Chapter 11 - Christofert Goes To Hell
 
Christofert was terrified now, but he knew that it was hopeless to go
back he way he came.  It only took him a moment to come to the conclusion
that he would have to get past Cerebrus and into Hell.  He only hoped
that there would be another way out once he was in.
 
Very quietly Christofert tried to slip past the great sleeping hound.
The beast was so large as to nearly fill the entire tunnel.  As
Christofert tiptoed past the third great head, he felt a burst of hot
air and heard a loud snort.  The hound had smelled him, and the eyes
on closest head snapped open.  Christofert froze in terror and felt
all of the color rush out of him.  The head of the beast began to
growl and in a moment the other two heads woke up and swung around to
look at the new intruder.
 
A creature such as this doesn't take time to think.  It's only goal was
to kill the small white thing in front of it.  It lunged straight for
Christofert, with three large snapping mouths with saliva splashing
everywhere.  As with many times of panic, Christofert didn't think about
running, he didn't even remember starting to run.  All that he remembers
was running as fast as he could.  The great beast was fast, faster than
any ferret.  Fortunately it was too big to change direction quickly, and
Christofert push his one and only advantage as far as he possibly could.
Every time the foul hound got close, Christofert would change
directions.  His only thought was to get through the gate, for large
though the gateway was, Cerebrus was even larger.
 
Somehow realizing Christofert's intentions, or perhaps because of
training, the great beast managed to keep itself between Christofert and
the gate.  Christofert was getting tired, and each mighty snap by one of
the heads was that much closer to him.  In one final desperate maneuver,
Christofert charged straight at the gigantic dog.  All three of the
heads became momentarily confused and snapped at the little ferret
simultaneously.  They collided, and Christofert barely slipped through,
but not without getting splashed with some of the hot burning saliva.
 
Racing through the gate, his skin and fur felt like they were on fire.
He knew the hound was following quickly, so he didn't stop or look back.
Suddenly he heard a great crash and felt a tremor through the ground.
From somewhere behind him he heard first one howl, then two more.  He
stopped and looked back.  The massive shoulders of the foul creature were
wedged firmly in the gateway and the three heads were all baying the most
horrible cacophony imaginable.  Christofert realized that he was now
trapped in Hell.
 
(to be continued)
 
            Bryan P. Coffey - Boston, MA
      Weasel Warriors - Albi, Esef, Merri, and Mint
        http://www.gis.net/~bpcoffey/furball.html
[Posted in FML issue 2827]