Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

walking, stopping now and then to count and recount his fingers, because he had to keep checking the details of the few things he still believed in. Certainty had deserted him, blown away by the Gorgon's gaze. He couldn't trust anything anymore, except his own intentions.
    He giggled like a small boy contemplating a particularly clever bit of mischief, and moved his changed mind in certain unusual ways. And as he changed his mind, the world changed around him. He walked out of the illusionary garden and into a place that only looked like a place. It was cold and dark, like an endless stone corridor buried deep, deep below the ground, stretching away in every direction, including some he couldn't even name. It smelled of dead roses and a woman's sweat, and he could hear a baby crying in the distance but he knew it wasn't really a baby. A great Word hung unspoken on the air, held at bay by the implacable will of a woman wailing for her demon lover. The sorrow of it would have broken Donal's heart, if he still had one. He chose a direction and walked back into the world that everyone else agreed was real. In front of him was the door to his psychiatrist's office. Dr. Oisin Benjamin. Donal smiled a not particularly nice or even sane smile. He pushed open the door without knocking, and strolled into Dr. Benjamin's office.
    The doctor looked up from his desk, startled, and moved his hand automatically to cover the notes he was writing. Dr. Benjamin was a great one for writing notes. He didn't look especially pleased to see his star patient. Donal sat down in the visitor's chair and crossed his legs casually.
    "Donal," said Dr. Benjamin, trying to sound pleasant and not at all nervous. "How did you… You're not supposed to be here, Donal. My appointments are over for the day. Why don't I ring for an attendant, to escort you back to your quarters…"
    He was already reaching for the hidden alarm button, to summon his bully boys in white coats, when Donal launched himself out of his chair. He threw himself across the top of the desk, merrily scattering important papers, and grasped Dr. Benjamin by the throat. The two of them fell backwards and crashed to the floor with Donal on top, straddling the doctor's chest. Dr. Benjamin struggled but couldn't break free, pinned down by Donal's wright. He opened his mouth to yell for help, and Donal hit him lightly in the face. There was a loud crack as the doctor's nose broke, and blood flew from his smashed mouth.
    "Sorry about that," said Donal. "Guess I don't know my own strength these days." He paused, trying out various expressions on his face to see which would impress the doctor the most. "Now, be still. I'm here for a little chat. One last pleasant conversation before it's time for me to go. You should be pleased, Doctor, you've been trying to get me to open up to you for ever so long, haven't you? Trying to get inside my head, to see the world as I do. Not a good idea, Dr. Benjamin. Trust me on this, if nothing else.
    Where I am, it is always cold and dark and someone's crying. It might even be me. I hear the voices of all those who died on the Rim Worlds, whispering around the edges of my thoughts. They don't like being dead again. And I can feel the Terror, moving slowly towards us, coming for us all. I want to run in every direction at once, but even more than that I want revenge. I want my thoughts to be my own again. I want my life to make sense again. I want my old life back! That's not so much to ask, is it? I'm going to destroy the Terror, for what it's done to me. And I can't do that while I'm still here. So I'm off. Things to do, things to do… But before I go, good Dr. Benjamin, I have a present for you. One last gift, to help you understand what's going on in my head."
    He surged to his feet, dragging Dr. Benjamin up with him as though he were weightless. He grabbed one of the doctor's shoulders in each hand, and pulled. Dr. Benjamin screamed horribly as he came apart, ripped in two, torn apart down the middle from the top of his head, down through his torso, and all the way to the groin. The two vertical halves fell away from each other as Donal let go, and crashed to the carpeted floor. There was blood, but not a lot, before Donal sealed off both halves through the force of his will. Dr. Benjamin thrashed weakly on the floor, still alive, reaching out with his seperated arms, a single eye rolling in each half head, and making horrible sounds with his half