The Scumbags Guide to Enslaving Demon's

The eastbound train didn’t slow when entering the dead zone.

Red wasteland blurred past glass windows one second. Black fog filled the car the next, tendrils scraping and clawing on metal tracks below.

Every route light went dark.

Seven looked up from the relay case. "External connection lost. Grand Meridian signal no longer available."

Elena tightened her grip on the radio. "Temporarily?"

"Unknown."

The claim seed beneath Austin Veyron’ wrist wrap flashed to life.

Words crawled across the window.

[ROUTE SIGNATURES DETECTED.]

[PERMANENT TRANSIT STATUS AVAILABLE.]

Headless bodies with lantern eyes stalked through the black fog around them, dragging chains in place of legs.

"They must be the route guardians." Veyra spoke up, coming to her feet. "They turn travelers into assets of the road."

The first crashed through roof of the train.

Glass dented inward. Rin scrambled up the aisle rail and stabbed through ceiling panel before the monster could breach inside the car. Black electricity crackled across her arms and back.

"Does anyone have a plan?" Rin called to the others.

Tessa stared at the crawling words on the window. "They already did." She murmured. "The signatures authorized permanent assignment to the route. The guardians are trying to enforce it."

"We deny that." Austin Veyron stated.

The train lurched forward.

Chain pierced through floor, curling around Sarielle’s ankle. Another grabbed onto one of the Cinder Gate scouts. A Guardian outside leaned through window, pulling them through the wall of the railcar.

Kaela grabbed the scout’s wrist. Orena slashed at the chain connecting them. Elena buckled Sarielle into her seatbelt as Seven sealed the floorboards around the tear.

Austin Veyron reached for the chain that bound them.

His hunger sensed a contract immediately.

[Claim travel subject.]

[Convert to route asset.]

He activated DEVOUR around the sentence instead of the people it threatened.

Thread snapped.

The guardian screamed outside of the train, lantern face shattering to reveal the hunched over figure of a human sized adult demon squirming beneath.

It wasn’t monster.

They were people molded and trained into these jobs.

Austin Veyron cut the remaining chain loose.

The guardian crumbled back into the fog.

Another crashed through the roof.

And another.

The car shuddered violently.

Veyra pressed her palm against fogged up window. "The dead zone must have some central relay hub. Destroy that and they’ll lose jurisdiction over the route."

"Where?" Elena questioned.

The fog swirled aside.

Iron skeleton of a station lingered out of shadows in front of them. LEDGER STOP ONE was its only visible sign. Near the entrance towered a massive relay structure chained down and plastered with signatures.

Train slammed to a sudden stop.

Its doors yanked open.

No one moved for a moment.

Then route guardians began tunneling through roof.

"Platform!" Kaela yelled, leading the group forward. Chains slithered up from floor tiles and wrapped around ankles. Rin and Sarielle hacked through them while Seven raised relay case toward tower.

Austin Veyron reached for first signature panel. Names scrawled across it in every font imaginable. Some violently scratched out. Others looped over themselves so many times that route seemed to forget how to remove them entirely.

Tessa pointed at one in particular. She began to read it out loud.

"Traveler agrees to remain on route until released by the Queen."

"Can you remove it?" Austin Veyron asked.

"I can erase it." She replied.

Guardians began pouring from the fog.

Kaela blocked the first with her shield.

Orena swept its legs out from under.

Veyra snatched chain arm and yanked it until links disconnected.

Guardian’s lantern face split apart further, freeing another scared adult demon beneath.

"Run," Veyra instructed him. "Now or they’ll break your will."

He ran.

Tessa swiped her hand across panel, erasing signature.

Station lights flickered above.

Austin Veyron pressed claim seed against relay tower.

Chains coiled out immediately, attempting to drag him into position and will signatures inside. Blockades of text flooded his mind, offering him every available route of the dead zone if he simply accepted.

[Accept route authority.]

Please

He squeezed his eyes shut.

"No." He whispered aloud. "Does anyone else hear them?"

"Who?" Elena questioned.

"The contracts. Their whispers."

Every signature across panel screamed back at him.

YES. YES. YES.

"Everyone say it." Austin Veyron continued. "Out loud. The road does not own you."

The team repeated after him in unison.

Slowly at first. Others not believing it until they actually heard themselves say it aloud.

Even the adult scouts joined in. So did freed guardian, small frame desperately scrambling away from platform’ edge.

With every chant the relay tower split in half.

More chains fell free of fog.

Train lights flickered back to life.

Beyond station front a narrow hallway appeared, complete with a single door stamped in Queens signature.

Waiting for them beyond that door was a woman whispering, "If you’re looking for the Ledger. Break my contract first."

Person screamed.

Some figure waited behind that door.

Adult sized, chained to metal desk by twisting strands of black iron.

She picked up pen that shook violently in her grip.

"Hurry," she hissed. "The Queen knows you’ve found me."

Bell tolled once from beyond door’s seal.

Chain-scribe desk began to quake.

Black ink slithered free from every open ledger on top of it, pooling together into small figures with hook shaped fingers that skittered across floor directly towards members of the expedition team.

"Don’ touch the signatures." She screamed over panicked crowd. "Those creatures rewrite anyone they crawl across."

Elena and scouts formed barrier around desk.

Kaela bludgeoned first one against ground with her shield, but its missing pieces regenerated around bloody stump.

Seven flooded white light across floor. Freezing creatures just long enough for Sarielle to burn entire puddle from existence.

Austin Veyron dropped to knees in front of chain- scribe’ chains.

Sentence after sentence scrolled across every link connected to Vharra’ tongue.

SCRIBE RECORDS.

SCRIBE OBEYS.

SCRIBE REMAINS.

"Nahlia," Austin Veyron said, gently gripping her wrist. "What is your name?"

She stared at him as if she had no idea what he was talking about. Slowly muttered under her breath. "Nahlia."

"Nahlia, do you want these chains removed?"

"Of course I do."

"Are you sure? What happens if I break your contract?"

"The station will register it as an escape. The Queen will send trackers."

"You understand what you’re saying?" She blinked at him, defiance flickering in her eyes.

She nodded.

"I can help you."

The chain- scribe locked eyes with Austin Veyron for what felt like the first time that entire conversation. "But only if you know what you’ re signing up for."

Austin Veyron opened DEVOUR around the sentence without taking anything else from chain- scribe before him. Chain beside it severed clean.

Station shrieked.

Every ledger connected to desk SNAPED open.

Veyra yanked on Nahlia’ shoulder as chain to her wrist broke apart. "Can you take us inside?"

Nahlia chuckled, hysterical and terrified all at once. "I can guide you to first door. Past that the Ledger owns many."

Links vaporized around her wrists.

Doorway seal shattered apart, revealing archive stairway spiraling downwards past dozens of red lamps and swaying shadows.

Behind them all of dead- zone guardians reformed at edge of station platform.

Nahlia grabbed pen once more.

She pointed down set of stairs with a bloodstained hand.

"If we go through there," she continued. "There’s no turning back quietly."

Austin Veyron turned to his expedition.

Each member took a step forward.

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