My offering (Four)

My Offering

John Nolan squinted hard as he tried to make out the shape that began to step forth from the darkness of the now open gate, the glow coming from the darkness, his head starting to hurt as if suddenly struck by a severe headache.

He turned his head away for a moment and he let it snap back and he now saw where Dr Meuller had stepped forward, the black diamond still gripped in one hand and held high above his head as the light shone down on him and gave him a sickening visage.

John turned his head away and behind him, the other doctor came into his thoughts as he clamped eyes on Doctor Andrew Taylor, the man seemingly transfixed by the light that filled the room and the pulsing energy that emanated from the gateway.

The feel of the energy suddenly dying and John looked back to see the glow of the gate gone and the wall in view once more, his eyes then coming to look at the form that stood in the shadows that covered the wall.

The pain in his head seemed to be subsiding down, he could feel what had started as a roaring pain, was not easing into a discomforting feeling and he had to close his eyes once more and then let them open to look beyond where Doctor Meuller stood and saw who or what had come through the gate.

Stood there he made out the form of something that could have been human if not for the deeply pale skin and bright red eyes that seemed to pierce the dim of the cavern, it seemed male to him, tall, perhaps six foot and some, thin and long limbs that hung down a little too far to be natural.

What in the hell was this thing? he thought to himself as he struggled to make sense of what was happening, the look on the creatures face turning to a smile as it looked towards where Doctor Meuller stood with the Diamond in hand.

"I command you to stop, I am the one in control here"

Doctor Meuller screamed into the void between him and the creature, the words seeming to make the thing smile an even broader and sickening smile in response to the doctor's demands.

"What do you offer?"

The creature said its voice a soft whispering sound that John felt he really should not have been able to hear, but it came to him as if shouted across the distance between them.

"What do you offer?"

The creature asked once more but did not make any attempt to move closer, its arms continuing to hang loosely at its sides and the smile fading slowly to give a look that seemed more neutral to John.
"I offer, I offer you a passage from this place"

Doctor Meuller said and brought the diamond down and cradled it against his chest, his voice strong and confident as he spoke.

"Safe passage, from here?"

The creature offered in response and seemed to slither forward a few steps, its head tilting to look curiously at Doctor Meuller.

"Yes, I can take you from this place, take you to the surface, you have not been there in such a long time"

The doctor offered in response and took a confident step towards the creature, his own eyes seeming to glow from the light of the black diamond as he did.

"Yes, it has been so long, since I have left this place"

The creature offered and seemed to shrink down a little as he stood in place, the smile returning to its face as it did.

"And I will offer you that escape, but you will give me what I seek in return"

Doctor Meuller snapped back at the creature and John could not break his attention from the pair of them, his mind now spiralling as he tried to understand the conversation that was unfolding before them.

"And what else do you offer, for this power you seek?"

The creature said and eased its head forward slightly, neck moving like a snake would do as it slithered through the grass.

"I offer you it all, humanity is there, it is for you to take and finish what you started, finish what you were stopped doing."

Doctor Meuller offered back and John could not help but feel a sick feeling forming in his stomach at this strange bargain that was being struck between the doctor and this unearthly being.

"I accept your terms"

The creature said and looked at the diamond held in the doctor's hand, a look of fear flashed on its face for a moment before its smile returned once more and Doctor Meuller let out a laugh.

"Excellent, humanity has had its day and I shall stand at your side in this endeavour"

The Doctor offered back in response and John could almost hear the lust for power in his voice, the multitude of thoughts now starting to focus in his mind as he put the pieces together.
Was this even possible, what godless power had they awoken down here? how did the doctor even know these things? he shook his head and hoped that he would wake up in a moment and be laying in his bed.

"I will need your form to escape this prison"

The creature said and reached his hand out towards the form of Doctor Meuller, the old man not even flinching as the creature did.

"of course, and once we reach the surface, you will be free once more"

The doctor said, the sound of his voice almost serene as if he was accepting some great gift or honour, John realised that he needed to do something, if any of this was real, then he could not allow this to happen.

The creature's hand touched the head of Doctor Meuller and the old man let out a soft moan of contentment, the diamond in his hand now glowing even brighter and creating more shadows across the room.

"John"

He suddenly heard the voice of Doctor Taylor, but this time it was not behind him, but to the right of where he was on the ground from where he had tussled with the slime monster.

John Nolan turned his head and looked to where he saw the doctor kneeling on the ground, his hand on the pistol that had been knocked from John's hand and flew across the cavern.

John Nolan realised what was happening and rolled over onto his knees as the Doctor lifted the gun from the ground and threw it across the cavern to towards John even as he was rising to his feet.

Now back on his feet, he felt himself stumble slightly from the slick ground beneath his feet but kept his footing as he turned and snatched the pistol out of the air and turned towards where Doctor Meuller and the creature stood.

He paused for a moment as he raised the pistol to fire, he was not sure where to put the bullet, into the creature? would that have even worked? could he harm this evil monstrosity?

No, he knew where to put the shot, his finger squeezing the trigger and firing a shot towards where Doctor Meuller stood transfixed on whatever was happening between the creature and him.

He felt the gun kick in his hand, the noise seeming to awaken the slime creatures from whatever slumber the doctor had put them into, their attention now turned towards where John was even as he squeezed the trigger once more to fire a second shot towards the German.

The first shot struck the doctor in the upper part of his right arm, the shot seeming to stop before it found the flesh of the human, some unknown force slowing its path and making it drop down to the ground before it could strike.

John did not have time to panic as he saw the creature turn its head towards him as the third shot kicked from the barrel of the weapon and travelled towards the doctor as the second shot fell harmlessly to the ground.

The third shot not finding the doctor this time, nothing to stop it as John watched it strike the black diamond held in his hand and time suddenly seemed to stop before he heard a low explosion and the diamond shattered into hundreds of pieces and exploded outwards.

The creature turned towards him and let out a scream of utter horror, the sound burrowing into John's brain and forcing him to stumble back and drop the pistol once more and having it clatter against the ground as it fell.

With effort, John raised his head and could see the older doctor turn to face him, his face and body embedded with the shards from the destroyed diamond leaving him with a look of agony on his face.

Whatever he had done, it seemed to have broken the connection between the two of them, whatever transfer the creature had been trying to perform on Doctor Meuller was now broken.

"Noooooooooooooooooooo"

The creature screamed like a child that had just had defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, whatever its grand plan broke like the diamond that now perforated the chest and face of Doctor Meuller.

John felt someone or something grab him by the arm and he felt a sense of peace at what he knew was to come next. he had stopped whatever was going to happen here, but it seemed at the price of his own life if it was as he thought it was. then it was a small price to pay.

To be continued