The Belly of the Beast - Trade Wars, Secrets, and Monsters
CHAPTER FOUR: As a double agent, I infiltrate the mysterious cabal on a hidden mission. Will the masters of treachery see through me?
If you’re new here, start at the beginning of the story.
Chapter Four: Back in The Belly of the Beast
Sign your soul away
A knock on the door wakes me from my nightmare in yet another stained hotel bed. Sweaty and numb, I stumble behind the armed guard leading me to slaughter. Slouching to cross the steel gateway, I realized that merely a handful of us were present. Oh God, I wish I could be one of the missing ones. Wait! Are they missing, or “Mising?” At least I’ve got good news. I sure would hate to disappoint our shape-shifting hosts, to their face.
I scanned for other possible infiltrators, but all I saw were trembling clerks. None of them resembled spooks. Has the enemy reached out to any of these fools, or am I the sole traitor, hiding his true intentions? The mysterious representative of the clandestine group, who threatened our families, appeared suspiciously human, but I know better. I felt his invisible hand forage for my deepest secrets. Get out of my head!
“Welcome back. I trust your journey was pleasant. You’ve all had the opportunity to present our case to your governments. Now comes the moment of truth. You will find envelopes with your names under your desks. Within the envelope, you will find a contract. Pledge your support. We will ratify the pact at a later date. If you refuse to join or have questions, express them in section C. When you’re done, a guard will escort you back, one by one.”
I signed the deal with the Devil and pledged our country to the cause. I hope I’m doing the right thing. Not long after returning to my room, I felt a sudden attack of nausea! An acid fire burned within, and I barely made it to the toilet! What the hell is going on!?
It wasn’t a panic attack! I kept puking an ungodly-looking mess. What the fuck did they inject me with? Poison, no doubt!
Return to the scene of the crime
A heavy thump on the door shook me up. “You're needed,” the guard demanded.
“What for?” I asked. Were they onto me?
“No questions.”
The guards escorted me back to that same underground prison, where I signed my country's fate. I glanced at a sickly brunette desperately trying to hide her condition. We locked eyes. I thought, “She’d be cute, with some color in her cheeks.”
The menacing leader revealed his presence, stepping out of the shadows. I hated his unnatural aura and that perverted smile that turned my stomach.
“Congratulations! You are now the founding members of the great resistance,” he proclaimed.
“You will find a pamphlet with instructions for your superiors under your table. Burn the information into your brain. Take nothing with you.” Two sentries remained after he slid out of the room as the phantom he was.
The suspicious girl locked eyes with me, as if trying to tell me something. She was getting obvious. The guards could notice. Please don’t do anything stupid. We’re almost home free! I begged her in my mind.
She stood up from her desk. My heart stopped. She touched my arm as she walked by, and slipped me a note: “Escape! Death at midnight!” Fuck!
The escape
I checked the clock and it showed half past eleven. What? I have thirty minutes to get out of here? Impossible! I got up and stumbled my way toward the guard. He stopped me with his hand in my face, “Wait in your seat. We will call you when it’s your turn.”
“I can’t hold it anymore,” I lied. “I have to go to the bathroom! It’s an emergency. I don’t feel good.”
“Wait,” was all the big ugly statue said.
“I can’t. I need to use the bathroom! Is there one nearby?”
“Get back to your seat!”
“I’m sorry. I can’t hold it any longer. I will soil myself. Please!”
He measured me with an empty stare, devoid of soul, and pointed me to a bathroom, “The third door on the left. Make it quick!”
I ran for the bathroom, with hands covering my behind, to sell the emergency. Locking myself inside, I started looking for an exit. I had a few minutes at best until the other guard returned.
I found a small window that opened a few inches on the top. Dammit! I tried tearing it apart with my bare hands, but it wouldn’t budge. Looking around, I found a paper clip in the trash. It would have to do. I unscrewed the hinge and paused with bloodied fingers, wondering if I should be doing this.
Why am I risking everything on a word from a person I’ve never met before?
Steps in the hallway echo. Fuck! The guard is back. He bangs on the bathroom door, “Are you done?”
I’m out of time. It’s now or never! I jumped out the window, landing on a car beneath, bending the roof and breaking the glass. Shit! That was too loud!
There wasn’t much cover—a few derelict buildings and a forest with no end in sight behind them. The armed escort yelled something from the window, but I kept running toward the woods. Tick-tock, it was almost midnight. They’re coming!
The guard moved faster than expected. I heard him breaking branches and closing in on me. Akin to a cornered animal, I prayed for a hiding place to catch my breath. I wasn’t outrunning them, nor could I fight them.
The fight
I spotted a small cave entrance in the forest. I feared venturing inside, but I had to rest. I was exposed, and the bloodhound on my tail was relentless. I crawled inside when a foul smell of death hit my nostrils like a hammer! Tears slid down my cheeks. I made a grave mistake! In the corner of my eye, I spotted a large shape moving, as if waking from a slumber. Suddenly, shape-shifting demons became preferable to being mauled by a bear.
Thrown on my back by the shock, I retreated to the exit. A violent growl echoed in the cave, as I stuck my head into the moonlight, only to be snatched by the pursuing guard! He slammed me into the nearby tree. There go my ribs!
The raging guard now towered over me. “Please don’t kill me,” I pleaded.
“I know that you know,” he growled as he tossed his rifle to the ground.
“What the fuck?” I was startled. “I know nothing! I swear!”
“I have waited a long time to show someone my true form,” he exclaimed, peeling the skin from his face.
Words escaped me as I observed the man remove his scalp before undressing himself. The skin on his body tore open, uncovering a dark, slimy structure underneath the surface. The horrific scene unfolding in front of my eyes paralysed me. I cannot describe with words the things I saw that night. I expected an alien, humanoid, lizard-like creature, but this monstrosity was something else entirely. It was not of this world.
Mesmerized by the unveiling, time stood still. “What are you?” I asked the ungodly creature about to tear my guts out, helpless and alone. “Are you an alien?”
He paused and stared at me, his eyes glowing in the dark. I thought I was listening to words, but they were thoughts pushed as voices, “Such innocence. We are not from here. Not human. Not alien. We are from an existence beyond your comprehension, beyond your senses' ability to perceive.”
He stood upright, as if preparing to harness the power of the Gods to strike me, when I smelled that gut-wrenching stench again. I peeked behind the abomination just as a gigantic bear rushed my attacker, cutting him with its claws, and gnawing on his arm!
The otherworldly creature and the bear danced the ball of death, rolling on the ground. The abomination that was once a guard tried reaching for his rifle, but the raging beast pounced on him with a force no man could survive. Yet, he fought back! He tore his teeth into the bear's snout, forcing it to back away. They stared each other down, and that was my chance.
The burning sky
I slowly crawled away from the fight and ran until I reached a river. The rapid current swept me away as I jumped into the water. Fighting for breath, I heard missiles screaming above my head! What the hell? It must be midnight!
One, two, three missiles hit the target - that old hotel in the middle of nowhere. An earth-shaking explosion sucked the air out of my lungs, filling them with fire. The following shockwave squashed me underwater, putting out the flames but drowning me instead!
Caught in a whirlpool, I bashed my head against the rocks. It was lights out as the river dragged me away from the burning scene, unconscious. When I awoke, a blurry silhouette hovered over me. Friend or foe?
To be continued… (expect the next chapter in 7 days)
Remember to like, comment, share, and subscribe if you like this story.