It was about 2 am as I and Heinrich sat in my small living room, not too much— a wooden coffee table out of oak with fine carvings of the Greek mythos stood at the right wall of the room. Underneath it, a plain red carpet. Left and right beside the table were two comfortable chairs, one with a red pillow and one with a blue. They were nothing special, simple wooden chairs. Behind the blue one there was a glass door which leads out to my garden, which is now cloaked in the dark of the night, and behind the red one was the long floor which leads to my bedroom. If you would go to the left in this living room, you would arrive in the kitchen.
I had just entered my house with Heinrich and guided the boy into the living room."Take a seat," I said to him in a straight voice."Y-yes, sir," he replied with his stuttery voice, and he sat down on the blue chair.
"Wanna drink something?" I called while handling my booze cabinet in the kitchen."No, I don't quite like drinking. You got anything else? Juice?"
For a moment I was baffled. A man that doesn't drink alcohol and drinks juice? Haven't heard that in a while, but regardless I got a bottle of unlabeled apple juice under the kitchen counter. I also grabbed my Korn bottle and brought two glasses and the bottles to the table.
"Here, a bit of self-made apple juice," I said while giving him the bottle."Thanks, sir, I appreciate it. Most people just get mean to me when I'm asking for juice or something else than alcohol," he quietly said.
"No problem, but we two must talk. I would really like you as my assistant, kid. I think you've got the guts, but what I'm about to tell you might be a bit—ehm, let's just say crazy."
He looked at me with confusion in his eyes and said, "Sir, I was at countless murder cases and saw more death than a normal person should have. I think I will be fine."
I wasn't expecting this answer, but I liked his bravery, so I started:"Well, have you ever heard of tales about supernatural or creatures of the night like Belschnikel or Wiedergänger, or old tales of angry gods like Czernobog or Pazuzu, of people dying in mysterious accidents or by sheer impossible feats for a human to accomplish? Well, all of them are true."
His look changed from a bit confused to a confused grimace, and his mouth slowly formed the words, "What?"
"Well, you see, let me think of an example… oh yes, do you remember the person who was found dead last winter on the small road outside of town beside the old forest?"
He thought for a moment and slowly said, "Yes, I remember. He was crushed to death. We thought someone wanted to recreate a witch trial torture method."
"He didn't die because some lunatic wanted to look if they are a witch. They died because an Aufhocker crushed them to death."
His confusion was all gone and changed with enlightenment, and he started frantically saying, "Now I get it, you want to fool me to make fun of me. You belong to them, don't you? To those bullies of the upper ranks who think my belief in such things is nonsense and laugh at me. Well, I won't fall for it, so you can kindly fuck off. I mean, who is this cruel that th—"
His words suddenly blanked out because I noticed something behind the boy through the glass door. I saw a figure. It was rather tall and wore an azure robe. His face was concealed by a mask of a wolf, and only his mouth was visible, which had rotten teeth. Out of the bottom poured dark mist. I saw as he slowly moved his arm upwards and pointed at us.
I immediately understood the danger and abruptly stood up. I looked at Heinrich and screamed, "Put your fingers in your ears!"
"Wha-what d—" he stuttered in confusion.
"DO IT NOW!" I screamed even louder than before, and he slowly moved his fingers in his ears, as well as I saw the rotten mouth form some words, and then he moved his second arm and pointed towards us.
I frantically said, "DUCK!"
But Heinrich still had his fingers in his ears, and so I jumped over the coffee table and tackled Heinrich. As soon as we hit the ground, the glass door shattered. I stood up, and Heinrich still lay on the ground behind me. Heinrich finally saw it too and called out, "What the hell is this abomination?"
I grabbed my gun and said, "It's a cultist. Don't let him take off his mask or you will die, understand me? And now help me kill that wretched thing."
It slowly hovered through the broken door and faced us without a sound of walking boots, just the whispers of a quiet wind, and I noticed that the room was filled more and more with mist. I nearly couldn't see it anymore, only a glimpse of the robe, so I shot three shots in the direction. I was used to the recoil, so I was accurate, and I heard an agonizing scream which sounded like a tortured goat, and then it got quiet. But I was damn sure it wasn't over.
I quickly helped up Heinrich. He looked like he was in shock, so I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. Then I said, "Listen, this thing is dangerous. After a long time of using magic, you are going to represent this type of magic in a physical sense. Your body is going to change. This thing is using an evil, unknowable magic which corrupts mind and soul, so never listen to it or watch it. YOU WILL DIE. We need to burn it or it will regenerate, understand?"
Heinrich still looked shocked, but he slowly got a glimpse of courage and he stuttered in panic, "Alr-alright, sir, what sh-should I do?"
I looked frantically at my surroundings and noticed I couldn't see shit. Behind was just the kitchen, but about 2 feet in front of me should be the living room. I then remembered my cigarette lighter in my pocket, but this wouldn't be enough. We still needed some sort of fuel, and then I had an idea.
I turned to Heinrich. "Listen, you have to get to the living room table and get the Korn. It has a high enough alcohol percentage that should be enough for fuel. You have to slowly sneak past the cultist. Try to hold yourself to the right. I try to distract him, alright? Then go."
He looked shortly at me as if he wanted to say something, but quickly ducked and slowly walked behind the kitchen counter.
I then started speaking loudly in a theatrical voice, "Well, you chicken shit cultist, you seem to be not the smartest fucking idiot, but I would have guessed it, you misty bitch. Tell me, who's your master?"
The mist then started to get sucked in the direction of where the cultist stood, and slowly I could see again. I then saw the cultist. He bled a green-blue liquid and had three holes in his mask—one at his forehead, one seemed to go straight through his eye, and the last one through his mouth. I knew this because I could see through the walls, the back wall. I smirked.
"Well, it looks like I got you, and now you're even more ugly than before."
I glanced towards Heinrich. He was right in front of the doorway which leads to the long floor, and I saw that the mist was forming tentacles. There was a short silence, in which it seemed that the world froze, and then chaos.
The tentacles shot in my direction. I jumped to the right and looked towards Heinrich. I saw that one of the tentacles shot towards his direction. He blocked it with his hand, but the recoil threw him to the floor.
In this moment of carelessness, I felt a sharp piercing pain in my foot. One of the tentacles grazed it and cut off my little toe. It hurt really bad, but the adrenaline kept me going. In the moment I lay flat, but I slowly changed my stance and made a dodge roll and nearly avoided another tentacle barrage and used my momentum to get up.
I stood now right beside the doorway through which Heinrich flew. I grabbed my gun, pointed it at it, but was too slow. He pierced my hand with another tentacle and pinned it to the wall.
I then watched as he slowly hovered towards me. He was just before my face. He moved his hand towards his mask—
Then a loud shattering sound. Heinrich was behind it and smashed the bottle over its head, which made it look behind it. I used this moment and kicked him away from me and Heinrich.
I then got my lighter out and said, "Burn in hell, you pitiful bastard."
As I threw my lighter towards him, it hit him, and I watched while he was transformed into a burning inferno of madness. He screamed with a goat-like voice and flailed wildly through the living room and then ran outside, where he fell to the ground and didn't move anymore, and with one final goat scream he vanished into mist.
I grabbed a cigarette out of my pocket, lit it, and smoked a big breath. Heinrich tapped at my shoulder and said, "Now I think I would take the alcohol."
I smirked.