The individuals stood in place, warily eyeing each other.  Above their heads, the strange shadowy shape continued to writhe as it kept watch on the tattered stranger.

"I'm not one to throw my trust at someone like that. And now," the leader exhaled his smoke while speaking, "it seems we are under two contracts, right? Tell you what," he took another, this time more relaxed, smoke, e explain ourselves to you and you promise to help us."

His partner listened before turning back toward the stranger.  "You're right, we don't have a lot of time.  H, Nightshyft, go ahead with the plan.  I'll explain what's going on to our new friend here."

He took a moment to quickly look over the area to make sure no one was eavesdropping before turning back to the stranger.  "We really didn't start off on the right foot here.  I am Kyle, and my comrade over there is known as Bouncer.  What's your name?"

"You can call me Cadaver," replied the walking corpse indifferently, "Hell, everyone else does."

After a brief pause, allowing the introduction to reset the mood, he continued, "As for helping you, we'll have to wait and see. That'll depend on your motives. I think it's clear by now why I'm here. I'm sure you've figured out by now that I've got a pressing engagement with Brother Ivory. I owe him a certain... 'debt', so to speak. If that doesn't interfere with your own plans, we can maybe get along. Otherwise..." but rather than finish the sentence, he let the implication linger.

"So it seems we might have more in common than we at first thought. You might even prove yourself usefull."

H took another smoke of his cigarette, tossed it into the water and lit another one before continuing.

"I'm H. We're here to fetch something. Am I to assume your impending meeting with Brother Ivory will result in mayhem and destruction, perhaps even his death? We don't care what happens to him, but your entrance might prove enough distraction for us to get to our prize."

H shifted his weight from one foot to another, keeping his distance from Cadaver; he blew out a small puff of smoke, that seemed to linger about him a bit longer than usual.

"I'm going inside; are you staying?"

"Question is... can you get in? Door's locked," returned Cadaver.

"And what are you after anyway? If you came here to steal from Brother Ivory, it must be something damn important, 'cause he's a tough man to have for an enemy. I should know. Not that you need to worry about that for long if I do get inside.

"But you must've come here knowing this wasn't gonna be some simple snatch-and-dash so I need to know what you're looking for."

"Our employer thinks it is, anyways.  That should suffice for now."  Kyle walked over to where Cadaver was standing and took off his headset.  "Take this.  Bouncer and I are on the sidelines for this mission.  If you need a distraction, just tell him and where you need it.  Same procedure the others are following for now.

"Now get going.  We really don't have a lot of time left for pleasentries."

"Fine, play it vague for now," Cadaver said with no lack of indignation, "but understand that Ivory's an evil bastard with a vile purpose. If I find out you're doing something I don't like, we'll have more than words when this is over."

The dead-man then reached out and took the headset offered to him, careful not to make actual physical contact with the one called Kyle. As he placed it over his ear he added, "Oh, and my friend is coming with us. I'm going to need someone I trust to watch my back. So I suggest you don't make any sudden moves..."

With a slight smirk, Cadaver raised his head up towards the ceiling and made a subtle nod of assurance. "Hollow, it's time. Soon you will feed... and well."

Cadaver then turned down the tunnel behind H, who was heading for the steel door.

H took a small smoke of his cigar, then exhaled it towards the door.

It trailed through the air in the direction of the lock, entered, and then a small *click* was heard.

"Are you coming?"

"How'd you do that?" Cadaver asked H, "Unlock the door, I mean?"

Something large and inhuman skittered along the roof of the tunnel, the bulk of its form thankfully concealed by the darkness. It clearly responded to the voice of Cadaver, staying close to the shrouded figure, even as he moved towards the door.

A whispered hiss filtered down and swirled around each of those gathered in the concealed areas.

"Very well, corpse."

"Didn't you see it? I just blew a small whisp of smoke at it. That did the trick."

H threw a roguish smile at Cadaver, as if the face of the dead man was something he was used to seeing everyday. That, or he was hiding it pretty well.

He then turned as he heard Hollow's hiss above him, and almost dropped his cigar at the sight of the inhuman spider-thing skittering in the roof...

...and backed down a few paces, his face in shock.

He soon recovered and managed to say something, while taking a long smoke to calm himself.

"What ... is ... that?!"

"That... or rather, he... is my friend." Cadaver said, with a hint of enjoyment in his voice, at the fear clearly evident in H's reaction. After a brief pause, "And I thought you said we were in a hurry?" he continued. "So pick up your jaw and let's go."

With that, Cadaver deftly manuevered past the stunned chain-smoker, pushed open the door and silently slipped inside.

As H paused, Hollow moved down the hallway behind Cadaver. As it reached the doorway, it lowered itself along the wall, crawling deftly for its size. With a bit of difficulty, it dragged its massive bulk through the doorway, one leg after another pulling itself through the opening. The filtered light now gave them a clear image of the creature called Hollow, though their sanity might have served you better without it...

Hollow was a twisted half-man/half-spider abomination. He had a pale, hairless head and torso, his mouth dominated by two large incisiors. At his waist, the pale flesh turned to hard, chitinous shell, revealing a bloated arachnid body. He was nearly 8 feet long from head to tail, and when he sat up fully, he was over seven feet tall.

A walking corpse... a human spider... if only I had met them two months ago, they would have made my fortune! So admirable are they!, he thought, looking at the passing freakshow. This seemed like bad King and Kafka all rolled into one.

After Hollow passed the door, H looked back at Kyle and Bouncer, tapping the headset lightly.

"Stay tuned."

He then followed after the strange pair of friends.

Kyle and Bouncer nodded, confirming they understood H's instruction.

They three odd companions cracked open the door and peered inside.  Short corridor was dimly illuminated, and the could see that it led to a stairway a short distance ahead.

It would be a rather tight squeeze for the spider-thing called Hollow, and his movement would be restricted, but there didn't appear to be any obvious obstacles in their path.

As Cadaver moved down the passageway, towards the ascending staircase, he spoke quietly into his new headset.

"So what's the deal, H? You gonna go it alone, looking for whatever it is you're here to steal? While we're creating a convenient distraction, doing what we came to do? Is that basically it?"

H was following behind Cadaver and Hollow, still smoking, looking this way and that, keeping his distance from his new found companions.

"You could say that. Get in, get the stuff, get out. We discussed a similar plan, and your presence here comes as a bonus. Bouncer and Kyle would stay behind providing cover and assistance, as we felt it best to go in with fewer people to avoid unnecessary attention."

Pausing between words to get another smoke, H continued with a question.

"What about you? You two must be pretty pissed at Ivory to assume everyone works for him, eh?"

Looking back briefly, past the large spidery mass of Hollow, Cadaver replied to H's question as they moved. "To take a page from your Book of Vague, suffice it to say, someone told me Ivory has a few Gifted working for him. And that they come and go through that door back there. So, when you guys came along..."

Letting the obvious linger in the air for a moment as he made his way up the narrow staircase, Cadaver continued to speak quietly into his headset. His hoarse voice taking on an oddly affable tone, perhaps due to the fact that he wass finally getting close to his long sought after quarry. "As for my severe 'dislike' of Ivory, you could say it borders on a murderous rage of vengeance and destruction... But that's me, Hollow's just along for the ride, and a bite to eat."

Since it seems they have a little time to chat along the way, he returned another question through the radio, "I doubt you guys'd come all this way blind. So tell me, what do you know of Brother Ivory and his operation here?"

H looked back at Cadaver, and replied through the headset between smokes; his voice showed his uneasiness at being so close to Hollow, his nervousness in check but still showing.

"We were hired to fetch something, as I said, something that has been stolen by Brother Ivory from our employer. We know he runs an operation called Ninth Mystery, that has been recruting and mind-controling an army of human sleepers, which he also uses in 'experiences', of which we nothing about but should be anything but good for them.

"Since you're here to kill him, I can do my fetching business way smoother."

He took another smoke, just to pause between words.

"So I take it we'll be working together, right?"

"We'll see," Cadaver said, in a ghastly hush, just as he reached the top of the stairs. "We'll have to wait and see."

Hollow said nothing (not having a headset), the only sound being the occasional scrape of his bulbous, chinitous frams scraping against the side of the corridor as he moved up the stairs, only slightly behind Cadaver.

The strange group proceed up the stairs without incident, finding another locked metal door at the top.  As they climbed, they had noticed an intermittent "thumping", as if some massive weight was pounding the floor above them.

Upon reaching the second door, Cadaver checked it to varify that it was indeed locked. He then spoke into the radio headset once again, "H, looks like we need some more of that 'magic' lockpick smoke of yours."

As H appeared to examine the door, the party could hear that same "thumping" sound again.  This time, it seemed to approach the other side of the door... and stopped.

Great, Cadaver thinks to himself, it's never easy, is it?

In the hushed whisper of the dead, Cadaver urged H to continue, "Well, hurry up and get this door open then. Whatever's making that racket isn't going to wait around all day."

As the group stopped at the doorway, Hollow turned his senses outward, struggling to sense the presence of others nearby, such as beyond the door. His nostrils flared and he turned his head from side to side, trying to hear better.

The enhanced senses of the spider-thing reached out beyond the door.  He picked up a scent, but it was difficult to tell whether there was more than one.  He could barely make out the sound of deep, labored breathing.

A thin, hissing laugh filtered through the tunnel, even as the others contemplate how to deal with the door. After a moment, it was clear the sound came from the spider-thing, who was shuddering with the chilling laughter.

"If it breathes, I will feast upon it."

Of course, since there was little context for Hollow's statement, it was disconcerting, to say the least.

Well, pondered Cadaver, humorously, at the thought of Hollow eating anything and everything that breathed, guess that leaves me safe.

"Erm..."

H backed away from the door after hearing the *thump* on the other side, then looked semi-disgusted at Hollow after his hissing laughter.

"I don't think I have stomach to see that... so please refrain from eating anyone while we're here."

H was not smoking as he said this. He dropped his cigar after the *thump*.

He then fumbled for another one, lit it, and took another relaxing long smoke, completely forgetting about opening the door.

At H's comment, the face of the spider-man flashed back to H, and a dark fury burned deep in his eyes. His voice rose in poorly concealed anger and frustration.

"You will -not- command me, prey. I will feast as I wish. If you have objection, perhaps you should be the first."

At the rise in tension among his companions, Cadaver became noticably annoyed. In a subdued, yet commanding voice, he attempted to suppress the escallating conflict.

"Both of you cut it. Now. I won't allow either of you to ruin this for me. I will get my chance tonight. Understood?"

"Now, H, get this damn door open now. Or else."

Upon hearing first Hollow's then Cadaver's threats, H coughed his smoke out, which seemed to grow and expand into a strange, glowing sickening green aura, while the air now seemed much heavier to breathe than it was.

He visibly grew in his aura as he answered at the pair in a rasping but barely audible voice.

"Or else what, Cadaver? You two are going to storm over there no matter if I open the door or not! I can only be pushed so far, you hear? So you'll kill me if I don't open the door!"

H pointed a cigar-holding finger at the spider-thing, and the smoke coming out of his cigar seemed to form into a snapping claw-like appendage.

"So you'll eat me if I sneeze at you, so what?!"

He then backed a pace to looked at them, and all the while the smoke was turning and whirling around him, forming a protective barrier of spikes and thorns.

"You can both kill me for all I care, this whole business seems insane!"

"Fine." Cadaver spouted off, clearly disgusted at the lack of fortitude being shown, "You're changing your mind then? You don't want to go in now? Go ahead and back down, for all I care. I didn't come here to babysit someone who's afraid of some banging noises. You don't want to open the door? OK. We'll do it my way..."

And with that, Cadaver turned back towards the steel door which was barring their way.

As he took a step forward, he reached out with one hand, mere inches from the door...

And knocked... three times.

Hollow hissed louder this time, and seemed quite comfortable in taking up H on his offer of being the next meal. He leaned forward, prepared to strike, but as Cadaver spoke, the spider-thing shifted its massive bulk back as it looked back on the corpse.

At the knock, its legs clicked rhythmically along the ground, perhaps a sign of nervous agitation.

As unexpected as Cadaver's action was, the response was even moreso.

They heard the sound of a key turning in the lock and the door was pulled open.  Standing there before the trio was a massive creature, larger even than Hollow.  It stood nearly nine feet high and must have weighed nearly a thousand pounds.  It was generally ape-like in shape, but rather than fur its body was covered in a dense material that looked like it was stone.

Crouching next to the giant was another being.  This one had human proportions, but was covered from head to toe in tattered rags.

Hollow hissed his displeasure, but did not attempt to push past Cadaver or engage the creatures. He bided his time, waiting to see what happened, ready to act.

The tattered stranger leaned forward slowly with obvious hostile intent... his eyes glinting a red rage burning from inside.  He pointed a bent finger at the party and spoke in an unearthly voice that chilled their souls.

"You are not the dear Brother.  But in lieu of him, his lackeys will have to do... for now."

Cadaver was so overwhelmed that he screamed, turned and rushed back down the stairs, running into H and driving them all into Hollow's massive body.

Between staring into the eyes of a minion of Hell itself, and gazing down into the fiery Abyss as it tried to swollow him whole, Cadaver had no choice but to flee. Even though he was already dead, he was not about to let Hell claim him now. Not now.

"NOOOoooo!"

The hall filled with the haunted scream of deathly horror as Cadaver leapt down the stairwell, away from the unbearable madness. Unfortunately, his companions were in his way. Seeking freedom at any cost, he charged into H, arms outstretched to force him out of the way. As they met, the two of them fell back into Hollow. Like a wall, the bulk of the huge man-spider brought them both to a swift stop.

But pain and suffering befell anyone making contact with the dead-man's mortal coil. Such was his Curse, his Gift. The cold grip of Death surged forth, reaching deep into H's soul, draining part of his lifeforce away.

Hollow was the lucky one, Cadaver's touch was brief enough, and supressed by the intervening body of H, that no serious harm came of it.

At the many legs of Hollow's inhuman form, Cadaver and H laid joined in a jumbled mass at the center of the staircase.

The frightnening sight of the ragged man made H take a faltering step back... only to be charged by Cadaver as he fled screaming in panic from the abomination now behind him.

The out-stretched hands of the dead man touched his skin, making him scream in horror and in pain at the bone-chilling touch that pushed him crashing into Hollow's spidery frame.

H was left panting between the two bodies, one horror to look upon, the other a Death's Head, which was more than enough to check his sanity. His eyes were wide open in barely controlled fear, trying franticly to push Cadaver aside and move out of contact of Hollow.

As the others glanced back at their assailants , they watched a ripple of darkness seem to arise around the sinister pair. Then, with a volition all of it's own, the raggedy man's own shadow stood up...

As Cadaver slammed into H and Hollow, Nightshyft appeared from Hollow's shadow.  He appeared to be a shadow himself, moving along the wall next to the pile of his fellows.  He concentrated, and the tattered man saw that his own shadow was rising up in front of him.  The animated shadow swung its fist and caught the tattered man squarely... stunning him momentarily.

The Haunt staggered from the animated shadow's strike, but with great effort managed to shake off the effect.

"I've awoken into a dream," he muttered as he regained his balance and strength.  He faced the shape that had been his shadow.  "You will live to tell Brother Ivory that The Haunt has been freed and is coming for him."  The Haunt turned to the heap at the bottom of the landing.

"But you will not be so lucky."

However, before the Haunt could take further action a new figure appeared before him and stood between him and the others.

To the surprise of everyone but the Haunt, it was a little girl... of sorts.  She appeared more as a ghost than as a person, a spectral image that was nearly transluscent.

She screamed at the Haunt.

"Jeremy, STOP!  They don't work for Brother Ivory!"

She turned around and faced the party in the stairwell.

"And YOU stop, too!  Can't you see he's been hurt enough?!"

And as suddenly as the ghostly image appeared, it vanished once more.

The Haunt lunged toward the apparition.

"Paz, wait!"

He fell into the empty space where she had stood, looking alone despite the motley crowd surrounding him.

"We can leave, Paz," he said as he got up to his knees.  "I'm free now," he whispered.

All words, pictures, characters, tiles and just about everything else was created by and is copyright Stephen Rice and Electric Comics, 1996

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