9/11 Short Stories

Minutes passed with William sitting still. Boredom persuaded him to close his eyes, but the cat's fiery glare kept him awake. Even Dex, a necrolyzer with a Cerberus handgun, didn't scare him as much as that beast did.

Suddenly, William heard screams and roars from outside. Looking through the window, he saw a giant hellhound surrounded by necrolyzers. Huh, wasn't that dog under Bernard's command? It looked like the overgrown gray-haired men wanted to attack him.

The gargantuan hound howled as the blade of an axe burst out of its neck and sliced its throat open. A leg, followed by an arm, emerged from the opening. Then a white-haired man in a black greatcoat shot out of the wound.

"Brandon!" William screamed, his eyes widening in shock and horror.

Bernard and Ted stepped in.

"I've thought of a brilliant idea, my accursed brother!" Bernard's booming laughter echoed across the room as he approached William.

William gulped, his heart pounding wildly.

Picking William up by the back of his collar, he said, "Brandon will love this."

"No!" William's muscles tensed. In less than a second, he broke through the restraint and thrashed. "No! Help!"

"You deserve it." Upon reaching the staircase, Bernard threw William down. "I can die in peace after this."

William crashed into the wooden floor face-first. Regaining his composure, he looked around. A severed head of a necrolyzer landed beside him.

A man loomed before him, his axe and clothes covered in blood. A one-eyed stare greeted William when he looked up.

"He's yours!" Bernard shouted from above. "Enjoy!"

Crying, William got up and ran up the stairs. Images of the dead hellhound and necrolyzers earlier flashed across his mind. When he reached the top, though, Bernard kicked him back down.

William closed his eyes as he rolled down the steps. At least, he wouldn't see that axe coming down to cleave his