Chapter Fourteen
by Sarcastro

"Where's the Hytril you stupid D-Bee?!!", yelled the mysterious robed man, flinging spittle into the face of the scared eandorth who was lying on the ground desperately trying to hold back the greenish blood that was spewing forth from the stub where his arm used to be, before that...that thing...bit it off.

"I already told you...I don't know! Please, I don't know anything!," he cried out in pain and anger. The entire carnival was in ruins from the rampage of this madman and his monster. Half the employees were either dead or too injured to survive much longer. The rest had fled west towards El Paso in hopes of finding refuge there.

"I know he was here! I traced his course! A hytril was sold to this ramshackle fair approximately 4 months ago, and I want to know where it is....and I'm beginning to lose patience," with that the man smiled wickedly and his eyes seemed to grow darkly green under the shade of his hood.

"Go...to...hell!" cried the Eandorth.

"You first," was all he said and then the Eandorth's head exploded in a haze of red.

"Shambler! Come, it's time we got back to the chase, the Hytril could not have gotten far. We'll find him, it's simply a matter of time."

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Not more than thirty yards away from the site of the dimensional disturbance which dropped Corinna and Frank into this strange world, a small group of beings resembling a child's worst nightmares were watching from the pillar trees.

"Squash em! Kill em!", cried out Gorg. Whirling his mace around and making swiping motions that nearly took off the head of Skeeler the DemonGoblin.

"Watch it you stupid Rumbler, if'n they hearss usss we shan't have the opporunity to killsss them!"

"Skeeler has a point, Gorg," said the leader of the band, Skar. He was an imposing Shade of infamous reputation. It was rumored he had 37 kills to his name, both Light and Dark targets. "We must play this safe, remember we're only supposed to follow the Freelance till he tries to meet the target in Worldgate. We will follow through with that mission, these travelers complicate things, yes, but I never disobey the orders. So lest ye don't wish to keep your head, I suggest ye keep silent and watch."

"Uh, ya sorry Bozz. Gorg be quiet...till I SMASH and BASH their puke skullz!"

At this Skar sighed, "How do I get stuck with you on assignments?"

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Squall swung through the trees away from the ruined remains of the carnival. Despite the nature of his escape, he was free. Freedom, it was glorious concept in his mind. The mere sound of it rolls off the tongue and brings about feelings of renewed hope and joy. Unfortunately, his freedom was overshadowed by the dark nature of the man and his monster. Squall knew he had to get away from them, as far and as fast as he could possibly go.

It was an almost instinctual fear, like the fear a man might have of hiking into an unexplored grove of forest at night. The sheer horror of the event stayed with Squall as he spied a small hovercraft a short distance away. Squall's mind was not that intelligent but he knew from life in the carnival that these things could go much faster than he could, and he was drawn to its glimmering shine as the sun bounced off the hood and windshield. He dropped down and found a storage trunk unlocked and open. He hauled himself up and dropped inside, closing the trunk with a click....