Monstrous ➙ Theo Raeken

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      Death was something that Clarissa Bane had become peaceful with. It was the ultimate sacrifice to protect the people that she loved. But death was supposed to be simple and easy, her death had been coated with slick blood and watery tears. A kind of death that a warrior envisioned for themselves when they died: protecting the ones that she loved. She didn't regret dying so that Hayden could have a chance at living. Nor did her final moments let her down. Clarissa knew that she would do it again if she had the chance to save her friends.

She felt like she was floating, her body deep in the abyss of the nothingness that surrounded her. Mind running over her lifetime; from the moment that she entered the world, to the moment that she left it. Her brother and Theo were heavy on her muddled mind, their presence just out of reach from her struggling fingertips.

Clarissa opened her eyelids slowly, their weight like rocks as they struggled against her muscles. Unruly hair tickled her skin as she pushed her body into a sitting position, eyes wide as she took in the glowing sight in front of her.

She was underground, a place that felt like it was full of pure and unadulterated suffering. Her hands scraped against the dirt coated floor, struggling to move away from the edge of the deepened crevice that was surrounded by flames. Clarissa knew that she had to get away from that place, the angry howl of pain that came from deep inside of the Earth only confirming her theory.

"Holy hell." Clarissa muttered in disbelief, fear coating her body as the flames seemed to get higher around her with every breath she took.

"Figuratively and literally." A deep, Scottish accented voice sounded from behind her. A voice that was crackling from the smoke and fire that surrounded both of them.

Clarissa turned around slowly, her hands itching at her side in case she still could fling the man across the room with just a snap of her wrist. She didn't know if this man was a friend or an enemy but from the putrid smell of death and destruction that surrounded him, she went with the latter option.

He was almost a foot shorter than her, dark suit painted on his thicker body. He was balding slightly, his brunette hair covering his head and patches of his face. "Who are you?"

"Oh sweetheart." The man smirked evilly, a deep laugh building up from his chest as he looked at her trembling body. He raised his arms out; deep growls surrounding the pair as his eyes darkened to an inky black void. "I'm the King of Hell."

Clarissa's heart halted in her chest as the invisible growls surrounded them, materializing slowly in the form of disfigured mutts. They were grotesquely figured, wrinkled skin coated with a slick slobber like substance.

The dead girl scooted back harshly as the supposed "King of Hell" clicked his tongue at the creatures, only to cause them to step towards her with ferocious growls.

Her eyes darted behind her quickly and she paused. Clarissa knew that she couldn't scoot back any further. She would topple over the edge of the fiery cliff behind her. She clenched her eyes harshly, waiting for the impact of the creatures teeth against her cool flesh.

"Run!" A familiar voice screamed, body slamming against her own in a flurry of small limbs and mangled breaths. She halted, her body frozen as the girl tried to yank her along the edge of the cliff. Clarissa wanted to yell angrily, spit and curse the people who had a sick sense of humor for sending the young brunette down here with her. "Clary, lets go. Josh is distracting them."

Clarissa finally nodded sharply at Hayden Romero as she clasped the younger girl's hand in her own, clutching onto it for dear life as she dragged her away from the scene. Her head turned quickly as she ran, eyes locking on the tanned boy as he shot a jolt of electricity towards the demonic dogs from behind them.