Conrad saw another tarot card on the ground while traversing the cave entrance. It was “The Fool” tarot card that showed the regular fool art, but inside a hellish landscape. He put the card in his pocket with the other tarot cards and continued into the cave. As he went deeper, the place became strainingly hot. The rattles of chains, people screaming, and the feeling of being watched were all he heard and felt.

When he got to a rusty steel door, he pushed it open. Beyond it, he was inside a sandstorm of sorts. Rusty steel architecture, broken buildings, and black stones leaking lava surrounded him. He pulled his shirt up to his mouth and nose, then walked toward the screams of help through the sandstorm. The sand stung his eyes as he tried to shield them with his hands. Whispers came from the sand, and he was sweating quite a bit.

When he finally reached the black rock stairs through the sandstorm, it was as if the stairs were pulsating as he walked up them. The sandstorm died down the higher he went. He noticed to his side that the armless, flesh monsters from the hospital and the casino were kept inside cells. They gnashed their teeth and faced his direction. Their eyeless gaze was piercing.

“So that’s the reason there are sounds of chains…” he muttered as he noticed the monsters were chained to walls or biting at the rusty steel bars that held them.

“Please help!” a woman screamed in the distance again.

Conrad continued, hoping not to step into any lava. He didn’t want to know if the lava was real. The higher he climbed, the darker the sky grew. When he finally reached an open area, it was filled with rusty steel bars, beams, and creaking gears. The sound of sand whistling in the wind echoed through them. The once-heated lava-filled black rocks were now cold and icy. He could see his breath form in front of him, how cold it was. He shivered.

That’s when he noticed a throne in the distance in the large opening to a portal. There emerged a hooved man with a horse for a head. The hoofman was shadowed and red-eyed, its deep laugh was booming.

“Well, how did you enjoy your walk through my kingdom?” The hoofman said after his laugh died down.

A monster dropped from the sky, its faces were white, its body blackened tree bark. Blood oozed onto the ground from its long limbs. It dropped to all fours and chased Conrad around the area. The hoofman walked into the portal and left Conrad to die without a word.

Shit, what am I going to do? he thought as he ran around the area with the creature, smashing relentlessly into the walls until Conrad was backed into a corner. The creature roared a blood-curdling roar and picked up Conrad with its long limbs after being cornered. It opened its mouth wide, revealing saliva oozing down its jagged teeth, and slowly put Conrad’s head into its mouth. He continued to curse and try to move, but was unable to do anything to break free.

I think I’m dead, he thought.

That’s when he heard a bullet graze the creature, causing it to drop Conrad. A distant voice yelled for him to get to the portal. He coughed and ran as fast as he could to the portal. The creature had recovered and was now chasing him.

“Shit, shit, shit!” he yelled as he almost slipped on some ice. The cold was slowing him down.

The creature slammed down, knocking him off his feet again as another sniper bullet hit the monster.

“Go!” he heard in the distance.

He got up and ran into the portal.

He fell out of the ceiling onto his bed in his apartment.

“Da fuck?” he looked around frantically and saw a blackened bark-skinned hand almost reach down to grab him, but it quickly pulled back as it was burning. The creature reached through the portal after him, but couldn’t enter the bedroom.

His breathing was erratic, and he paced around his apartment for the rest of the night.

“This is getting too real…!” he muttered, looking at himself in the mirror in the bathroom.