Hell of Earth

Chapter TWENTY-TWO

Half of what Gabbro told them was true. Yue was in the room, but he was most certainly not conscious. When Proga charged into the room after hearing the scream Opal worried he'd lost his mind and was charging some poor unsuspecting demon. Only when Gabbro followed close behind did she and Kait decide to join them. The room was small, nothing more than a bed that reminded Opal of the cots they'd used in the human infirmary and a lamp. Yue's limp form was on the bed next to the demon that had screamed. He'd balled himelf up in the corner using a pillow for protection. Proga had not let his guard down and was still standing on two legs, lips open to show a large set of animal fangs. The demon screamed again and Gabbro stepped in front of the animal.

"Ob- its me, don't you recognize me?" His voice was coaxing.

The demon's eyes were wide, one orange, one green. He squeaked and pulled the pillow over his face.

"Your brother? I thought you said you were looking for him! If you already saw Yue before-"

"He wasn't here before, clearly." Gabbro shot Kait a vaguely annoyed expression. "Now kindly stop yelling and help me get him to settle down. You don't want Obsidian upset, I promise you. If you have something to help him... relax it might be helpful to get us out of here without drawing attention."

Opal glanced at Proga who had settled back down, looking surprisingly human with both paws resting on his legs. His head titled to one side. "Maybe you should..." Honestly Opal thought he looked cuddly in his confusion, but she supposed this Obsidian might not.

He gave her a brief nod and backed out of the room, head swinging side to side with each step.

Kait was pulling her pack off now and moving cautiously towards the bed. "Hi there, my name is Kait. I'm just coming to check on my friend here... look the bear is leaving, you're safe."

An orange eye appeared from behind the pillow.

She knelt very slowly by the bed and put her hand over Yue's wrist. Her mouth became a hard line. "His pulse is weak. I need to get him outside to examine. Obsidian- is that your name?"

The demon nodded, watching her intently. "Yes."

"Do you like sweets Obsidian?"

"Yes!"

Opal was surprised with how quickly he went from timid to excited. He climbed over Yue and joined Kait on the ground expectantly. "Before I give you some, will you answer some questions for me?"

Obsidian jutted out his chin. Now that Opal could see him properly he didn't seem that much younger than any of them. Definitely not as young as his behavior.

Kait seemed to take that as an ok. "First, is this really your brother?"

He looked up as if just noticing him. "Big brother!" He waved.

Gabbro waved back.

"And my friend over there- what do you know about how he came to be here?"

"He's my friend too. He fell asleep though after I got here." He dropped her voice. "He got in trouble for hitting. You aren't supposed to hit."

"I see. What did they do to him for hitting?"

His eyes got wide and he backed away a little.

"Its ok its ok-" Kait backtracked quickly. "We don't have to talk about it. Here, have a sweet."

Obsidian almost shoved it into his mouth but stopped when it was at his lips. He sniffed it. His head jerked three times like he was being shocked. "This is medicine, not candy." His voice had lost the higher pitch. His eyes were sharp. "Brother why are they trying to put me to sleep?"