Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56After the incident with the thing in the alley, Bertrand went home, thinking of, for the very first time in his whole career, getting a decent night of sleep.
Even if it came to shoving a whole bottle of sleeping pills down his throat.
There simply couldn’t possibly be a way of the things he’d been experiencing to be real, yet his cheek was swollen and in pain. When he touched it, before getting in the car, he saw blood staining his fingers. And there was a mark across his face when he looked in the rearview.
I’m going crazy, right? It’s not real... he thought, while driving. A whole day and night of sleep, I’ll wake up tomorrow brand new, and ready for a cup of coffee.
But he didn’t.
The detective got home to find that something had invaded his place.
The lights were off, and he heard movement in his room.
Why the fuck don’t I have a gun again? Bertrand asked himself, trying not to get too elated by the atmosphere surrounding him.
Step by step, he approached his room, his steps sounding louder than he wanted. It’s only because of the fear. DAMNIT! Just why?
The detective turned the lights on in the hall, and noticed that there was a slight pool of blood coming from under his door, and as Bertrand opened it inch by inch, heard the sound of munching and cracking, watching the shadow of a raccoon, eating on something, next to his bed.
Feeling safe at last, Bertrand turned flipped the switch on the wall, drowning the room in light, only to see something even stranger.
“No... What the hell... What the fuck is happening...?”
There was blood all over his floor, and the raccoon looked at him, while unworriedly munching on what could only be the weird fruit that the detective woke up to, earlier in the day.
The problem was, that by a closer look, it was the fruit itself that was bleeding, and its bleeding pulp was nothing more than a myriad of tongues, eyes, ears, lips, fingers, and teeth. Which explained the cracking sounds, at least.
Bertrand didn’t know what to think, and started feeling sick all at once. But without strength to go to the bathroom, he vomited on the floor, observing the animal, as it ate in that... Thing, that couldn’t possibly ever be called a fruit, and couldn’t possibly ever be real.
And as his whole world collapsed, Bertrand passed out, falling flat over the blood.
***
His eyes were a bit swollen, so he had some difficulty in opening them.
It was clear day already, the raccoon wasn’t anywhere near the tattered figure of the detective, and he felt soaked with something. The room was hot, so it could be sweat.
The PI passed down and ended up sleeping on the floor, and something smelled a mixture of copper and sour. He tried to get up.
“Don’t make a single fucking sudden move, Bert...” he heard Jake’s voice beside him, not too far, and then, heard the cocking of a gun.
“Jake...? What the hell, man?” he tried to say, his voice grumbled as if he was drunk.
“You heard me. Get up slowly, sit down, and tell me this is not what it looks like...”
Bertrand got up slowly, as his partner told him to, sat down on the floor, and tried to open his eyes. One was easier to open than the other, but when he came to see it all properly, the scene around him didn’t change from when he passed out.
There was blood everywhere, teeth, fingers, ripped tongues, and a pool of vomit right beside him.
The detective touched his face and felt that what was covering one side could only be a mixture of blood and his own vomit. On the other cheek, the painful trail still remained.
“It wasn’t a dream...?” his voice sounded hollow, desperate. He looked towards Jacob, as if waiting for a reply.
“Don’t fuck around, man. We couldn’t reach you for five fucking days! I come here after my shift to check if you were okay, to find what? Bert... Seriously, what the fuck is all this?” Jake’s voice was sullen, with traces of elating, but not enough to say that he was actually mad.
Of course Jake didn’t believe Gonzales in the first place. He was the only cop that agreed to partner up with the detective Gonzales called “Sixth sense motherfucker”. They worked together for years, and he was the only one to know Bertrand’s story, the scars over his body, and inside his heart.
Yet, he was there, gun in hand, pointed at his partner, eyes filled with dread.
“Five days?” Bertrand asked. “What... What do you mean by five days? You called me yesterday, to attend a crime scene. I even met you at the convenience store, so that we could grab a coffee and drive to the scene, but... But you couldn’t drive me there. You said... You said you had one more report to write... And drove away...”
The PI’s mind was confused. The more he tried to remember that night, about the nightmare, the call, the driving, the more it became blurry.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Bert? It’s been two weeks since our last case together, you remember? The...”
“Yeah.” Bertrand replied. “The vanishing of that Jane Doe’s body from the morgue, I remember.”
The strangest thing about his thoughts, was that this memory was clear as water, but all else – all that he needed to remember – was fuzzy.
“Come on, Bert... I don’t wanna shoot you. What’s going on?” Jake’s tone became resolute.
“Shoot me?” the detective’s eyes went wide, what did he mean by shoot him? “You called me, I went to the scene, and even found some disturbing stuff...”
“WHAT FUCKING SCENE, BERTRAND?” Jake yelled, finally losing his temper. His fist breaking the ceramic of the bedside lamp. Blood starting to trickle from his fingers.
“THE WOMAN WITH THE RIPPED FACE, FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!” the PI yelled too. His emotions boiling like lava, his eyes filling up with tears.
Jake froze in place after hearing it.
“What... How do you know about... No...” the gun started shaking in his hand. “Gonzales can’t be right about you... Tell me what this all means, Bert... I KNOW YOU, AND YOU’RE NOT A FUCKING SERIAL KILLER!”
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, MAN!”
“SHUT UP AND JUST EXPLAIN!”
“I... I can’t...” Bertrand replied, hollow and lost.
“No... It can’t be... IT CAN’T BE!!!” Jake shouted with all his lungs.
Then there was the sound of the gunshot.
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
ARC: Seeds of Calamity PROLOGUE - VII - And then I saw a beast coming from the sea (Two)
The girl felt her stomach turning onwards and backwards, an indescribable sense of vertigo taking over her.There was an actual human face in her trembling hands, shaking between her fingers, due to the intense trembling. Becca didn’t know what to think, what to feel, how to anything.She ended up vomiting on the floor, but kept herself conscious, even though her whole body wanted to pass out.She was a good person, but it didn’t mean she was fragile. She spent a few good years training with Don and watching him dealing with nasty stuff, after all.She didn’t allow herself to break.The problem was what she was going to do now.There was an invitation to that Rosenbaum’s place, and he ended up turning to be a monster.A murderer.Her mind blurred, and her senses felt like fading, but she hung on to reality, trying to think about anything that felt real. And a memory floated on her mind,
ARC: Seeds of Calamity PROLOGUE - VIII - And then I saw a beast coming from the sea (Three)
The shot echoed through the room, making Jake’s ears ring. It had been a while since he took part in a gun fight inside a closed space, and his tears were too much, and Bert’s movement was too much.And everything was too much...“J... Jake...” he heard Bertrand’s voice, but refused to look. He would snap if anyone ever made him look at what he’d just done.“Jake...?” his partner’s voice, hollow and lost just seconds ago, was filled with surprise and shock. “What... What is...”Jacob didn’t want to listen to the rest.Gonzales called him four days ago, to check on his reports. He was pretty busy with how to put Bertrand’s intel into believable words, but the deputy chief never called him only to check on his reports, so he listened to her, and asked what it was all about.“Did you tell your freak partner about the Face Murder?” she asked, witho
ARC: Seeds of Calamity PROLOGUE - IX - And then I saw a beast coming from the sea (Finale)
Becca walked through the streets as if they were a single straight line, and there was no one around her.Inside her side bag, Rosenbaum’s letter, along with the face he sent her, and the crowbar from Don’s spare office. She felt the weight of the whole world over her shoulders, feeling like God Himself was watching her steps, completely aware of her choice. Judging her every move.But she didn’t care.The girl spent a lot of time drifting between the here and the elsewhere, the then and the now. She made a choice, though heavy a choice it was, Becca decided to never turn back on it.YOU KNOW JUSTICE, NEZARIEL! YOU CAN’T TURN YOUR BACK TO US! The fatherly figure told her, when he found out she was trying to leave the Seventh Layer with a page of the Book of Life.She knew justice, that was for sure.And for all she knewJUSTICE ISN’T SIGNED IN LUCIFER’S BLOOD! THAT’S WHY I’M
ARC: Seeds of Calamity CHAPTER OF THE PAGES - I - Heaven’s kitchen
One year laterNezariel was in a hurry.The hoodie she was wearing, covering her entire face, showing only shades of dark, along with a glimpse of her chaotic coloured eyes.Two more hooded figures followed right behind her.The cityscape revealed tons of buildings and crowded streets. It was the middle of the night, yet there were still dozens of people walking by, to get to one of the many bars and restaurants that existed there, and made the living soul of the district.“So you knew that Azazel was here all along?” Nezariel asked angrily.“Yes, I did. So what?” Aamon answered her, on her left. “He may have become a cook. But still, he’s one of the most powerful Archdukes to ever land on Earth. So what did you want me to do? Snitch him to you, so you could go straight forward questioning him? Or even better! So you could try to do the same thing you did to that sack of shit, Jeremy
ARC: Seeds of Calamity CHAPTER OF THE PAGES - II - Heaven’s kitchen (Two)
Nezariel felt the threat coming from the demon’s aura, but didn’t stand up to confront it. Instead, she only stared at Aamon, with as much indifference in her eyes, as one can gather in a look.Aamon stared back, and the situation persisted for long seconds. Bertrand knew what the angel was trying to do, so he didn’t interfere, even though he would possibly die if he ever tried to.“You’re gonna stand there all night long?” Nezariel asked the demon, as the seconds passed slowly, and the atmosphere changed gradually, from dangerous to awkward.“Uhm... I beg your pardon?” Aamon retorted, uncomfortably. It shifted its weight from one leg to the other, trying really hard not to break eye contact with the angel.“Your food is gonna get cold, and we need to sleep. I’m not gonna play Serious all night, neither are you gonna do anything stupid.” Nezariel’s glare grew even more serious, cold a
ARC: Seeds of Calamity CHAPTER OF THE PAGES - III - HEAVEN’S KITCHEN (Three)
The trio entered a spacious lobby, crowded with what could only be dozens upon dozens of rich people. They could see gold, silver, diamonds, fine cut suits and well sewn dresses all around them. Waiters and other workers passed by them hurriedly, holding plates with lots of dishes and cups above them.For a second, they regretted the decision of entering hastily, without devising a proper strategy.The restaurant seemed to be only for the rich, and they definitely weren’t dressed as such. But surprisingly, the three of them didn’t seemed to be noticed at all by the customers, nor by the staff, which made Nezariel look towards Aamon.“You doing this?” she asked.“Not by any chance.” the demon replied, apprehensively.She then looked at Bertrand, who quickly retorted.“I don’t even know how to do this shit, Neza. Don’t even look at me.”But they didn’t have to wait for lo
ARC: Seeds of Calamity CHAPTER OF THE PAGES - IV - Hellscape of lifetimes
It was hard for her to describe how she felt, once Don came to her sights, beer in one hand, cigarette in the other, a soft and wicked smile.That was Donnovan, right in front of her. And at that time, she was not the angel.She was nothing but a human, who felt, thought, and spoke like a human.By the time she stared at Don, the angel was just Becca, and Becca hugged her former uncle with all she had.“Oh, wow! Ouch, girl, you got strong as hell!”Everyone in the room was silent, as the reunion went on for a few seconds that lasted an eternity. However, even as the hug was about to end, the beastly-looking man stroke Becca’s hair.He looked down to her, noticing
ARC: Seeds of Calamity CHAPTER OF THE PAGES - V - Hellscape of lifetimes (Two)
The girl felt something odd in the atmosphere.It was weird that even with Don getting a hold of the page, she couldn’t sense any true evil around them, nor coming from the one she once called uncle.The sparks revelling in his eyes showed intense energy. A crude form of power that could easily subdue them without breaking a sweat.In fact, it showed exactly the kind of power that was capable of subduing Grand Marquis Azazel, one of the most powerful demons of its rank.Yet, as threatening as Don’s energy was all by itself, the whole aura spreading across the room didn’t feel dangerous at all.So the angel raised her chin, and with a defying look in her eyes, asked straight forward.
Latest Chapter
- ARC: Seeds of Calamity
EPILOGUE (Final) - Ever after...
They talked and dined, laughed and shared moments of silence, and night flew by like a train heading towards its final destination.Aurora was allowed to stay with them for as long as she could stay awake, and surprisingly, she stood there, playing with everyone who wanted. Listening to their stories, drinking juice and pretending to fight with Bert, Jake and Uriel, who still didn’t get used to her features.From time to time, Uriel would go outside, followed by Don.She would cry in Don's arms, remembering the times she spent with Becca, and how it would never come to happen again.“Love...” Don would say. “Do you remember when Becca last said her goodbyes to us?”“What about it?” Ur
- ARC: Seeds of Calamity
EPILOGUE - ... Of endings and beginnings (Eleven)
Heavy rain started pouring all over the world as Becca spoke, an ominous feeling drenching the hearts of all who heard her.I didn’t put you in here for this.I didn’t create you so that you could surrender to your weakness.I created you to be.Like Me.As she spoke, they felt ashamed of their own weakness, of their will to run and to be guided by anything that could exempt them from the burden of choosing.Becca wanted in her deepest part, to decimate them. She felt angry, disappointed at them. But it was just expected, because She had made them like that, hoping that they could overcome their weaknesses. That they could be able to hold themselves accountable for their own deeds.So she breathed deeply, dismissing her human emotions for the first time since forever.In a snap of her fingers, the storm clouds dissipated, and with it the blood that reddened the earth, and the bodi
- ARC: Seeds of Calamity
EPILOGUE ... Of endings and beginnings (Ten)
Uriel glowed like a bursting star.Her muscles tensed like bow strings, as her whole essence forced itself to assimilate and purify the energy from the Crawling Chaos’ blast.Somehow, the creature’s energy was very similar to that of a nuclear weapon, and as quickly as Uriel noticed it, she jumped under the highlights, stealing the show.However, the energy was so dense, so tainted, that her only choice was to focus everything she had on purifying it during the whole absorption process.A single mistake, if her determination and focus wavered even if ever so slightly, and the Scorching Empress would be no more.Time seemed like slowing down as Uriel put all of her into that task, and little by little, the blast diminished in intensity and size.Until the entirety of the attack ceased for good.“Is that all you got?” Uriel asked with a taunting smirk on her lips.The heinous creature couldn&
- ARC: Seeds of Calamity
EPILOGUE - ... Of endings and beginnings (Nine)
Outside the church, Bert’s group fought with their lives on the line, with all they had, in order to buy as much time as they could so that Elleanore and Abby could retrieve whatever it was that could grant them their powers back.So they fought, got wounded, bled, fell, got back up again, and resisted as hard as they could.However, Mathew and the others weren’t doing as well as they wanted to.Because their enemies weren’t ordinary humans, but loyal servants to the Crawling Chaos. Demons once killed during the Forgotten War, but brought back to life by the unstoppable force of evil and destruction that was the Crawling Chaos.It made things way harder to the group than they ever planned for.They had broken limbs, deep cuts, and unimaginably painful wounds. But still they resisted, having even taken down some of their enemies.It seemed that, somehow, their bodies still held some of the former strength they held back in t
- ARC: Seeds of Calamity
EPILOGUE - ... Of endings and beginnings (Eight)
They weren’t excited.If anything, they were afraid for their own lives. For their own integrity.It was too high a stake to even dare conceive failing.However, it was also a moment where if they succeeded, history would be corrected, things would go back to how they used to be, friends would be reunited.Evil would be put back to where it belonged.Bert planned, the others gave their opinions when they thought some of it was incoherent, or simply pure blatant nonsense.Days passed by before their plan was completely formed and they were well equipped enough to dare leave Bert’s place, but eventually the time came, and despite the fear they felt, they moved with the sense of purpose.They moved with the will to finish it once and for all.As soon as they set foot outside, they understood the real danger they were walking into.The daylight had faded to a level that even during the
- ARC: Seeds of Calamity
EPILOGUE - ... Of endings and beginnings (Seven)
Immediately after Abigail saying that, a crippling headache hit everyone, except for Elleanore and Abby, sending everyone to the floor, while Uri’s voice, in that seductive and unnatural way, spoke in their heads.Do not even think of coming up with a plan or anything like that, my little rats... Didn’t I tell you that I was going to play cat and mouse with you?Their heads felt as though they were about to explode, so intense Uri’s power inside their heads was, but she kept speaking.Inside the maze, I was shackled by that filthy young man’s power. But now that I am free, and that I have the most suitable vessel, I am not only going to follow my mother’s will, but I will also enjoy myself, watching you all slowly wither as you die one after the other...Elleanore and Abby couldn’t hear what was happening inside the group’s heads, but mother and daughter were fine, so they came right at the group
- ARC: Seeds of Calamity
EPILOGUE - ... Of endings and beginnings (Six)
It was hard for Bert and Cam to tell Mathew and Jake that they were basically alone in this now, since Uri disappeared, Don went after her, and Elleanore had resigned herself and Abigail from the fight. It was even worse after Jonah told him what they had to face, despite not even concretely knowing what were their strengths against all odds. They felt as if they were walking in the middle of a crossfire, blindfolded, with their hands tied behind their backs. And while they were at it, researching, looking for gods, searching for more answers, the world kept changing. In the course of the months that followed their first reunion to discuss about the dream, that now seemed to them to have taken place years ago, the world had changed. Weeks went by with earthquakes reshaping whole areas throughout the world, typhoons devastating small towns, crimes happening much more frequently, atop of many more disasters happening all around. And along with that, a new pillar of power was rising
- ARC: Seeds of Calamity
EPILOGUE - ... Of endings and beginnings (Five)
As Jonah approached the entrance of the maze, he took some time to take in everything in his surroundings.Strangely, he didn’t feel familiar with the large desert that unfolded around him. Jonah remembered all about the place as soon as death took a hold of his body, and he wasn’t sure if the domain of Death, his old domain, had always been so bright.It looked as though daylight had been poured over the vastness of the deserted plains, with only the giant maze showing in the centre of everything.Something felt fishy, and even though Jonah felt confident in walking through the land, he also felt as if something was out there, watching him.But when he felt it, his attenti
- ARC: Seeds of Calamity
EPILOGUE - ... Of endings and beginnings (Four)
Just as Jonah had mentioned, the work to build the electric chair took less than three days. That was because finding a water that was pure enough to suit the unicorn boy’s needs was hard enough.But sooner than they expected, the project was completely done.Since Elleanore didn’t want Abby to see the whole experiment taking place, so she strongly recommended him and Cam that they should take the project somewhere else, or else she would, and they wouldn’t like it.After all, she might even be part of that craziness, but she still put her daughter above all else.And Elleanore wouldn’t allow such things near her Abby, not even if her daughter was a goddess or anything of the sorts.Abigail was still Elleanore’s baby, in the end.However, even if Elleanore didn’t want Abby to see what was going to happen next, Elleanore herself went to Bert’s house, along with Cam, Jonah, and Jake, whil
