He ran through a forest at full speed. His breathing was heavy, and his lungs hurt. This wasn't a fun run. It was a feral flight in the middle of the night. The only good thing about this night was the full moon. He could see where he was going, so he didn't crash into a tree. But he was extremely scared, and he had already scratched his nearly naked body many times on low branches, thorny bushes, and by tripping. All he had left was his underwear and sneakers. He was in good shape, but he knew he wouldn't last long like this. Even the best athletes wouldn't be able to keep going like this. They were relentlessly pursuing him, possessing a deep understanding of the terrain, as they edged closer and closer. He heard the dogs, heard their owners laughing, calling out, and looking for something. He knew they were hunting, and he was the thing they were hunting. He reached a small clearing, quickly looked back to see if any of the people chasing him could be seen, and immediately lost his balance. His face hit the ground, and he tasted grass and pine needles in his mouth. He spat a few times, closing his eyes to get rid of the taste. He took a deep breath and wanted to keep running, but when he opened his eyes, he saw two heavy black boots. He was scared, and he moved backward until a tree blocked him. He looked at the figure standing in the clearing, and he felt like he would panic. It was a man in a black suit, similar to the uniform worn by special forces. His lower half face was covered by a balaclava that showed a skull, and on his chest was a huge, fire-breathing red dragon. His blond curls extended down to his shoulder, and his eyes, the deepest green he had ever seen, glowed with an icy coldness. He thought it was time to die and that this had to be one of the hunters.
The blond man looked down at him and spoke softly.
"I'm not here for you, so don't worry. It seems you're in luck, friend, because I'm here for those idiots who seem to be hunting you."
Two women dressed in leather that showed off a lot of their bodies stepped out of nowhere towards the blonde. He watched the scene without understanding what was happening. He was overwhelmed by his fear. Suddenly, he felt a warm breath on his cheek and turned around quickly. If his heart had beaten any faster, he would have had a heart attack. A black beast, like a dog or wolf, had approached him without making a sound. But this was no ordinary dog or wolf. Every part of his body wanted him to run away, but he remained seated, as if stuck to the ground. The creature's jaws opened wide, revealing a row of razor-sharp teeth. It could tear him to pieces. But that wasn't what almost made him lose control of his bladder and bowels. It was the eyes. The eyes were red and bright like fire. He had come here to write a story about a group of Satanists. Something he found on the dark web. He never expected to become the prey in their bizarre rituals or to be confronted by a beast that clearly had to be from Hell. He thought he was going crazy. He was an atheist-he didn't believe in Heaven or Hell-but he was sure this creature couldn't come from anywhere else. The two women went to the blond, but he ignored them. He looked at him and the Hellhound, and the next words the blond spoke-or, more accurately, the way he spoke them-made his brain crack. The blond looked the black beast straight in the eye, sighed deeply, and spoke in a kind of voice as if he were a tired father speaking to a rebellious toddler instead of a Hellhound:
"Wodan... Really, would you please stop scaring the hell out of that poor guy and concentrate on what we're here for?"
The beast clapped its muzzle shut, and it seemed as if a smile of sorts appeared on the Hellhound's muzzle. When the beast also seemed to chuckle like Scooby-Doo, he wondered if he was hallucinating. The Hellhound left him alone and sauntered toward what clearly had to be his master. The blond shook his head, sighed, and looked at the two women.
"Is the rest in position?"
The blond woman replied:
"Yes, they are following the group that is on their way here and will make sure that not one escapes."
"Good!"
The man with the balaclava cracked his fingers, and he could clearly hear the pleasure in the voice when he said:
"It's been a while since I had some fun with Satanists. Would they still scream like little girls when they see the truth and proof?"
The two women laughed softly. The woman of African descent seemed to move her head in his direction and said:
"What do we do with him, boss? He can't possibly stay here. The shit show that is about to occur is not exactly something that a human being should witness.
The man's bright green eyes looked at him as if he were an insect under a microscope. Finally, the masked man said:
"No, I think you are right. This one can't stay here or be a witness."
Those words hit him hard. He was sure they would kill him now so that there would be no witnesses to what they were going to do. He expected the man to draw his sword and kill him, but that didn't happen. The man brought his hands together as if he were praying, and he didn't understand a thing. He heard quietly:
"Rae Rae, can you come over? I have a little problem."
In less than two seconds, he heard the sound of a pair of large wings, followed by the sudden appearance of a small woman. He knew immediately that this had to be an angel because her beautiful gray wings glowed with a soft golden light, and his mouth fell open. He was completely speechless. The little angel looked at the blond, masked young man and said:
"Hi, Alex, what's your problem, honey?"
The blond pulled his mask down for a moment, smiled warmly, and gave the little angel a gentle kiss on the cheek. Then he put the mask back in place and pointed at him.
"This one has to get out of here. I unfortunately don't have the time because I'm expecting some company to play with."
The little angel looked at him and said:
"He's still alive. I can't take him to Hell or Heaven, Alex. Where should I take him?"
The blond thought for a moment and then said, sounding pleased:
"I urgently need to visit Dad again to make sure he's not doing anything stupid. Why don't you take him over there? I'll come as soon as I'm done here."
The blonde must have said something truly amusing, as the two women in leather and the little angel giggled in response to these words. The angel turned and walked toward him. Over the lenses of her owl glasses, she looked at him and said with a small, heartfelt smile:
"I think you're going to catch a pretty unique experience. It's not every day that I bring a living human being anywhere. I'm Azrael, the Angel of Death, and usually I only transport souls."
She held out her hand, and extremely slowly, extremely cautiously, with his mouth hanging wide open, he held out his own as well. She took his hand, and the next moment the forest disappeared. His brain could not process it that quickly, but he was suddenly sitting on the dark floor of what appeared to be a luxuriously furnished living room. From the other side, he heard a very refined voice with a very posh British accent:
"Oh, no... Absolutely not, Rae Rae! I don't know what's going on here, but absolutely not! I have plans for tonight..."
The little angel laughed softly and said:
"No problem, Luci, you can go party at Lux, but no guests tonight, or you have to use one of the suites. I'm going to watch some TV. Do you have Netflix too? I missed a few episodes of The Good Place and need to catch up."
There was silence for a moment, and the young man looked up. He saw an attractive man sitting on the couch, dressed in black silk pajama pants and a red silk robe. The man's mouth was half-open, and he looked off into the distance, as if he didn't understand a word the angel had just said. After a moment, he finally spoke:
"You're going to do what while doing what?"
"I'm going to watch TV while I babysit this guy until Alex gets here."
The British man took a deep breath and said in a grumpy tone before standing up and leaving the room:
"Oh, yes, thank you, that makes everything so bloody perfectly obvious..."
After Azrael and her passenger disappeared, the young, blond man suddenly became very serious again.
"Wodan, go... Ladies, make sure that they can't see you for a while. Celine, tell Belios, Bearus, and Arad to drive any stragglers or runaways here. It's about time, and I need to vent a little. These idiots are perfect for that..."