The Pit Cometh

         Kerry opened her heavy eyes and blinked a few times. Someone was shaking her.

         Had she fallen asleep?

         "Lydia, I'm sorry. I guess I really bombed out after that last toke. That was some good sh--" she began, turning to whoever woke her up.

         And then she screamed!

         "Hi, toots!" he said enthusiastically.

         Asmodaeus!

         "You've got great lungs, so you do! But screaming won't save you, no it won't," he smirked. His smooth purple skin wrinkled in wicked amusement at her distress.

         Merilugh, who never spoke much, hovered over to Kerry and placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

         "Where am I?" Kerry asked in bewilderment.

         The landscape was very strange. She no longer sat in an overgrown cemetary but was propped against the charred remains of a huge tree in a burned-out forest.

         She shivered lightly, taking in everything in one visual gulp. This didn't look good.

         The PIT called even louder here.She winced as its howling bit into her skull.

         Merilugh motioned for Kerry to get up and follow her.

         Asmodaeus continued his insane dialogue.

         "Where think do you go? Don't listen to that sissy! She knows nothing, no she doesn't!" he cried. But he couldn't prevent Kerry from leaving.

         Somehow she knew it was finally time to do battle.The Battle of battles.And somehow she had to win in this bizarre world.

         Even if her only ally was a faery.

         "And me!" insisted the demon.

         "You?A friend?!" she cried in disbelief. "You are nothing but a hindrance, you mischief-maker!"

         "No I'm not! I'm the brains in this unit, yes I am! All you ever do is look stupid and smoke that weed!" he protested, making his last word a childlike whine.

         Kerry kept walking. After a while, she noticed how it was growing darker. The air was heavy with a musty odor that clung to her body.

         The forest stopped abruptly, giving way to a blackened flat plain. Grey clouds hung low, blanketing the sky. Kerry could see dark shapes flitting from one cloud to another (but only if she didn't stare at them directly).

         "This is creepy," she murmured.

         Asmodaeus smiled evilly.

         "This is your sub-conscious, yes it is," he sneered.

         "If only I could think happy thoughts," she muttered to herself.

         At this, Merilugh replied softly, "Oh, but you can. That is why I exist."

         "No wonder you're so quiet," Kerry retorted.

         The ground was very warm and was steadily getting hotter. Even through her Doc Martens, she could feel the heat.

         "Where are we headed anyway?" she asked.

         "Why the PIT, of course!Can you not hear it calling you?" asked the demon.

         Although the air was growing more hot and humid, Kerry shivered.

         She said nothing because she knew he was right.

         The baying cries of the PIT never ceased. They cursed, they tormented her but she was compelled to follow them nonetheless. Who knew what she would actually face when she got there?

         The three kept walking.

         Her headache grew worse with every step. Each time her boots connected with the ground, it drove the cranial pressure to new limits in her head.

         Merilugh glanced over at her with concern written on her delicate face.

         "Are you hurting badly?" she asked.

         Kerry made a small noise of affirmation in her throat. Asmodaeus was smiling knowingly. He began to skip childishly instead of walking.

         "Maybe she's ready, is she not? We'll have to unite sometime, yes we will!" he chortled.

         "Whaddya mean, unite?" croaked the teenage girl.

         Before the demon could reply, the faerie said, "What Asmodaeus means is that we three will have to join together to fight the PIT. You can't do it by yourself, you know."

         "I thought you two were parts of me. Like little shoulder angels or demons, you know?"

         The purple-skinned one sneered at Kerry. "Although we live inside your head when you're awake you'll notice we are separate in this place, did you not?"

         Kerry pushed her long chestnut hair out of her face to glare at him. He really knew how to piss her off! "Of course I noticed, you idiot!" she yelled.

         But the demon seemed to enjoy needling her. He stood next to her, mimicking her. Headache forgotten, she let out a shriek of frustration.

         Merilugh fluttered her gossamer wings nervously. Then she cleared her throat. "I don't think it's a good idea to get too angry right now, Kerry."

         Turning her attention from the annoying demon, she asked the faerie, "Why is that?"

         Merilugh shifted her gaze to a point behind the young woman. "Because of them!"

         Kerry spun around. Then she saw the object of the faerie's unease. A pack of strange creatures were flying towards them. They appeared to be insects at first. But as they drew closer, she could see that they were more birdlike. With terrible pointed beaks and scaley clawed feet. Their wings were stirring up the dry red dust into a cloud as they flew ever closer. Raspy screeching sounds soon filled the air.

         Headache totally forgotten, Kerry screamed, "RUN!"

         All three of them ran as fast as they could. And the only thing that lay before them was....the PIT! There was nowhere else to go. Kerry could feel the wind on her back caused by the angry bird-things. She knew she didn't have a chance if she stood to fight them.

         Suddenly the ground gave way! Her feet touched only open air. And then she was falling....falling....

         She looked around wildly for something to grab onto. But there was nothing.

         She called out, "Merilugh! Asmodaeus! Help me! Please!" Where were they? She couldn't see them anymore...

         Still falling through the empty air, her arms flailing uselessly....always falling...down, down....
~~~~~~~~
         Then she felt something, someone shaking her arm. Startled, Kerry opened her eyes. She didn't remember closing them. Where was she?

         Her best friend Lydia was sitting indian-style before her in the cemetary. And she looked worried. She was twisting the ends of her long red hair nervously.

         "Hey, Kerry! You okay?" she was asking.

         Kerry sat up abruptly. Her eyes darted around quickly. "Where's Merilugh? Asmodaeus?" she asked with concern. "The faerie and the demon! I was falling and I was yelling for them to help me..." She trailed off uselessly.

         "Huh?" Lydia stared at her blankly. "I think you've had enough weed for one day! You are really trippin', girl. You've been sittin' there for ages-just starin' off into space. There ain't no demons or faeries here."

         "She's right, sort of," said a voice inside Kerry's mind. It was Merilugh.

         "We're in here, yes we are," hissed Asmodaeus.

         "When you fell, you called out to us for help. So by doing that, we were able to unite at last. We'll always be here to help you, Kerry," Merilugh explained.

         Lydia was hauling her best friend to her feet. Neither girl was too steady as it were. Kerry looked at Lydia and smiled.

         "You're right. I'm just trippin'. Hey, let's go to your place and get somethin' to eat. I'm starving!"

         Lydia grinned. Together they set off out of the cemetary.

         Kerry spoke in her mind to her two newfound friends. "Thanks, guys. Maybe you really did save me after all."

         Asmodaeus piped up, "No, silly girl. You saved yourself, so you did. You may have more battles with the PIT for the rest of your life but now you have us to help you, so you do." The edginess and sarcasm seemed to have faded from his voice. He was...changed, somehow.

         "The PIT will be an ongoing war you see, but if you only realize that you're not alone, you can fight back. You can count on us!" Merilugh said, giving Kerry hope for once in her life.

         She knew she was no longer alone and this time she had allies on her side. The tide of her war on depression seemed to be turning in her favor after all.

The End