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Bright Lights

It had all started at the Gala. A collection of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy writers throughout the Chicago area. A low grade sports bar isn't what came to mind when Susan thought of a gala, but she wouldn't argue with free booze and free appetizers, with limits of course.

“Hey Susan!” Aaron called out to her, raising a hand grasped around a bottle of imported beer. Susan grabbed her straight rum to join her co-workers at the booth they had claimed for themselves. Aaron was editor in chief at Kaiju Cave Bi-Monthly, a small magazine dedicated to stories of the weird and giant. Be it mechs, monsters, or even porn. If something loomed over another in it, they would cover it! Aaron was a young light skinned black man just outside of thirty, his skin a non threatening mocha. He could be model if he'd just agree to shave the scant bits of hair clinging to the end of his scalp, but Susan knew better than to give her boss fashion advice, as desperately needed as it was.

“Oh fuck off!” Chris yelled towards the expensive television that showed the Bears losing in all their 'not even Wildcard' glory. “ZONE DEFENSE, ZONE FUCKING DEFENSE!” Chris sipped on his tall beer as he continued to yell at the players. Susan doubted they could hear him, despite his efforts otherwise. At the first Gala someone may have told him to calm down, or even to “shut the fuck up!” but by this, the fifth Gala people learned to accept, perhaps even enjoy Chris' drunken anger. Susan smiled at him as she took a seat!

“Of course I'll get it back to you!” Ashton said as Susan sat down. He slicked back his long blonde hair as he sipped on a drink that was off the guild's budget and was clearly too expensive for him tonight. Aaron sighed as he nodded towards his chief writer “You owe me though!” her boss responded as Ashton gratefully punched him in the arm.

“Don't you fret, I'll pay you back in cash AND sales!” Ashton said, slurping his slushed alcoholic drink.

“FUCK!” Chris yelled back at the TV, his eyes glued to the screen in rage. The Bears had given up another touchdown. “Fucking 21-0!” He slammed back another beer. Susan looked to the quietest member of their table, Thomas, who sat still nursing his first drink, looking over his cellphone.

“How's single life treating you kiddo?” Susan asked, pulling Thomas from the void of his fantasy world, clawing his eyes from his ex's Facebook.

“Oh....it's....yanno!” Thomas said, the young staff writer shrugging as he continued to sip on his drink. Susan slid his phone from his hand, he offered little resistance as she pocketed it.

“I'm going to hold onto this for you tonight and go grab you another drink!” As Susan got up she spotted Kris walking into the bar. Her dyed bright red hair, cut short was impossible to miss, even in a thick crowd. “KRIS, OVER HERE!” She yelled waving to her. Kris confidently trotted to the table, grabbing a seat in the booth.

“You assholes better not have gotten the party started without me!” She said grinning to Aaron. Once again Kris had volunteered to work late to make sure the October-November Issue of Kaiju Cave was ready in time, at this point it almost seemed like she was just scheduled to burn the midnight oil every couple of months.

“Thanks again for the last push Kris, we all owe you one!” Aaron said, raising his bottle to her in a toast.

“I accept your gratitude, but feel compelled to remind you that you all owe me a lot more than one!”

A screech in my ears!

“Guys are you sure we shouldn't call a taxi? Or even just an Uber?” Susan said with a hic as the six of them poured out of the bar. They had managed to sneak in a round for last call, and then another round for defineatly last call, and then one more for 'Seriously guys, this is the last round.'

“Like the six of us will fit in a Taxi! Besides do you have money? I don't have money!” Ashton retorted as he opened the front door to Chris' car. Susan knew she shouldn't have stayed until last call, she might have caught the subway before it closed.

“You sure you're good to drive Chris?” Aaron asked as they entered the car. The six of them packed tightly into his sedan.

“Yeah -hic- yeah I'm good!”

Susan woke up with the mother of all headaches. The stale taste of liquor was still on her breath, like a cloud of miasma rising from her lungs. The surface she was laying on felt hard as rock, the scent of brimstone flooding her nose. Where was she? As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she could see another form lying a few feet away from her. Aaron stirred and moaned, he looked to be having much of the same reaction as her. Slowly Susan stood up, her stomach churning at the whirlwind of activity it had been subjected to the past night. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she saw her co-workers, all them standing up with the slow pained expression as she'd had. The hangovers were no surprise, but where were they?

“Oh Good, you're awake!” A voice, no two voices said in perfect synchronization, one male, one female, both sweet as honey echoing across the room, followed by footsteps that sounded like heavy boots marching towards them. As the feet came into view Susan realized it wasn't boots, it was hooves. Hooves that she didn't come up to the ankle of. “I was just starting to get bored!” The synchronous voices were coming from the same source. The black goat that towered over them stood on two hoofed feet, like the kaiju so many of them had spent late nights writing about. The goat was nude, a large limp cock lay between it's legs in direct contrast with the large breasts. The goat looked down at them, slender fingers stroking its chin. Its eyes looked decidedly human, beyond the red iris. “Didn't anyone ever tell you not to drink and drive?” The Goat said with a grin.

“Wh-who are you?! What happened?” Aaron finally stuttered out at the Behemoth. He was pale and shaking as he asked the question, nervous quick breaths escaping his lips.

“Right to the point, I like that!” The male voice seemed louder now as the Goat took a stride forward, hooves clacking on the stone floor. “I have many names, Asmodeus, Lilith, Black Phillip, The Weaver, but you, you may call me Master!” Its teeth were a lot sharper than a normal goats, with prominent sharp canines that wouldn't be out of place being called fangs. “And you lot were in a car accident, like I said drinking and driving, tsk tsk!”

“An...and just what do you want with us?” Susan found herself saying, wishing to God and the Devil that she hadn't as Asmodeus locked eyes with her, the red iris burning a hole right into her soul.

“Entertainment!” Asmodeus said with a grin, making the sweet female voice higher in volume now “I want you to entertain me, I so rarely get visitors to my domain! So I want each of you to tell me a story, weave me a thrilling tale of Giants, Gods, Immortals, and the bugs at their feet. If you manage to do that, I'll make it worth your while.”

“And h-how the f-f-fuck will you do that?” Chris shouted out, trying to keep his dominant demeanor as he stared up at Asmodeus, their red eyes now locking with him.

“You rely on vulgarity a lot don't you Christopher? The mark of a man with poor vocabulary, tsk, tsk!” Asmodeus spoke down to them like they were rowdy schoolchildren “and it's rather simple, none of you are dead...yet! Your soulless bodies are lying comatose in a local hospital. You entertain me, you are free to return to them.”

“And if we don't?” Asmodeus grinned wider, their horns catching a slight spark of excited fire.

“We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it won't we? So who would like to start?” Asmodeus curved their fingers as the rocks started to shift, a throne emerging from the ground. Asmodeus sat in it, crossing their legs. “No volunteers? Well then...Aaron, you seemed eager to ask questions, so let's start with you!” Aaron didn't start telling a story, he didn't even attempt to stumble over his words, he just ran. He sprinted in the opposite direction from the throne into the infinite void. He didn't make it far before more rocks rose up to trip him over, Aaron falling flat on his face. Before he could even think of picking himself up more the stone twisted again, forming cuffs over his arms and ankles, locking him in place.

Asmodeus strode towards Aaron slowly, the others staying clear of their path. “Oh Aaron, you stupid, stupid boy! You get the chance to tell me a story with no expectation, while I'm in a good mood, and what do you do?” Asmodeus was now standing over the writhing man, whispered prayers resonating from his lips. “You run!” Asmodeus placed a hoof onto Aaron's back. “And towards what? Do you really think there was a flashing exit sign down the hall?” Aaron started to scream out, begging as Asmodeus pushed their hoof down onto his back, slowly pressing down onto his spine.

“PLEASE DO-” Aaron started to scream before the words simply dissolved into howls of agony as the sweet symphony of a cracking spine was conducted by Asmodeus' hoof. After a solid minute of howling, Aaron went silent as Asmodeus pushed down once again, ending his life with a sickening crack.

“Idiot...” Asmodeus snarled as they checked their hoof for gore as the lifted it off the smashed pulp that was once the Kaiju Cave's editor in chief. The body lingered only a moment before it was engulfed and dissolved in flames. Asmodeus silently walked back to their throne, the smell of piss now in the air with the brimstone. “Right, so have we established that running is pointless?” Asmodeus sat back down on their throne “Anyone else want to try being an idiot? Good!” Asmodeus clapped their hands together. “Now unfortunately for the rest of you, your boss soured my mood a bit so I may be a harsher critic, but I'm sure we can all come together to tell some good stories!” Asmodeus looked down at the five remaining storytellers. “Christopher!” Before Christopher could even perk up the stone where he stood lifted off the floor, the small platform ripping itself from the rest of the stone, revealing a black void underneath before the stone mended itself. The platform where Chris was now trapped hovered high above the ground as it levitated towards Asmodeus' throne, stopping within arms reach of the demon. “Make it a good one!”