Consciousness returned slowly, as if he were surfacing from the depths of a dark ocean. First Alexander felt the cold surface beneath his back, then the sickeningly familiar smell of sulfur and decay. And finally, the sound of slow, mocking claps.
*Clap. Clap. Clap.*
Alexander opened his eyes and saw a familiar office. The same gothic windows, the same gloomy atmosphere. The Devil sat on his massive mahogany chair, leaning on it and continuing his mocking applause.
- Bravo! - proclaimed the Devil, and his voice sounded like a chorus of a dozen different tones. - Simply bravo! What an amazing performance!
Alexander tried to rise and was surprised to find that his right arm was intact again. No sign of injury, no pain. Only the bitterness of defeat and anger at himself.
- First failure in five missions," he said glumly, sitting down on the cold stone floor. - I hope you're pleased.
- Oh, more than satisfied! - The Devil raised his index finger, and his face became the face of a smiling clown for a moment before changing back to something uncertain. - You know, I was beginning to think you were getting too predictable. Four successful missions in a row is nice, but boring.
The Devil's appearance kept changing from a young handsome man with aristocratic features, to an ancient old man with burning eyes, to something between a man and a beast. The only thing that remained unchanged was a mocking but not malicious smile and a penetrating gaze.
- And now you've finally shown that you can be wrong, too," the Devil continued, his voice dropping to a bass growl and then rising to an almost childlike timbre. - It's refreshing!
- Glad to be entertaining," Alexander replied dryly, rising to his feet. - What happened after my... retreat?
- Ah! You want to know! - The devil clapped his hands, and the air was filled with images. - Of course you do!
Alexander saw Pennywise, crippled but alive. The monster slowly recovered from their battle and then went hunting. First he found Bill, Beverly, and Ben, who were hiding in the woods near the house.
Then the rest of the children scattered to their homes.
One by one, they were dying. Bill - disheveled in the image of his dead brother. Beverly, strangled by her father's ghost. Ben - crushed by his own fears. The other children met equally gruesome ends.
- All dead," Devil reported, but there was no gloating in his voice. More a statement of fact. - Each a brutal death. The mission is a complete failure.
- You gave me too strong an opponent," Alexander objected. - That thing was practically invulnerable.
- Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!" the Devil shook his head, his appearance changed to that of a stern teacher. - Is my best agent complaining about the difficulty of the task?
The Devil got up from the table and began to walk around Alexander. His appearance changed with each step - from an elegant gentleman in a tuxedo, to a primitive monster with claws, to something abstract and inhuman.
- Remind me," he said with a chuckle, "how did you deal with the creatures from the other dimensions, then with Creeper? And Moder? And finally the archangel?
- It was different," Alexander began.
- In another way? - The devil stopped in front of him, his face becoming serious.
- Alexander, you have made a contract with me. A very important contract. You travel to horror movies, interfere in the plot, save the main characters and destroy the villains. That's your job.
- I know the terms of the contract! - Alexander snapped at me.
- Then why are you complaining? - The Devil shrugged his shoulders. - Nowhere in the contract does it say that the tasks will be easy. It only says that you have to do them.
The Devil returned to the table and sat down, his appearance stabilized - a tall, thin man in an expensive suit with a face that was both handsome and slightly demonic.
- Besides," he added, "you couldn't just leave Derry. You were contractually obligated to follow through. So don't lie to me about having a choice.
Alexander crossed his arms over his chest:
- What now? Penalty area?
- Ah! You remember! - The Devil rejoiced. - Yes, the penalty zone. Although, given your record, I could be lenient....
He paused, clearly enjoying the uncertainty.
- But no! - he clapped his hands. - Rules are rules! If you fail a mission, you have to go back to work!
The atmosphere in the office changed, became more serious. The Devil leaned back in his chair:
- However, let me explain how it works. After all, you've never failed once in four missions, so you don't know the details.
He snapped his fingers, and images of various horror movies appeared in the air - old haunted mansions, abandoned hospitals, forests with maniacs.
- 'When you fail a mission,' the Devil began, 'you lose all your powers. Forever. Your sword disappears, your abilities are gone, your power is gone. You become an ordinary man.
- That makes sense," Alexander nodded, already guessing the catch.
- So, your past abilities will disappear. - The Devil continued, - you need to pass the penalty zone to get new ones. And the penalty zone is one horror movie.
- That doesn't sound so scary.
- Wait, I'm not done yet! - The Devil raised his finger. - I'm putting your soul into the body of a random character in a random horror movie. Your job is simply to survive from start to finish.
- But there are nuances! - First of all, you don't know what kind of movie you're going to be in. It could be anything from an old classic to a modern slasher.
- I see.
- Secondly," the Devil smiled, "you find yourself in the body of a character I choose. It could be the protagonist, or it could be a victim who has to die in the first five minutes.
- And if I die?
- 'If you die,' the Devil shrugged, 'you just resurrect in the same place, and try again. But with each death, the time of the penalty zone increases.
'It could be worse,' Alexander thought.
He stood up and walked over to the window:
- You know, I'm even a little curious to see how you'll do. In four missions you've shown yourself quite capable. Let's see if you can keep your cool without your superpowers.
- What about memory? - Alexander asked.
- Ah! Good question! - The devil turned to him. - In the penalty area, you will remember who you are. So don't worry about it.
- Thank the Devil? Thank you in short.
- One last thing," the Devil added, "like I said, if you successfully pass the penalty zone, you'll get a new ability. Plus a small bonus for resilience.
- What kind of bonus?
- You'll see, if you survive," the Devil smiled enigmatically.
He walked up to Alexander and put his hand on his shoulder:
- You know, despite your failure, you remain one of my best agents. So I'm going to give you one piece of advice.
- What's that?
- 'Don't try to be a hero in the penalty area,' Devil said seriously. - Your job is to survive, not to save everyone around you. Remember that.
- Good luck to you, Alexander! - he said with genuine friendliness. - And try not to fail.
- Of course. - Alexander replied.
- See you later! And don't worry - as soon as you pass the penalty zone, I'll have a new interesting task for you!
The world began to dissolve. The last thing Alexander saw was the Devil's reassuring smile and his ever-changing face.
And then everything plunged into darkness.