Page 81 of Hollow

Astaroth used his newly acquired intel to provide Jack with the location of the chip embedded in Dimitri’s head. Dimitri sat in a wooden chair squarely in the center of the living room while Jack stood beside him, and Astaroth rolled around on the couch. The idea of Jack slipping his shadows into Dimitri’s skull frightened him, sure, but he wouldn’t leave the device dormant in his head even if Astaroth had assured him it would no longer function under his company policy.

“Who would want a silly gadget to administer torture and compliance?” Astaroth growled. “I swear, mortals sap the joy out of everything with their technological shortcuts.”

Dimitri did his best not to squirm as shadowed tendrils slithered deeper in his ear. As Jack worked, Astaroth rambled on about better methods of torture. Ways to break the nervous system of a victim without relying on some feeble chip. Dimitri did his best to tune Astaroth out as he went on in very explicit detail.

“Stop moving your head.” Jack snatched Dimitri by the hair, clutching his fingers tightly through the curls. “You know, usually, when I grab you like this, there is a much bigger payoff, but then again, I’m usually prodding a different hole.”

“Must you make poor humor about fellatio at a time like this?” Astaroth barked. “I’m in the middle of a conversation.”

Jack rolled his eyes and continued working.

“The whole point of torture is to get one’s hands bloody,” Astaroth continued. “And compliance is so much more satisfying when conditioned through physical and psychological torment. A silly chip like that strips away the creativity of carnage. I want no part of it.”

“Then maybe you should shelve these terrible things,” Jack said, wriggling around Dimitri’s head.

The shadows moved in such a way that Dimitri swore he could feel them right underneath his face. It was creepy and unnerving.

“I suppose I can eliminate some technologies if I apply the right pressure.”

“Don’t you have like stocks or some shit in multiple tech companies?”

“Well, yes, but that’s just part of my plan for global domination,” Astaroth explained. “Simplification has made the mortals duller and dumber, which in turn will make exploiting the masses far easier when I raise my armies to unleash destruction upon the land.”

“Oh, of course.” Jack chuckled as he worked. “Duh.”

He winked at Dimitri, who nervously smiled in response, careful not to move too much as Jack worked. It didn’t help that Jack seemed semi-distracted as he rooted around Dimitri’s skull.

“Got it,” Jack said, retrieving the chip.

Detaching it must have been more work than anticipated because Jack got very quiet as he tinkered. Dimitri broke out in a nervous sweat, waiting for Jack’s face to fill with a carefree smile.

“Souvenir?” Jack finally said as he held up the tiny, bloody chip.

“Burn it.” Dimitri made a disgusted face.

“Yes,” Astaroth added. “Let us hear the final squeals of the dying device.”

“It’s not alive,” Jack retorted.

“Shame. Then I am going to kill the air fryer.” Astaroth climbed off the couch. “She mocks my serving sizes.”

“Don’t destroy my kitchen gadgets,” Jack shouted. “She’s not mocking you. She’s just an automated voice with random one-liners to, like, help people make healthy food choices.”

“She is about to suffer for her unsolicited advice.” Astaroth trotted away.

Jack sighed. “He is insufferable.”

“He is a good dog,” Dimitri replied. “Very good, given all he has done.”

“Well, don’t thank him too much. It’ll make him even more insufferable.”

Jack plopped down on the couch and called Dimitri over. The pair lay there while metal clinked in the kitchen. Jack responded by turning the television up and ignoring Astaroth’s torture of the air fryer.

“Doesn’t he have an actual person to torture?” Jack huffed.

“He provides Patrick with brief breaks,” Dimitri replied, having made a similar inquiry.

It turned out that Astaroth would allow Patrick to escape, only for him to get lost in the woods and be recaptured by the wicked demon dog. Now, it seemed Patrick didn’t bother running, instead begging for an end. Dimitri hoped Astaroth didn’t offer him an easy end.