The InBetween

Sixteen Trashy Book Piles (Tyrone's POV)

Tyrone told Jacob not to engage conversation with the sentient, book-loving trashy, moldy monster. But did he listen? NO, of course not. They stood at the door and listened to the monstrosity talk for what felt like hours about the different romance and smut novels sent here for being 'problematic.' He cut himself off while summarizing a scene about a librarian and a janitor. "Oh, you guys aren't curious about my literature taste, are you?"

Neither of the boys said anything and decided to let the blob talk. 

"You may be wondering what kind of demon I am," The blob of nightmares slurred "Well, let me show you."

"Please don't." Tyrone managed to squeak out.

"Please do?" The demon misheard "My pleasure."

His slimy form shifted with the shadows around him. They made smaller piles of gunk that began some sort of chant. The slime thing flattened and spread itself over the carpet of the floor. Jacob and Tyrone backed up further into a corner. "I am what people call the habillabarblab. I eat anything and everything in the great beyond. I am somewhat of a trash can for the nine circles of hell, too."

"What is happening?" Tyrone mumbled as the slime inevitably reached and incased their feet.

"Something magical, I assure you." The habilabrb- or the habillbrabar- the DEMON, purred. The mini towers of gunk all brought out books from the wrecked shelves and waved them around. Tyrone was no longer having any of this. Whatever it was. "You just HAD to ask about his day job?" he muttered to Jacob

"Befriending the shadow imps worked, I figured I'd use the same logic here."

"Nobody wants friends, silly." A mini slime ball cackled.

Another came and backed him up "Except me, I've been waiting BILLIONS of years for some company that isn't fictional characters...or mini versions of me."

"Okay listen up, Harillabarb- or habibibil-" Tyrone tripped over the trashcan's name several more times before being corrected.

"Habillabarblab. Say it with me now, Ha-billa-bar-blab."

"What do you want from us?" Tyrone asked.

"Company...and food." he whispered before the slime at the pair's feet rose up to their knees, past their chest and eventually above their heads. The little gunk minions swam right toward them, latching onto to their skin and nibbling at their limbs. Tyrone couldn't scream or even open his mouth. The slime was too thick to do anything but stay put and let it happen.

"Oh my," The Ha-billa-bar-blab's voice echoed through the thick mire. "You guys taste crispy. Have you been burnt recently?"

Neither said a word. Tyrone tried not to cry as the slime began biting harder. He thought he would pass out, in fact he was hoping for it at this point when suddenly all the sludge poured out the front door. Tyrone closed his eyes as he felt himself being pulled towards the door like water going down the drain.

He opened his eyes again in pain as Jacob and two others pulled the hungry mites off his arms. Who was the other? When Tyrone saw he felt awkward and even a little guilty.

Timpy and Skimply looked down at the boy with their unreadable faces.

"Thanks." Jacob croaked before hunching over and spewing out some leftover mucus.

"Chain them." Timpy said. Skimply obliged and morphed his form into chains, binding the boy's wrists together. The ha-billa-bar-blab was already beginning to reform, his voice still present in everyone's ear. "Hey, don't take my lunch!"

Timpy stared at the excess slime re-assembling itself. "Hello, Habillabarblab. Surely you won't mind, but these two are meant to be brought back Lilith."

"Brought back Lilith? Ugh, that means I'd have to move out!"

"Why would that be?"

"After her banishment, This place became a sacred trash heap for me. This is MY home now. When she comes back, she'll kick me out and make it all CLEAN. Ugh!"

Tyrone knew he wasn't a part of this conversation, but he couldn't help but observe as the shadow imp and trash monstrosity fought over who gets to do what with them. He looked to his friend, wondering if he was thinking the same way as him only to see Jacob cough up a hungry gunk minion and contemplate eating it again. Tyrone understood if the guy was hungry, but he couldn't be THAT hungry.

"Moving out would be unfortunate." Tyrone stated. Both entities looked at him in a 'You're not supposed to talk' kind of way. Skimply signaled him to shut up by tightening himself around Tyrone's wrists. The boy didn't let up though. He figured if he couldn't appeal to their fragile egos, he'd just challenge them.

"But I still believe Lilith would be upset about a sentient mold stain living in her castle and using it for hell's trashcan."

"I'll just eat her if she object to it!" The slime thing declared

"I'm sure you could. But sadly that means no eating us. You'd just have to wait." Tyrone thought it was painfully obvious he didn't know what he was doing, but Timpy and the Habillabarblab seemed to be falling for it hook line and sinker.

"Tyrone and Jacob are coming with me." Timpy said.

"Those two aren't going anywhere. I refuse to let Lilith rise! Not if it means I have to move onto the streets again!" His mire minions arose once again and started cornering Timpy.

"Tsk, tsk Timpy," Tyrone tutted "Imagine letting us get eaten by trash itself and losing your only sacrificial lambs just like that."

"You'd be as bad as Chaos." Jacob chirped, which really did the thing for him. The imp floated upward, expanding his form to be as big as his opponent. "I will NOT fall to her level!"

The Habillabarblab launched its mites at Timpy, then himself. Skimply tightened around the boy's wrists, but a few mites jumped on the cuffs, sinking it's fangs into the shadow, causing him to drop his form and fight these two hand to hand. Tyrone and Jacob stood in disbelief for a few moments, shocked that the plan had worked. Jacob tugged at his friend's arm. "We need to move, NOW."

Looking back one more time for re-assurance, the pair booked it down the hall and around a corner. The Habillabarblab and the imps were left fighting each other, hopefully for hours.

Tyrone and Jacob soon found themselves at a different hall. Near the end were stairs and an overview of the floor below them. If they found the ground floor, Tyrone might just sob with relief. This castle reeked, they probably reeked and Tyrone couldn't wait another second to get out of there. Once looking down at the floor below them, any adrenaline the boys had drained like the color on their faces.

On the ground floor, were hundreds of thousands of poisonous spiders, spewing webs randomly and waiting, no, just DARING the boys to go anywhere near them.