A Monster's Nightmare

Disclamer: I do not own Hellraiser.

Father Philip was alone in his church. He had been since yesterday. All his clergy. Sister Mary Helena and her nuns. They were all gone. The old man was alone now with nothing but his Church and the memories of the children.

"Ohh the children." Philip cooed. "Oh Merciful Lord! Please protect the children from the evil that has invaded your house." In truth, Philip knew it wasn't the children the demons were after, it was him. They made that very clear when he first encountered them. They would get him any minute now, he could feel it.

It all began when one of Philip's favorite children, Travis, found a mysterious puzzle box and brought it to the Church. Neither Travis or any of the children could figure out how to solve it. Considering it a distraction from their Bible studies, Philip confiscated the box and locked it up in his drawer. He figured that the box would never see the light of day again and that would be the end of it. But for some strange reason, Philip could not stop thinking about the box.

Every day for at least a few minutes, he messed with the box in the hopes of solving it to no avail. Minutes turned into hours and his fascination with the box turned into obsession. An obsession he kept secret from the rest of the clergy and the nuns. It consumed him like an inferno and no matter how hard he tried, he could not resist the temptation of the box.

One day, he finally managed to solve it. There was a flash of blue light and a earthquake that seemed contained to his room. When it stopped, three beings were standing before Phillip. They all wore black gowns connected to their bodies by piercings. Two of them were female, they're mutilated bodies barely covered by the dark latex and the only male of the group had nails driven into his skull. They were a terrifying sight indeed.

"Father Philip." The male creature said. "You have opened the box and now you are marked. We will tear your soul apart!"

"No!" Philip grabbed a cross hanging from the wall and held it up to the creature. "Begone demon! You are in God's domain! You have no power here!"

"I believe you have it backwards, Father Philip." With a single movement of his hand, the creature summoned the cross out of Philip's grasp and into his. He snapped the cross in two with little effort.

"Go on. Run. It will make the suffering all the more delicious." Another flash of light and the creatures were gone. Philip spent the rest of that day trying to convince himself it was all a dream.

That was the beginning of the end. The monster continued to torment Philip. At night he would see them in his dream. During the day he would see them lurking in the shadows. He never felt alone, even when he was in his office. He felt like he was being watched every second and every day it felt like the monsters were getting closer and closer. He had prayed that God would protect him but the fear remained.

Today was the day Philip knew they were going to claim him. He had organized a last minute field trip to the local zoo for all the children and clergy. He made up and excuse about having paperwork in order to stay behind. After hours of waiting, he felt a shadow loom over him. He looked up and saw the male monster, his dead black eyes eating trough Philip's very being.

"It is time, Philip." The monster said. "You're soul will be rendered to pieces." Hooked chains ensnared Philip and he cried out in pain.

"You will burn in Hell for this demon!" He shouted.

The monster bellowed in laughter. "You threaten me with hell? Do you think I operate the same as your devils do? The Hell we are going to is not a hell of fire and brimstone but of flesh and suffering. Your God has no power over my domain. Just the same, I think you will find it very fitting Father. After all, so many of your kind are already there."

The chains began to pull apart, causing Philip unimaginable pain.

"We'll see how you like being the helpless one."

When the clergy came back from their trip, There was no sign of Father Philip or the box he was so obsessed with. There was only a puddle of blood on the altar.