Pain Killers

[Dingleson]

She had made it. Finally free of that maniac with those scalpels and that deranged assistant. The trickster had no idea of how long she had been trapped by Dr. McMourning. The constant pain she had been forced to endure since her procedure had consumed all her consciousness, and sleep had become something that happened to other people. She was glad that the process hadn't driven her mad though. She was still sane she reassured herself...or as sane as anybody could be having died twice and while wearing the skin of a stranger that she had killed herself not that long ago.
           
Staggering free from the tunnel system that housed the Dr's lair, the Trickster found herself in an abandoned soul stone mine. A dull luminous glow from the various veins of soul stones provided a half-light to the space, tinged green as the stones were. Why an area still so rich with soul stones was abandoned gave her pause for thought. But then the painkillers started wearing off again.   
The pain started in her fingers, just like it always did. It felt like she was re-living every moment of having the skin removed that first time, as waves of agony slowly started to creep up her arms. The fact that she had been dead when it happened that first time didn't  really dawn on her, just like she was not longer than concerned with the fact that she could remember dying a couple of times. Sane people do that I'm sure, she reassured herself.
 
Quickly digging into the leather satchel for another dose of the painkillers she had snatched on the way out of the Dr' s lair, her hand scratched across the bottom of the bag, finding none of the vials but instead a hole cut in one of the corners, big enough to lose the vials out of. The following scream was one of both frustration and agony, as feeling started to return to her chest. Feeling and pain. Still, she fell silent as her cry was matched by a bellowing roar that rocked the very cavern walls.
           
Panicking, she glanced around trying to identify the sound and where it had come from. The quick movement sadly was not wise for someone wearing another's skin, and she tore the skin at her side with the swivel and her raw nerves were again exposed to the air. The pain was quickly becoming too much and she sunk to her knees. She saw a stuffed teddy bear loom around an old storage shed, razor sharp teeth poking out at all angles and a pink heart sown into its chest. Sane people hallucinate when their hurting, I'm sure of it she thought. The bear roared again, before holding its arms outstretched towards her. Claws as sharp as those nightmarish teeth glistened and the teddy started walking in her direction. 
           
From behind her, another noise started up. This one more a mechanical buzzing and for one sinking second she was sure that Sebastian had found her again. That bonesaw of his seeking her out, it knew how to find her. It must know how to find sane people.The thought of stopping this pain by being chopped up at that moment didn't seem that terrible, and despite the pain she chuckled at how crazy that sounded to someone as sane as her.
           
However, for all that it was not the Dr's assistant who emerged from the gloom. In fact, a Gremlin dressed as a pirate, riding an iron skeeter with another of the little creatures being carried along in the machines legs who was holding a jug of what appeared to be liquor to judge by the number of X's stencilled to it side was the very last thing she was expecting.
 
The skeeter performed what looked more a crash than a landing into a pillar of stone, shooting forwards a cloud of exhaust fumes that obscured her view of the resulting damage to either Gremlin or machine. From the cloud emerged a single Gremlin, rolling along the floor while clutching the hooch jug tight. It came to a stop just in front of her feet and sprung up, looking to be made more of rubber than skin and bone, it fetched her with a wide smile of its own and proffered the jug to her. She looked at the creature with a mixture of shock and revulsion, but realised that the skin she had taken for herself was most likely just staring gormlessly without expression. "Drink" it hissed at her "helps everything" and then started nodding expectantly.
 
While she wouldn't normally accept such offer's from strangers, the pain was starting to grate so fiercely that any offer of help wasn't to be dismissed and so she took hold of the jug and took a deep swig, foul brackish brown liquid sloshing both down her throat and her chin. Pausing for a gasp of breath she noticed the surprise now on the little Gremlins face "Not that much, only sharing to be friendly " it muttered, before trailing off as she went back for another draft of the fiery drink. It burnt all the way down to the pit of her stomach, but as it did she had noticed that the moonshine was extinguishing her pain at the same time.
 
With a slightly slurred smile, the Trickster looked at the Gremlin and simply asked "More?" while holding up the now empty jug. He (she was pretty sure it was a he) grinned again "Me Fingers. Got plenty back with others, follow follow" and he started to scamper off back the way he had come.  The trickster staggered behind, head suddenly clouded and limbs numb. The tear in her side amused her more than anything now and she could not recall why it had been such a problem before.
 
Another roar from behind her, and a quick glance back revealed that silly teddy was chasing her. Didn't he know that she was having fun with her new friends. Fingers stood at the edge of the cloud of fumes from the iron skeeter and frantically waved her forwards. The Trickster could tell her new friend was not too keen to meet that teddy. She burst through and out the other side of the fumes to find a whole gaggle of Gremlins sat around a junction in the mine. And an alligator. It was being ridden by someone who's skin she defiantly didn't want to swap with thank you very much. She smiled to herself that only a sane person would keep such standards when it came to the swapping of flesh and then got back to seeing where more of that drink had got too.
 
Fingers had keep running and urged her to follow, pointing at one of his friends "Jugrocket gots more!" he exclaimed and that was enough to keep her moving along.   Just as she reached her new best friend and procured some of his shine, that pesky Teddy bear caught up with her. It burst into the cave opening and bellowed at the Gremlins it had found helping her ease her pain.
 
The odd looking man stood open mouthed at the sight and fumbled his rifle, the gator he held on a chain like a lead also shrunk away from the bear. "Naughty teddy, leave my friends alone" she slurred in its general direction, only for it to leap into combat with the man, savagely biting down onto his arm while at the same time ripping the gator in two with its razor claws. The man staggered back, arm soaked with blood and ribbons of flesh hanging loose only for one of the teddy paws (with pretty clouds sewn for hand pads the Trickster noticed) to catch him around the head, driving him into the cave wall and he dropped like a stone to the floor. It was only then that the Trickster noticed the weave basket at the back of the mine opening. It shook with a violent force, quivering as whatever was inside fought to get free. The last act of the odd looking man was to reach up with his one good arm and free the latch that held the basket shut.          
           
The Teddy hadn't been paying any mind to the basket however and had reached out to take the Tricksters hand, claws retracting into its soft lining and for all the world it looked like all it wanted was a nice big hug. The Trickster wasn't above making as many new friends as presented themselves today, and she was about to ask where he was hiding the booze when the basket door swung fully open.
           
Three pigs suddenly sprung free of the basket, acting almost as one, the creatures flew at the teddy bear in a frenzied rage that the bear itself had not matched. Wait, the Trickster thought as she rubbed her eyes, one pig...three pigs. This stuff is good and took another swig of that nice Jugrockets hooch before doing what any sane person would and  staggered away from the brawl. The pig(s) were a whirring deathball of tooth and hoof. Ploughing into the midsection of the bear, teddy's smile faded inwards as stuffing and fabric filled the air. The pig (the Trickster was pretty sure now that it was only a single pig, only it had three heads which she guessed had to be normal somewhere so why not here) was now climbing inside the teddy, chewing, snuffling and rummaging it to death from the inside out, and in no time the bear sagged to the floor totally empty of any stuffing and closer resembling a blanket than her old bedtime friend.
           
The pig trotted out of the sack that used to be the teddy with a frenzied look in its many eyes and the Gremlins were quick to get behind the monster and herded it off into the caves back the way that the Trickster had come. The cries and screams that followed told her that this was a pig not to be messed with. Still, it hadn't been carrying anything that resembled alcohol so she wasn't that tempted to follow. Fingers emerged from under a rock where he had been cowering and produced a hip flask which made the Tricksters eyes light up. "Never have too much of a good thing" she said to herself as much as anyone and started drinking. Fingers jumped up and down on the spot clapping "good good" he squealed, before the shrill but tuneful whistle of a little girl echoed into the cave from one of the side passages. Fingers stopped in his tracks, eyes flicking back and forth trying to determine the source of the whistle and once he looked sure it was coming from the left, he patted Jugrocket on the shoulder "you in charge" he said to his slight looking cousin who puffed up in pride at the accolade. Fingers then set off at a dead sprit in the opposite direction. 
           
Jugrocket appeared to suddenly grasp the full meaning of his promotion, as he snatched the jug he had offered the Trickster earlier and drank deeply himself, eyes spinning in their sockets as he came up for breath. The whistling stopped as girl no older than ten skipped into the clearing. She smiled at Jugrocket and whispered "trick or treat?". The trickster doubted that wetting himself was what the little girl meant, but that was certainly Jugrocket's immediate response. That was followed by him reluctantly raising the clay jug up above his head before bringing it down with full force and breaking it into his own face. The little girl smiled. The Trickster smiled back and took another swig from Fingers flask, the liquid however caught in her throat and a small voice at the back of her thoughts whispered that she had probably had enough for now.  
           
The little girl approached and introduced herself "Hello, my name is Candy. What is yours" The trickster paused, her name was something that escaped her but she was sure that was something a sane person would remember, maybe it was the drink that had made her forget. Candy looked a little put out by the lack of response, but continued to beam her smile and stepped closer to the Trickster. Jugrocket cowered next to her, before dramatically sputtering, staggering and collapsing to the floor where he proceeded to sprawl out. But the Trickster felt he somewhat ruined the illusion of sudden death by continually opening and closing an eye to check on proceedings. Candy now stood directly in front of the Trickster and held up her small basket "Only treats for you lady. Would you like some sweets from my goody basket?"
           
While the Trickster was pretty sure that she didn't want any sweets after all that alcohol, she could think of no way to turn down this little girl, and in fact she found that her hands were moving almost at their own direction without her control willed by another force. Her hand dipped into the basket and removed a large shiny paper wrapped treat and she quickly popped it from its wrapping and into her mouth. The sickly sweet was too much however for her gullet to handle and before she could stop herself, she was vomiting all over the little girl.
 
Candy stood, smile wavering for the first time today as the stupid human expelled a vile torrent of 'shine all over her pretty dress. Why the whispers had asked her to be nice to this human she had no idea. Clenching her teeth together and knowing that the stupid three headed pig was still charging around in the tunnels somewhere she decided that in this case discretion would be the better part of valour. So she turned on her heel, scooped up the empty teddy casing before using it to wipe herself clean and stomped off. 
           
No sooner had Candy left than the Trickster started to get the first pangs of a headache, which was the last thing she needed. Jugrocket watched Candy stalk off into the darkness before jumping back up to his feet. He dug a hand into one of his pockets and produced a vile of painkillers than looked remarkably like those that she taken from the Dr's. He offered it up to her and as she accepted it, she could not help but notice the fact he had a knife at his side which had a jagged edge that looked all too much like the hole at the bottom of her satchel. While she was pretty sure a sane person would not been too happy about this development, she couldn't get too angry at the little Gremlin, especially if he knew where the rest of the moonshine was kept. istant. The trickster had no idea of how long she had been trapped by Dr. McMourning. The constant pain she had been forced to endure since her procedure had consumed all her consciousness, and sleep had become something that happened to other people. She was glad that the process hadn't driven her mad though. She was still sane she reassured herself...or as sane as anybody could be having died twice and while wearing the skin of a stranger that she had killed herself not that long ago. 

            

Staggering free from the tunnel system that housed the Dr's lair, the Trickster found herself in an abandoned soul stone mine. A dull luminous glow from the various veins of soul stones provided a half-light to the space, tinged green as the stones were. Why an area still so rich with soul stones was abandoned gave her pause for thought. But then the painkillers started wearing off again.    

The pain started in her fingers, just like it always did. It felt like she was re-living every moment of having the skin removed that first time, as waves of agony slowly started to creep up her arms. The fact that she had been dead when it happened that first time didn't  really dawn on her, just like she was not longer than concerned with the fact that she could remember dying a couple of times. Sane people do that I'm sure, she reassured herself. 

 

 

Quickly digging into the leather satchel for another dose of the painkillers she had snatched on the way out of the Dr' s lair, her hand scratched across the bottom of the bag, finding none of the vials but instead a hole cut in one of the corners, big enough to lose the vials out of. The following scream was one of both frustration and agony, as feeling started to return to her chest. Feeling and pain. Still, she fell silent as her cry was matched by a bellowing roar that rocked the very cavern walls. 

            

Panicking, she glanced around trying to identify the sound and where it had come from. The quick movement sadly was not wise for someone wearing another's skin, and she tore the skin at her side with the swivel and her raw nerves were again exposed to the air. The pain was quickly becoming too much and she sunk to her knees. She saw a stuffed teddy bear loom around an old storage shed, razor sharp teeth poking out at all angles and a pink heart sown into its chest. Sane people hallucinate when their hurting, I'm sure of it she thought. The bear roared again, before holding its arms outstretched towards her. Claws as sharp as those nightmarish teeth glistened and the teddy started walking in her direction.  

            

From behind her, another noise started up. This one more a mechanical buzzing and for one sinking second she was sure that Sebastian had found her again. That bonesaw of his seeking her out, it knew how to find her. It must know how to find sane people.The thought of stopping this pain by being chopped up at that moment didn't seem that terrible, and despite the pain she chuckled at how crazy that sounded to someone as sane as her. 

            

However, for all that it was not the Dr's assistant who emerged from the gloom. In fact, a Gremlin dressed as a pirate, riding an iron skeeter with another of the little creatures being carried along in the machines legs who was holding a jug of what appeared to be liquor to judge by the number of X's stencilled to it side was the very last thing she was expecting. 

 

 

The skeeter performed what looked more a crash than a landing into a pillar of stone, shooting forwards a cloud of exhaust fumes that obscured her view of the resulting damage to either Gremlin or machine. From the cloud emerged a single Gremlin, rolling along the floor while clutching the hooch jug tight. It came to a stop just in front of her feet and sprung up, looking to be made more of rubber than skin and bone, it fetched her with a wide smile of its own and proffered the jug to her. She looked at the creature with a mixture of shock and revulsion, but realised that the skin she had taken for herself was most likely just staring gormlessly without expression. "Drink" it hissed at her "helps everything" and then started nodding expectantly. 

 

 

While she wouldn't normally accept such offer's from strangers, the pain was starting to grate so fiercely that any offer of help wasn't to be dismissed and so she took hold of the jug and took a deep swig, foul brackish brown liquid sloshing both down her throat and her chin. Pausing for a gasp of breath she noticed the surprise now on the little Gremlins face "Not that much, only sharing to be friendly " it muttered, before trailing off as she went back for another draft of the fiery drink. It burnt all the way down to the pit of her stomach, but as it did she had noticed that the moonshine was extinguishing her pain at the same time. 

 

 

With a slightly slurred smile, the Trickster looked at the Gremlin and simply asked "More?" while holding up the now empty jug. He (she was pretty sure it was a he) grinned again "Me Fingers. Got plenty back with others, follow follow" and he started to scamper off back the way he had come.  The trickster staggered behind, head suddenly clouded and limbs numb. The tear in her side amused her more than anything now and she could not recall why it had been such a problem before. 

 

 

Another roar from behind her, and a quick glance back revealed that silly teddy was chasing her. Didn't he know that she was having fun with her new friends. Fingers stood at the edge of the cloud of fumes from the iron skeeter and frantically waved her forwards. The Trickster could tell her new friend was not too keen to meet that teddy. She burst through and out the other side of the fumes to find a whole gaggle of Gremlins sat around a junction in the mine. And an alligator. It was being ridden by someone who's skin she defiantly didn't want to swap with thank you very much. She smiled to herself that only a sane person would keep such standards when it came to the swapping of flesh and then got back to seeing where more of that drink had got too. 

 

 

Fingers had keep running and urged her to follow, pointing at one of his friends "Jugrocket gots more!" he exclaimed and that was enough to keep her moving along.   Just as she reached her new best friend and procured some of his shine, that pesky Teddy bear caught up with her. It burst into the cave opening and bellowed at the Gremlins it had found helping her ease her pain. 

 

 

The odd looking man stood open mouthed at the sight and fumbled his rifle, the gator he held on a chain like a lead also shrunk away from the bear. "Naughty teddy, leave my friends alone" she slurred in its general direction, only for it to leap into combat with the man, savagely biting down onto his arm while at the same time ripping the gator in two with its razor claws. The man staggered back, arm soaked with blood and ribbons of flesh hanging loose only for one of the teddy paws (with pretty clouds sewn for hand pads the Trickster noticed) to catch him around the head, driving him into the cave wall and he dropped like a stone to the floor. It was only then that the Trickster noticed the weave basket at the back of the mine opening. It shook with a violent force, quivering as whatever was inside fought to get free. The last act of the odd looking man was to reach up with his one good arm and free the latch that held the basket shut.           

            

The Teddy hadn't been paying any mind to the basket however and had reached out to take the Tricksters hand, claws retracting into its soft lining and for all the world it looked like all it wanted was a nice big hug. The Trickster wasn't above making as many new friends as presented themselves today, and she was about to ask where he was hiding the booze when the basket door swung fully open. 

            

Three pigs suddenly sprung free of the basket, acting almost as one, the creatures flew at the teddy bear in a frenzied rage that the bear itself had not matched. Wait, the Trickster thought as she rubbed her eyes, one pig...three pigs. This stuff is good and took another swig of that nice Jugrockets hooch before doing what any sane person would and  staggered away from the brawl. The pig(s) were a whirring deathball of tooth and hoof. Ploughing into the midsection of the bear, teddy's smile faded inwards as stuffing and fabric filled the air. The pig (the Trickster was pretty sure now that it was only a single pig, only it had three heads which she guessed had to be normal somewhere so why not here) was now climbing inside the teddy, chewing, snuffling and rummaging it to death from the inside out, and in no time the bear sagged to the floor totally empty of any stuffing and closer resembling a blanket than her old bedtime friend. 

            

The pig trotted out of the sack that used to be the teddy with a frenzied look in its many eyes and the Gremlins were quick to get behind the monster and herded it off into the caves back the way that the Trickster had come. The cries and screams that followed told her that this was a pig not to be messed with. Still, it hadn't been carrying anything that resembled alcohol so she wasn't that tempted to follow. Fingers emerged from under a rock where he had been cowering and produced a hip flask which made the Tricksters eyes light up. "Never have too much of a good thing" she said to herself as much as anyone and started drinking. Fingers jumped up and down on the spot clapping "good good" he squealed, before the shrill but tuneful whistle of a little girl echoed into the cave from one of the side passages. Fingers stopped in his tracks, eyes flicking back and forth trying to determine the source of the whistle and once he looked sure it was coming from the left, he patted Jugrocket on the shoulder "you in charge" he said to his slight looking cousin who puffed up in pride at the accolade. Fingers then set off at a dead sprit in the opposite direction.  

            

Jugrocket appeared to suddenly grasp the full meaning of his promotion, as he snatched the jug he had offered the Trickster earlier and drank deeply himself, eyes spinning in their sockets as he came up for breath. The whistling stopped as girl no older than ten skipped into the clearing. She smiled at Jugrocket and whispered "trick or treat?". The trickster doubted that wetting himself was what the little girl meant, but that was certainly Jugrocket's immediate response. That was followed by him reluctantly raising the clay jug up above his head before bringing it down with full force and breaking it into his own face. The little girl smiled. The Trickster smiled back and took another swig from Fingers flask, the liquid however caught in her throat and a small voice at the back of her thoughts whispered that she had probably had enough for now.   

            

The little girl approached and introduced herself "Hello, my name is Candy. What is yours" The trickster paused, her name was something that escaped her but she was sure that was something a sane person would remember, maybe it was the drink that had made her forget. Candy looked a little put out by the lack of response, but continued to beam her smile and stepped closer to the Trickster. Jugrocket cowered next to her, before dramatically sputtering, staggering and collapsing to the floor where he proceeded to sprawl out. But the Trickster felt he somewhat ruined the illusion of sudden death by continually opening and closing an eye to check on proceedings. Candy now stood directly in front of the Trickster and held up her small basket "Only treats for you lady. Would you like some sweets from my goody basket?" 

            

While the Trickster was pretty sure that she didn't want any sweets after all that alcohol, she could think of no way to turn down this little girl, and in fact she found that her hands were moving almost at their own direction without her control willed by another force. Her hand dipped into the basket and removed a large shiny paper wrapped treat and she quickly popped it from its wrapping and into her mouth. The sickly sweet was too much however for her gullet to handle and before she could stop herself, she was vomiting all over the little girl. 

 

 

Candy stood, smile wavering for the first time today as the stupid human expelled a vile torrent of 'shine all over her pretty dress. Why the whispers had asked her to be nice to this human she had no idea. Clenching her teeth together and knowing that the stupid three headed pig was still charging around in the tunnels somewhere she decided that in this case discretion would be the better part of valour. So she turned on her heel, scooped up the empty teddy casing before using it to wipe herself clean and stomped off.  

            

No sooner had Candy left than the Trickster started to get the first pangs of a headache, which was the last thing she needed. Jugrocket watched Candy stalk off into the darkness before jumping back up to his feet. He dug a hand into one of his pockets and produced a vile of painkillers than looked remarkably like those that she taken from the Dr's. He offered it up to her and as she accepted it, she could not help but notice the fact he had a knife at his side which had a jagged edge that looked all too much like the hole at the bottom of her satchel. While she was pretty sure a sane person would not been too happy about this development, she couldn't get too angry at the little Gremlin, especially if he knew where the rest of the moonshine was kept.