies removed. Even dry skeletons in the oldest graves were taken.

George and Olga screamed in despair upon seeing their daughter's open grave, the same with every other family with a buried loved one. When Sam and Volker saw Sorine, her face was wet with furious tears. The local priest's grave had been similarly emptied.

"That monster killed my father and won't even let him rest!"

Sam shook his head in confusion. "I don't get it. He had already fed on your father and numerous others, so why come back for their bodies? And why take dusty remains and old bones that he couldn't feed on?"

"He must need them for something other than food," said Volker. "We need more information. We need to find out exactly what is possessing Danut."

"And how do we do that?" Sam asked.

Volker turned to Sorine. "Has anyone bothered to check his house?"

"Of course. Once he first started attacking people, we looked for him there, but it was clear he had abandoned it."

"I think it might be worth another attempt."

Thus, the trio journeyed on horseback to the far edges of Runa village, to a lone shack built deep in the woods. The house was quite old, and the wood had grayed with time. They were all armed, in case Danut was hiding inside, and announced themselves with a simple knock on the door. There was no answer, so they let themselves inside. The interior was pitch black, courtesy of the shades over the windows and the branches of the trees outside, immersing the house in darkness.

They cautiously moved through the house with lanterns, while lighting candles and opening the windows to let in the light. Danut lived a very Spartan life; the furniture was simple, the walls were bare, and the few shelves had only tools and materials like paint and glue.

"Sorine, what exactly do you know about this man?" Sam asked.

"Very little. No one knew much about him. He was the last of a family of hermits. He kept to himself and threatened to shoot anyone who stepped on his land."

"This is not a house of pleasant memories," said Volker. "All my hairs are standing up, and they're telling me that terrible things happened here."

They searched every room, and though their instincts told them they were in the presence of evil, they could find no sign that Danut was anything but a miserable, reclusive bastard. Then, while walking down one of the halls, Sam felt something was off. The floorboards were flexing under his feet. He reached down and pulled the ratty carpet away, revealing a hidden door, and upon opening it, the smell of blood struck him like a slap to the face. He had found something, but deep down, part of him wished he hadn't.

"Over here!" he hollered.

Volker and Sorine rushed over, and both grimaced from the stink. "I'll go first," said Volker, shouldering his shotgun. He had replaced the rock salt in his shells with nails, ready to shred whatever they hit.

They followed him down the stairs and into the cellar below. They lit several candles to pierce the oppressive darkness, and the sight that greeted the trio almost drove them to flee the house and never return. Danut had made himself a workshop of horrors, full of mutilated animals and human remains. Body parts sat in jars on shelves, forest critters had been crucified and twisted into macabre displays, and totems for dark magic and obelisks to unholy gods were crafted from bones. The far wall, over a work table covered in blood-crusted tools, was plastered in pages of unholy diagrams, horrific pictures, and an unknown language, all of which were inked in blood.

"Oh God," Sorine gasped before turning around and retching onto the floor. Volker was trying not to do the same, and even after the horrors of war, Sam still felt himself shaking from head to toe.

"I... I don't even know where to begin with this...."

"It's true, it really is true. I didn't want to believe it, but what my father said was right," Sorine said between spits.

"You know what this is?" Volker asked.

"Centuries ago, the people of Romania were simple pagans, but when Christianity spread across Europe, they had two choices, either convert or die. According to my father, many took the third option. These mountains are riddled with caves, offering plenty of room to hide what you're doing from the world. Some even believe that caves reach all the way down to Hell. Those who refused to convert went underground, hiding their true beliefs and practices, and in the darkness, their souls became twisted. Reverence for nature and the spirits turned to the worship of dark forces. Over and over again, the church tried to stomp the cultists out and eventually cut them down to a number low enough that they could never rebuild the movement. Still, the people of these lands are all descendants of devil-worshippers, even me.

The Zaituc family must be one of the few bloodlines that stuck to the old ways, keeping the beliefs alive. My father held some of their pieces as a reminder of the evil that slumbers beneath the mountains. It's how he knew that Danut was possessed. I discovered his collection once as a child, and when he told me the truth about my ancestors and the kinds of things they did in those caves, I was overcome by hatred and disgust. I wish I could bleed out all the blood I share with them and be free of their sins."

"We should take these papers back with us. They might explain what Danut has become and how we can stop him," said Volker.

They collected all the information they could find and set Danut's home ablaze to destroy any remaining traces of wickedness. Then, they returned to Runa, and Volker and Sorine went to work deciphering the pages. After getting a few hours of sleep, Sam checked up on them.

"How is it going?"

"It certainly isn't easy. These pages are written in a mixed form of Vulgar Latin, ancient Romanian, and Celtic," said Volker. "And what we can read is awful, the most horrific knowledge mankind is capable of learning."

"Then I guess it's a good thing we have the Romanian daughter of a priest and a German intellectual. Have you found anything?"

"A little bit. I believe we've identified the demon possessing Danut, or rather, we know what Danut has transformed into. Its true name is Rathodor, the Devil's Seed, but that is a very rough translation. It feeds on people's souls by devouring their brains. It also feeds on "knowledge" of some kind."

"Anything else? What about the graves?"

"From what I'm reading here, Rathodor uses dead bodies to form its nest, or something along that line," said Sorine. "Specifically, it uses the bodies of those who have already been buried by human hands. It needs the sin of burial desecration, to defile the remains of those who were loved and mourned, and to torment those who remember them."

"So that's why it didn't bother with those Romanian soldiers. Any idea on how to kill it?"

"I don't think so. There is something about Rathodor being unable to stand beneath the face of God, but not much else. If we want to kill this monster, I think we'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way."

"You two should get some rest. You've barely slept the past three days."

"But there is still so much to uncover, so much to translate," Sorine huffed.

"I can see the puffy veins in your eyes from a mile away. We have a long night ahead of us, and the two of you need your strength. If this monster doesn't show up again, then you can work on translating the rest."

Despite their desperation, the two knew he was right. They were both exhausted and could barely walk, let alone fight. All the men in the village were also using these daylight hours to regain their strength. It was late in the afternoon when they finally returned, surprised to find a funeral in the middle of town.

"What's going on?" Sorine asked as she walked over to Sam.

"We're burying those Romanian soldiers."

"Beneath the road?"

"It's as good a spot as any."

"You're using them for bait, aren't you?" Volker accused.

"You have a better idea? The only way we can kill this thing is on our own terms. If he's not going to come after the living, hopefully he'll come after the dead. It seems like he can tell where and when people have been buried."

"Have you no respect for these fallen men?"

"They're soldiers. It's their job to protect this country and its people. If it will help us destroy this evil, I'm sure they'd be willing to donate their bodies to the cause. Besides, I talked it over with the other men and they agreed. Everyone here knows what we're doing. Anyway, there is something the two of you should know." He pulled them aside, out of earshot of everyone attending the funeral. "I went back to the church and looked around all the other places this monster has been. The tracks he left behind last night aren't like what he left behind the night before. They were larger, farther apart, and it looked like he was dragging something with him, like a big sack."

Volker sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Danut, no, Rathodor must be undergoing some kind of growth cycle. He was barely human the last time we saw him, and with all the brains he's eaten, God knows what he looks like now."

Sorine seemed less perturbed. "This doesn't change anything. We're going to kill him and end this madness." Her voice was full of bloodlust, causing Sam and Volker to exchange glances.

That night, everyone prepared for battle once more. The corral was ready, with an open-ended pen leading straight to the buried soldiers in the town center. This time, no fires were burning, and everyone lay in hiding. The whole place was quiet as a grave. They could hear Danut working his way around their position, searching the village for graves. He was certainly taking his sweet time, but eventually, they heard movement beyond the perimeter. All the men with their weapons tensed, waiting for their foe to reveal himself.

Then, when the clouds parted and the moonlight bathed the town, the demon arrived, to everyone's horror. What was a twisted human two nights ago had grown into a hulking monstrosity. It stood a solid ten feet tall with a body like an obese gorilla. Its disproportionately small legs supported its huge bloated body, and its arms had transformed, becoming two massive tusks, like tree trunks sharpened into points, with its forearms branching off. A mat of gnarled spikes grew out of its upper back, resembling branches. Its head was still vaguely humanoid, and the four segments quivered as it growled.

The unholy behemoth entered the pen, with all those watching unable to believe their eyes. They weren't supposed to attack until given the signal, but it wasn't discipline and patience keeping them still. They were too terrified to move. Rathodor reached the buried soldiers, dug one of its arm spikes into the soft soil, and then pulled out a skewered corpse. Its ribcage split open like its skull, becoming a second mouth full of jagged teeth, and it stuffed the corpse into its fat gullet.