Author Note: This is the second iteration of The Cryopod to Hell (TCTH). It is more refined and edited compared to the original version, but will likely also end up being longer too. The goal of this refresh is to eliminate as many plotholes from the original work as possible, and refine characters/places/interactions/etc until it’s…
The four of us sit at a table, bored out of our minds, as the minutes crawl along, slowly turning to hours. The hum of a janitor pushing along a machine to clean the floor mixes with the tranquility of a crowd walking past us, left and right, nobody speaking except in hushed voices. The…
A harsh metallic smell greets us as we arrive. A sickening sensation, as if we’ve landed on a ship in the middle of the ocean riding out a storm, courses through my insides. After a moment it passes, and I kneel down to regain my balance. "That was a rough one," Alpha comments dryly. Teleporting…
Everyone’s gone, now. My fingers tick off the checklist as I count off items in my head. Ben is probably at the portal already, sending men and women to save the Volgrim worlds. I established a new portal system inside Hero City, so putting the Volgrim inside their nearly limitless pocket dimension should protect them…
Building the portal to Voldarius inside Hero City seems the safest option to me, but at the same time, it needs to be functional and reliable. For that reason, I am now standing outside the city limits of Hero City, in a flat expanse where not much is going on. I think that at some…
Beelzebub nudges a rock on the ground with his foot. Based on its texture and design, it must have broken off from the ceiling. A sour look spreads from one corner of his mouth to the other. "Devils. What a mess. I should have come sooner." Samantha leans against me and yawns. "Why didn’t you?"…
Ten pinpricks of fire lunge from the tips of Beelzebub’s fingers, like minuscule fairies on a quest to devour life. A few Kolvaxians dive for the ground but are too slow, and shriek in agony as the flames explode into flesh-devouring globes that engulf their bodies. Beelzebub activates ten more, without even using the hand…
"I’m going to have to take drastic measures," Alpha says. His eyes sweep around as he evaluates the battlefield. "Once Kolvaxians arrive in a place like the Labyrinth, they can’t be stopped. If we’re lucky, one nuclear blast should annihilate enough space that it will destroy the gate they’re arriving from, and erase those caught…
"How’d it go?" I stare ahead blankly at the person asking the question. I’m looking at myself? No, wait, Alpha. Jason Alpha. He’s asking how it went. How what went? Did I do something? I start to take a step forward, then suddenly realize I’m standing. Why am I standing? Wasn’t I asleep? He went…
My eyes close, but I can’t sleep. I don’t need to, anymore, but I remember a time when I once did. At some point, the spiritual energy in my body started giving me so much vitality that sleep became impossible. Still, I close my eyes for a short time and remember my past. All the…
