Queen of the Damned Part 2

Everything was almost set in the recording studio. The audience members took their seats, waiting for the hosts and the camera crew to film the next live episode. Backstage the producers and production team ran around, trying to organize everything before they went on air. Marcus Marlow sat at his chair and waited for his cohost. Showtime was less than five minutes. Carmen Gravely was nowhere to be found. But he had confidence that she'll come. She always has before.

Sure enough, Carmen Gravely rushed from the backstage entrance. “Hey, sorry I’m late,” Carmen said, scrambling to set aside her belongings. “Lu’s sick with the flu, and I had to drop the girls off at school.”

“I hear ya Carmen,” Marcus said. “I remember whenever Walter would get sick,” he held up a form cup in front of his cohost. "Coffee?"

Carmen sighed a relief. "You are a real lifesaver, Marcus," she took the cup from her friend, along with a long sip from the drink. A good balanced mixture of cream and sugar stirred within her coffee. Just the way she liked it.

"Places, everyone!" the pair heard one of the producers shout.

Everyone hurried to their positions. Carmen and Marcus marched to the front and onto the stage. The set lights and spotlights shined brightly over the stage, giving the workers and audience a good look of the stage. It was very large. White-painted backdrops with wide windows, white cupboards, and two large, comfortable chairs sitting in the middle of the room. Above the seats was a widescreen television screen used to stream any videos or news the hosts wished to express their opinion about. It looked like the set of a living room.

The two local celebrities saw that the benches were packed full. No seat was left empty. They saw the crew finish setting up. The cameras were position at the chairs, the sound mics were raised above their heads, and the producers were on standby. It was almost showtime.

Carmen and Marcus then took their seats on their chairs, setting aside their coffee on the shimmering, glass table. “You know, I can't help but wonder," Marcus stated. "what happens when the devil himself has to take a sick day.”

“I’m sure they,” Carmen's eyes darted down briefly at the floor. “have some sort of system for this kind of scenario.”

"You two ready?" the director asked them. "We're live in three... two... one..."

A green light flashed on. That was the signal that they were on air. The sound team flipped a few switches, activating the show's jazzy theme. Carmen and Marcus smiled brightly for the cameras.

"Hello and good morning!" Carmen opened with her usual welcoming line.

"Good morning and hello!" Marcus repeated his line. "I'm Marcus Marlow."

"And I'm Carmen Gravely. It’s time to see What’s Hot in Brimstone.” the audience members applauded with excitement. They cheered and hollered louder than inside a football stadium. "And do we have a hot one for you," Carmen said. "Today's topic is-"

A large fire combusted in the middle of the set. The audience screamed as they watched the fires reach to the stagelights above. Crew members hurried to douse out the flames. Their fire extinguishers had little effect on them, as if they originated from something unworldly. They sprayed and sprayed until the canisters were empty. Carmen and Marcus were frozen to their seats, petrified by their fears. They could feel the heat stain their skins.

Then at last, as the quickly as the fires came, they vanished. In its place was large, bulky figure. It didn't look human. Spotlights were aimed on the figure, giving everyone inside the studio a frightful glimpse of what stood in the shadow. It was large creature, standing about ten feet tall, resembling that of a giant, hideous gargoyle. It had very dark eyes that were like a shark's lifeless eyes, along with a pair of large horns were poised above the creature's brows. Its skin was black and scaly like that of a snake or a lizard, and had bony spikes protruding through its shoulders and back. It wore no shirt but it worn a pair of dark pants. Carmen recognized what sort of creature stood on their stage. It was a demon. A demon from Hell. The demon looked around its new environment. It gave a low animalistic growl at the audience, baring its sharp fangs. Even sharper were the tusks that protuded from its lower lip. The audience members gasped and scream again. A few of them fainted from their seats at first glance. The cameramen continued filming the monster. Getting shots like these would definitely boost the show's ratings.

The demon took his first steps in the new world. His clovved feet left cracks on the set floor. His head scanned the area. He was looking for something, or someone. “I’m looking for Carmen Gravely,” the demon finally spoke. His voice was deep and gravelly, but also very menacing. All members of the studio directed the demon's attention behind him. He turned and locked his dark eyes onto the terrified Carmen. Slowly, the demon stomped his way to his king's wife.

Carmen's heart felt like it was going to explode. Her nails dug through the leather arms of her chair. She personally knew only a handful of demons from her husband's world. Those were the good ones—at least to her assumptions. But they were all part of Lu's group whom she only interacted with. All others were a complete stranger to her. Not that she ever wanted to interact with them to begin with. Upon their wedding, she and Lu agreed to keep their work lives separate. This meant that either partner would interfere with their affairs at their personal jobs, an agreement Carmen arranged herself. Yet the demons always respected her as the queen and an individual. Yet that was when her husband was usually around. Now the devil was out sick. She heard about the nature of demons fighting for power. Could this demon be here try to rid her for a spot on Lucifer's throne, she wondered.

The demon stood before her. His shadow engulfed all of Carmen. Carmen watched the demon reach for something in his back pocket. Her body shook. Sweat poured out of her pores like a river. When his hand reappeared, Carmen closed her eyes and prepared for the worst. “I need you to sign this document," she heard the demon again. Her eyes opened and she saw that the demon was holding some papers to her face. "It states that the techniques behind this torture are following the necessary guidelines.”

"Wait--sign?" Carmen asked. She wanted to ask the hulking demon more questions, but she was interrupted when another fire burst onto the set again. This fire was smaller than the one this demon came from. The fire didn't last as long too. Quickly it came and vanished. In its place was another demon. This one was a female Kahpra, one of the demon species known for their satyr-like appearances. She was dressed more formal, wearing a dark grey coat and skirt. Unlike males, whose heads looked like a goat's, her face was smaller, flatter, almost humanoid, aside from her drooping ears, a small round muzzle, and small horns on her head. Her skin was light lavender and her hair was tied into a knot behind her head. Females also had less hair covering their bodies, with only hair on their heads and few spots around their limbs. This demon also wore glasses over her eyes, the same perscription as Carmen's own pair.

“Excuse me," the female spoke. Her voice was more natural and calm. "I’m looking for Carmen Gravely.” Carmen waved to her. The female demon then pulled out some papers from her purse. “I need you to sign these documents, which states that the bindings of the contract are permenant, and therefore cannot be undone until the party in question surrenders their soul at the given due date.”

"Wha-?" Carmen tried to speak, but again, another fire flashed on the set. The flames were the same the Kahpra came from. Here one second, gone in the next. Another demon took the place of the extinguished flames. This demon was very skeletal in his appearance. He too had hollow, dark eyes, and a pair of long horns on top his head. This demon was dressed in blue overalls that were stained by black soot. This type of demon was part of the Converted, demons that were once souls that survived their punishment and torment. They had the chance to become full-fledged demons and join their new bretheren in torturing the new souls that were condemned to their realm.

“Hello? Is there a Carmen Gravely around?” the Converted demon asked around. “I need you to look over this document, which states-"

"Hey!" the larger demon roared. "I was here first!"

"Either of you heard of lady's first." the Kahpra argued back.

Carmen could no longer handle this madness. “Hold on a minute!” she shouted angrily, dissolving their argument. “What are you all doing here? You can’t all barge in here during a live show. Especially when it is at my workplace, and my personal life!”

The demons were silent. They looked as afraid as Carmen was earlier. “We apologize, your highness,” the Converted then stuttered. “But we were told by your office we could find you here.”

“My office?” Carmen had no idea what they were talking about. What office, she wondered. She never had an office here at the studio. Just a regular makeup booth and a mailbox. Then it dawned on her. “Oh, right..." she gritted her teeth. Her skin turned red from her boiling anger. "my office...” Carmen Gravely knew exactly where she was going right after work. And when she gets there, there was gonna be hell to pay.

#sinsofthefather #fiction #fantasy #comedy #horror #demons #hell