...Your ass from a hole in the ground Pt.2 Caustic poison pit.

 "Here it is!" West shouted with excitement...the tunnel in which they were confined to for far too long, after escaping that underground hut, had reached its anticlimactic end. A re barb latter stretched up to a slimy sewer lid. "Its about time!" Jehovah barked. Covered in strange bugs and soaking wet, he was ready to get out of this concrete corridor. West instructed Jehovah to climb upon his back...dogs don't fair well against ladders. Jehovah agreed and the pair began to climb up. After a few tries the sewer lid popped off and fell to its side, making a loud wet smack. They stood at the end of the ladder, motionless and wide-eyed waiting to see if anything heard them....after a few tense moments pass their heads emerge. The opening lead to an empty courtyard in the back of a rundown hotel...but then again everything is 'rundown' these days. There were no creatures in sight, no visible threats of any kind, so the pair climbed out of the mouth of that concrete beast and stepped out onto the Black and Red sludgy surface..."What is this shit?!" Jehovah  questioned. Herbert replied "Whats whaaaaaa..." Before he could finish his sentence he slipped on the 'shit' in question. Jehovah found it some what amusing...until he saw Wests face. "Look around you !" Herbert said wide eyed. Their eyes gazed upon a gruesome sight..Bones and body fragments littered the sludge around them. Rotted half- eaten  men, women and children lay congealed in one giant mass. As Herbert stood up he could feel bloated stomachs under his feet..."This is a death pit!!"
  They stood for a moment contemplating their next move. West scanned the area, there were two buildings in the shape of an 'L' in front of them and countless trees protruding from the ground behind them. The area still seamed calm, despite the horror that they stood knee deep in. "Lets make our way over there." Herbert said while gesturing towards the closest building. "Thats fine..." Jehovah replied. "We just better not get stuck in here for weeks again, cant handle that again" West agreed, they began to pull their feet through the necromuck which surrounded them and up to the doorway of the stone building. After a couple of tugs, the rickety rusted door opened outward with a heavy creek. It was pitch black within, but the two stepped inside to get out of the filth they were standing in. They tracked in bits of slimy body parts like snow on a winters day, after they stomped their feet clean Herbert checked his bag for his lighter. As West searched he heard Jehovah yelp and hit the ground, before he had time to react West felt a sudden thud to the back of his head and fell to the ground unconscious.
  When West came to, he found himself strapped to a wooden structure resembling a cross. The room was dimly lit by a few candles and smelled of age. Jehovah was nowhere in sight and that worried the good doctor slightly. After some assessment of the situation his eyes were drawn to a wooden table at the other side of the room. On it was all of Herbert notebooks, Instruments and containers of re-agent. West knew this was bad, he tried to pull himself free but could not gain any leverage...then from a darkened corner he heard chanting. A precession of shrouded figures emerged from the darkness and stood encircling West. "We are the order of The Great Protector" The apparent leader spoke calmly. "We have..."West quickly interrupted the pale man. "Look, I don't care what reasons you have, who you are or how you crazies convinced yourselves this is justified. You mindless robots are a dime a dozen...I just have one question"WHERES MY DOG!" Unaffected the leader replied."That abomination you call a DOG is on his way." From a dark corner of the room West heard footsteps and the squeak of something metal. Another robed figure emerged from the void with a rather large cage in his hands...inside was Jehovah..unconscious. "Don't worry heathen, he's not dead yet." The leader said confidently."You two will be the next ones to be offered up to our lord...and through the offerings he will continue to shield us from the dwellers of the wasteland." He continued. "I read your notes...your a scientist..and a butcher! You will make a nice meal for our Almighty." West half smiling replied."So thats what that pit is outside...your gods feeding ground." The leader replied with angst."Exactly, now bring me that dog!" He gestured to the Jehovah and his followers. Herbert, feeling his time for action is growing short screamed out with rebellion. "YOU TOUCH HIM AND I'LL..." West was interrupted. "Silence!" The leader demanded. At that moment a follower made her way to the front of the cultists with a glass jar and a strip of fabric in hand. West looked at her with uneasy anticipation. The robed woman opened the jar and scooped out some viscous dark jelly and, With no expression  on her face shoved the jelly into Herberts mouth and immediately wrapped the fabric around his face. West tried to spit out the salty sludge but the velvet piece of cloth kept it in. West tried not to swallow...he also tried to not think of what the CHUNKS could be. A rather short cultist walked over to the rusty cage and retrieved the limp man-dog. Cradled in his arms he walked over to the right of the leader, to the left another follower approached and began pulling a heavy chain which revealed an opening to the poison pit outside. West could do nothing but stare with hate in his eyes, the viscous jelly seeping from the corners of his mouth. The leader excepted Jehovah into his arms and walked up to the alter that stood ominous over the sludge outside. While at the alter the leader turned to his flock and began to speak the redrick  of their way. The followers fell to their knees, holding Jehovah by the head with his left hand and revealing a large blade with his right, The leader made eye contact with West...and with one swipe severed the mans head from the dogs body. West kept eye contact until the leader turned his back, placed Jehovahs head on the alter and flung the body into the pit below. "We worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory" The cult chanted in a monotone manner. The leader then gestured for the doctors notebooks and containers. The same follower who opened the pit gathered items' requested and brought them to the alter. The leader picked up one of the books...and ripped out page after page, casting them down to the same pit that swallowed up Jehovahs body. Herbert felt this was the end. He watched every page blow away, everything he witnessed and learned gone. The leader than turned his attention to the containers of re-agent...unscrewed the lids and pored them out into the sludge. West looked away in defeat, then saw the faces of the followers change to glee at what they saw. Outside, flying around the pit was the great protector, a strange looking beast even to Herberts eyes. The creature landed in the foul muck...it was about the size of an elephant but was bipedal. It had no distinguishable head but large wings protruded from its leathery back. It revealed some long fleshy tube like appendage, began to puree and then suck up the liquid meat.
  The leader looked quite pleased."Now the Doctor!" he said with intensity. A cultist stood and took out a small blade, he headed over to West and cut the strap subduing his left arm. West balled up his fist and, with all his strength bashed the followers nose in. Sending him to the ground in a bloody mess. Only being held by his right wrist he struggled to get free. Another cultist ran over, West quickly pulled off the gag from his mouth and spit the unknown jelly into the eyes of the approaching threat, sending him to the dirt ground as well. Herbert got his right arm free and made a dash for the knife on the ground. The leader, in a rage ordered his parish to gain control of the situation. The cult began approaching..West standing his ground with knife in hand..Then a sudden SHRIEK from outside echoed within the concrete walls. The leader turned to see their protector being pulled down by the necrotic sludge, Tearing and thrashing around but it could not break free..."Whats happening?!?" The leader cried out. Herbert knew...The re-agent that was dumped out into the pit was highly concentrated...That Sludge just got the highest dose ever administered. Not only was it alive..it acted as one! One giant amalgamating mass of spasming heads..of trembling revenge filled decaying parts aching to tear into the GOD  that took their lives so cruelly. The pitiful followers retreated into the dark voids from which they came and their leader stand frozen in, what might be disbelief. Watching his everything being devoured by the embodiment of vengeance. West crept up behind the once proud leader, who was now weeping uncontrollably. "Please !" The leader cried out."Help us!..He quickly turned to face West who, by that time had been standing right behind. The trembling leader clutched at Wests shirt, begging for mercy.Pleading for the doctor to do something. West glanced over the leaders shoulder at the head on the alter. "What should I do?" West asked the severed head. The head replied in a gargled voice"Help him.." West complied to Jehovahs suggestion and kicked the leader out the opening into the whithering mound of vengeful sludge...It tore him apart in a violent frenzy.
   West grabbed the head of his good buddy and took one last look out the window..he saw his notes, some blowing around in the cold wind, but most stuck within the green glowing mass of the creature HE created. With his elixir of life he brought back hundreds of lives all whom had a collective consciousness of revenge....This was he felt, a huge achievement. They found the door from which they came and headed into the tree line. West heard the rest of the cultists screaming in horror...it must of got in he thought.
Herbert kept engaging Jehovah in conversation to keep him conscious." How long I got?" The head asked in a whisper. "Thats a vague question." West replied."I can always bring you back...its what state you'll be in is the question...If we get to a city in the next day or two where I can get more supplies and make some new re-agent, you should be as good as new." Herbert looked up from Jehovah and saw the end of the tree line. They stumbled onto the blacktop of a fairly unobstructed road and saw a sign that said Milford 15 Miles. "Looks like we're going to Milford buddy, in a day or two you'll be back to your old self again" Herbert said with assurance. Jehovah tried to smile but was too weak.

A.O.