Devil's Elbow

Act III: Chapter 14

Shani stared stunned at his friend who hung on suspension against the wall. It took everything to keep him from breaking down there on the spot.

What once was a boisterous and pudgy young man, was now a scarcely gaunt almost skeleton shell of Kodi Warrick.

“Guys..? Is that you?” He asked and as he looked up they soon were met with pale eyes looking around the cave.

“Code, we are right here man.” Vincent said as he limped forward to get his friend off.

“I can’t see…” Kodi whimpered as though he would cry at any moment.

“The hell do you mean, man? We’re right here!” Vincent smiled nervously.

“Vince…” Shani tried to tap his friend to get his attention.

“C’mon, we gotta get him down from here.” Vincent said, trying to take out the needles.

“VINCE!” Shani shook him.

“WHAT!?” Vincent spun but fell to his own injuries. Even though he didn't speak, they knew that getting him down would not matter. The moment his legs would touch the ground, they would break under themselves... slowing them down further than they already were.

“Look at him man, we can't help him like this, we can barely help you.”

“Guys don't go..! Don't leave me like this…” Kodi whimpered. Shani looked at his friend and he certainly looked deathly ill, and even aged.

Like twenty years older…

It reminded Shani of his mother, who suffered from cancer. Frail, broken and so exhausted, it was a wonder they could stand at all.

“C’mon Shani! We can't just leave him like this!” Vince said and tried again in vain to get their friend unhooked but still couldn't remove the needles.

Finally budging in his thoughts, Shani cursed and tried to help but as they did, Kodi began to feel fire burning in his veins and screamed as his skin began to tug with the needles as they were being tugged away from his body.

As they witnessed the skin moving inhumanly with the needles, as though the needles were a part of Kodi’s flesh.

“Vincent, we can't get these things out of him. Whatever that f*****g thing did, it's permanent.” He said.

“Well, we gotta do something!” Vincent said, waving his hand towards their friend, who hung his head weakly.

“Kill me…”

Both boys blinked frozen before turning their attention to him. “What..?”

“Just kill me guys… I am not going anywhere…” He pleaded, crying. “Don't leave me like this… I…”

Vincent looked at his best friend, not believing what Kodi was asking of them. “Shani, he can't be serious-”

“Guys, I can feel that fucker coming… Please kill me and get out while you still have the chance..!”

Shani looked at Vincent, whose expression drained quickly as he whirled around with the gun in hand. “Vince, we won’t get him down in time…”

“We can't just kill him either!”

“Vincent… I ain’t going nowhere man… please just do it…”

Shani looked at his friend and back at his machete and swallowed hard at his decision. Before Vincent could argue, Shani flipped the blade and held it above his head. As he did, he and his best friend, the one he felt like he let down the most, locked eyes one last time.

“Sorry Brother…”

Kodi just smiled weakly with dried tears as Vincent widened his eyes. “SHANI!”

He couldn't stop Shani in time as he brought all the stress and momentum of his grip down and pierced it through Kodi’s chest, straight into his heart as the young man's eyes widened.

As the two kept their gazes locked, Shani watched the light fade from Kodi’s eyes, the smile vanishing as his head slumped.

“Shani…”

He looked up at one of the last friends he had given a look back at him, one that was distrustful of the man before him.

“What the hell did you-?”

For that singular moment… Shani felt his whole being break as he and Vincent heard an echoing shriek from just feet away. As they looked, the shadowy shape that had plagued him since the night began appeared, shadowy two-foot long clawed fingers reaching around the wall with green eyes and yellow inner irises looked at him with the widest smile it had yet.

“OH SHANIIII! I FOUND YOU!!!” A high pitched cackle gave.

As adrenaline ran in his blood, Shani finally found the strength to move and ran, grabbing Vincent's arm and hunching it over his shoulder as he ran. “LETS GO!”

Vincent looked fearful as he aimed his pistol and fired it, only for the bullet to snap the Entity’s head back as it grinned with the hole where its eye was, beginning to heal as it began to stalk to them.

“Run! Gogogogo!” Shani said as he ran carrying the injured Asian, who hobbled like his life depended on it. Because it did.

“This b***h could just hover and get us now, why is it just moving like this is Friday the 13th?!” Vincent cursed as he watched the turn they made, moving quickly.

“Because it's not the point…” Shani said, realizing the fact already.

Fucker is toying with us… like foreplay…

As he thought about it, his leg caught in between something on the ground, making him and Vincent fall through the ground with a loud crunch.

“f**k! What was..?” Vincent froze as he came face to face with a skull with a smile and screamed as Shani backed into the wall behind them as they saw what lay before them.

Bones lay strewn across the floor and among them, Vincent and Shani saw a face that was mangled and losing chunks of flesh in some places. But even so, both knew and recognized the victim before them.

“Jesus Shani… is that-”

Seth…

As he saw the face, which gazed with wide eyes and pale white flesh around his eyes and his revealed jawbone, it took everything to not vomit right there… All he found his friend before now was his torn up torso… now Shani wished that was all he found.

He then cursed and picked up Vincent as he began to run.

“PEEKABOO!”

Both fell back as The Entity came out in front of them making them fall back in fear onto the ground.

“You really thought you could escape from my domain? Wow, I thought you two were the smart ones, too.” It scoffed and stood tall as it crept upon them, extending its claws ready to attack.

“f**k you!”

The entity was repulsed by a shot to it's eye by Vincent, blinding the creature and buying Shani time to get up and begin running.

“Hang on buddy! Keep your feet up!” Shani growled as he dragged Vincent, both fighting not to fall as they distanced themselves from their hunter, who was already beginning to move towards them.

Shani wasn't sure how he knew it was the Entity, but he did. Like a vice in his head, the pressure just grew the faster he went, until he saw the exit which was tighter than he remembered.

“We’re almost there bud!” He grunted as they fell and began to crawl through the space with Shani dragging the injured Vincent up. “C’mon Shani, pull!”

Shani sighed as he reached the top first and went to help pull Vincent up.

“Jesus thought we’d never get out of-”

Vincent didn't finish as something snatched his bad leg making him shout in pain. Shani widened his eyes as he was dragged down with him toward the hole.

“Vinnie, hang on!” Shani grunted as he gripped tighter, tugging his arm, bracing his feet on the rocks for leverage.

“Don't let go, man! Don't let go!” Vincent shouted as he started to slowly creep back inside.

“Shut up, I’m not going to!” Shani growled as his arms strained, gripping the young man before him.

Vincent looked at Shani and back down at the cave as the Entity’s pale yellow eyes grinned and gulped before closing his eyes before the pain in his leg went away.

Shani noticed his friend's grip lessened and furrowed his brows. “Vince?”

As Vincent looked back up he began to try and pry his friend's hand free of him. “Vin, what the f**k are you doing?!”

As the two made eye contact, Shani looked at him, shaking his head. “No! No, don't you f*****g dare! Don't you f*****g give up now!”

“Let go, man…”

“NO!” Shani said, fighting tears as he struggled to hold on.

“Get the girls and run.” Vincent said and smiled with his eyes closing. Soon, Shani only had his fingers as his friend slipped away into the darkness until he was yanked away.

“VINCENT!!!”

One year before…

Vincent drove up to the manufactured home, his chest pounding as he looked and saw his friend, sitting battered in bruises and blood on his bat and hands, his face blank as he looked at the ground with his brother wrapped in one arm.

Vincent parked his car and immediately ran up to him.

“f*****g hell, Shani. You okay man?” Vincent said as he looked at the black eye and swollen lip.

“Better than he is…”

Vincent looked inside to check the house and sure enough, it looked like a mini hurricane came into the room, with a body beaten to hell and back on the floor.

He cursed and checked the body before bowing his head and muttered before going back outside and sitting beside his friend. “You alright man?”

Shani didn't speak for a moment as the situation began to sink in of what he did and what he really wanted to do. “No… far from it.” He said, shedding a tear with a blank face.

Vincent frowned and wrapped his best friend in his arms and sighed. “It's alright brother… I got your back. Always will ‘till the end.” He frowned.