Allen woke up unceremoniously when he felt something tugging at his legs.

“What th-?!” The voice died in his throat when his eyes met the gaze of a demon.

The creature towered over him like a giant. It had 3 blazing red eyes that seeped into his very soul. Its head was adorned by a crown of thorns, complementing his ruler bearing. It had several clawed hands, and from its back tentacles sprouted. It was demon incarnate.

His eyes darted all over the demon’s form, assessing anything that could be considered a weakness. Who was he kidding? Everything about that demon was screaming dangerous. Straight up lethal.

Abruptly, he was pulled out from under his boulder, which symbolized refuge in his eyes. Not a moment later his line of vision was turned upside down.

Whatever, or more like whoever had grasped his legs simply threw Allen to his back like he weighted nothing. Allen wasn’t a particularly chubby individual, in fact if someone had to say, then they would guess he is closer to the thin side of the spectrum, however he still weighted 80 kilos. That wasn’t so light to just throw around without a trouble in the world.

He hanged upside down from the back of what appeared to be an inhabitant of this world. It was abominable. Terrifying beyond measure. He was certain, that if a creature like this appeared on Earth, then it would cause mass hysteria around the globe.

Involuntary his heart rate rose, and he felt his heart beating against his rib cage. This was not good. He felt his control over his psyche slipping. — Escape! — roared a voice inside, he shrieked back in sheer desperation — How?! Tell me how goddamn it!

He didn’t consider himself to be brave, on the contrary; however, some would call staying silent all throughout was daring enough. Not fighting back also had its pros and cons. If he did fight back, then it might kill him out of annoyance. On the other hand, if he lives now, then he was sure that once the chance presents itself, he could escape.

Allen had a cold and calculating side which had proved to be essential up until now. He quickly deduced, almost as if on instinct that the best course of action would be to not resist. He would do his utmost to observe his captor and hope that he wasn’t sacrificed, eaten or whatever this cruel being subjected humans to.

He was dead silent throughout the journey. Though his eyelids felt heavy, he could not lose consciousness now. He had to observe every little detail that could be of use to him in the future. As the creature inevitably grew ever closer to its destination, Allen made it a priority to summarize what he knew.

The demon traversed the dangers of the trench with relative ease. One thing became painfully clear; he had no hope of outrunning his abductor, even if he was on full strength.

Allen had an athletic built, honed by his resolve and dedication to perform under extreme stress and situations. He wondered, how the kids were doing without him. He needed a fit body otherwise he wouldn’t be able to achieve his objectives that were vital for his and the children’s safety back home. The two were tightly linked, and so he was confident in his ability to perform. However, the swiftness the demon moved through the terrain was inhuman, though what did he expect? It was not a human, measuring it as such would be foolish.

Maybe there was some truth to humans being weak life forms. They might have ruled supreme over all the species of Earth, however that was thanks to their ability to learn and adapt. Their ability to pass down knowledge from generation to generation, thus ensuring a continuous advancement through the ages. In an environment such as this humanity would be extinct even before they had the chance to define themselves as “humans”.

Allen strongly doubted that humans could survive being born to a place such as this. He did not believe for a moment that humanity would have enough time to advance through the ages and ultimately reach a point where they could thrive. Maybe they were lucky that way, being born to a hospitable planet that could sustain them.

Perhaps if modern day armies worked together then they would have a slight chance clearing this area, but even they would need specialized equipment for the atmosphere and the terrain, otherwise the place would kill them faster than monsters could.

There were a few encounters with other demons along the way, mostly dog like creatures that had an uncanny resemblance to the so-called fantasy beasts he read about: Hellhounds. These beasts had a frightening visage — black fur, blazing crimson eyes — he couldn’t shake the feeling that they are familiar from somewhere... somewhere other than mythology.

The demon though, did not pay any attention to them. When the dogs had jumped at him, it became obvious why. The monster didn’t look back, nor slow his advance as several tentacles shot out impaling the beasts with ease. They were no challenge to him. They were nothing in his eyes. That was the awful truth. As time passed it had become painfully clear to him, that escaping this abomination would be nigh impossible.

On the road Allen made it a point to memorize any distinguishable spots, though there weren’t many, there were some which stood out. The demon also crossed through a complex cave system, where there were many places that had mind beggaring sizes.

There were caves wide enough that he could not feel their confines. If he didn’t see the entrance, he would have guessed that they are out in the open, — under the bland dark sky. That wasn’t the case however, the sizes were just simply of such magnitude that the dim light of crystals was wholly lost in the vast darkness of the cave.

On the journey he saw several bubbling lava lakes, a crystal jungle and great shadows projected to the walls in the dim light. Whenever one such shadow passed, his abductor slowed down, as if to not arose the monsters of the surface. It seemed that the surface dwellers of this world were truly gigantic, or maybe it was only a trick of the light — he didn’t know. One thing was certain, they must be truly terrific if even this abhorrent monster that was his captor took care not to be noticed.

As time passed, he felt more and more humbled. He came to a painful realization; in the grand scheme of things, he was nothing more than an insignificant speck of dust. It was hard to accept, but that was the truth, and he did not like that, not one bit.

Finally, after 4 hours of constant moving, he felt his ride coming to a halt. Wherever he is, this would be his new environment. He didn’t entertain pointless ideas about trying to escape. Even if he did, where would he go? In an alien world where the very atmosphere was lethal? Not to mention the monsters roaming free. He would have a better chance of surviving, if he were with a strong demon, one which did not want to kill him, one that would protect him. He could only hope that he had found that demon.

His train of thought was interrupted when abruptly the tentacle wrapped around his leg swung him face to face with the ghastly creature. He could feel it more intensely now. The horrid smell exuding, as if the creature were decaying.

Allen grimaced as a shadow fell over him; this will be painful. He thought, before darkness greeted him.