Drag me to hell

The long stretch of road was dusty with sand and dried tumbleweed being constantly blown across the desert next to it. A man in a gray wife-beater and black jeans was walking slowly but intently down the crusted concrete. His steps bounced in his black combat boots raising speckles of dust in the air every time he lifted his feet. Music glared from his earphones. He had just passed a sign that said he has 60 more miles to go. Every now and then he took a bored look back in hopes of seeing a car. His short, silvery hair shivering in the wind. The last car he had seen had passed him a day before without so much as slowing down to hear him out. Back then he looked at least a bit decent. He had a cut on the back of his left shoulder that probably needed medical attention. It was about two inches deep and was covered in sand and dust. The heat did nothing to better the situation.
Not paying attention he stumbled and fell. As his earphones fell out he heard a car approaching from behind. He kicked backed and raised a finger gesturing that he needs a lift. The car was a warm coffee color and without a roof. It reminded him of something Presley would drive. He couldn't remember the what the name of the brand was. The car slowly stopped to a halt a little further behind him. He got up slowly. Picking up his earphones as he did. He approached the car and leaned on the empty passenger door, hiding his wound, and looked up to find a young woman by the steering wheel, slowly inhaling smoke from a cigarette she was holding loosely in her slim fingers.
- So, handsome, what's your name?
She gave the man a slick smile, smoke dripping from between her gleaming white teeth.
- Andrew, mam.
He took a short pause.
- Mind giving me a lift?
Andrew gave the woman a cheeky smile.
It was visible that he was nervous. His face didn't show it but his fingers kept tapping a maddening rhythm on the door he was leaning on.
- Well.. Andrew, I think we can arrange something. You get a ride and I get a story. This trip is awfully boring. You might be my chance to spruce it up a little bit.
She inhaled the smoke again slowly, eyes fixated on the distance in front of them.
Andrew was a bit reluctant. He had never been much for talking. Even less so about his life. Especially his recent endeavors. He struggled to swallow but finally worded his response.
- You got a deal.
He opened the door and got in. He'd always wanted to jump into one of these roofless cars but he was tired and didn't want to risk damaging the car with a failed attempt.
The woman dropped her cigarette and started the car. Andrew moved his head to the side so that wind would cool his face. It whipped at his face but the air felt so much better against the heat that he didn't care. The woman unwrapped a cough drop and gracefully slid it between her thin, red lips. She gave Andrew a wink and stretched her neck exhaling deeply as she did. Then she began to speak.
- So, sugarplum  what brings you out here and what's with that atrocious choice of hair color? You're not 80 years old are you?
She turned her head toward the silver haired man in the passenger seat and slid her sunglasses down on her nose revealing a deep gaze that seemed almost hypnotic. Andrew realized just now that he hadn't even noticed that the woman had sunglasses on the whole time. Or what her face really looked like. He'd been too fixated on everything else to even take a look. His face lit up red so he turned his gaze towards the desert they were speeding through. He could feel the woman grinning behind him.
- That's a nasty scar you've got there.
Andrew cringed as he felt a cold finger slide across the skin next his injury. At the very least he could avoid answering about his hair.
- It's nothing. I got into a little scrape a ways down the road.
Scenes of fire, shouting and a lot of gunfire blinked trough his mind like old motion picture frames. The fall, the unlikely survival, the man jumping after him. The knife.
- 'A little scrape' in the middle of the desert? You just happened to be wondering around here?
Her voice sounded smirk yet warm. The mixture unnerved Andrew. It felt as if he was sinking.
- No, it's my first time in this country.
As much as tried he couldn't hide it. She could sense just how lost he felt. His usual hard, go-to-town attitude didn't last even ten minutes with this woman.
- And you end up in the desert? Didn't even visit an airport.
She sounded puzzled yet sly.
- I guess you could say someone pulled an elaborate prank on me..
- That's a bit far for a prank don't you think?
- I've had worse.
The woman removed her 'passion red' chopstick from the purse lying next to her and proceeded to add a fresh layer of it over her lips. Andrew gazed at her completely mesmerized. He was a bit startled when she began to talk again.
-So I guess the gray hair makes sense now.
She gave him a quick glanced and continued.
- I suppose that little scrape has something to do with the plane that crashed?
- It crashed?
- So I struck gold again..
The woman gave herself a cat like smile in the mirror and placed the chopstick back in the bag.
- We'll be there soon.
- There?
- A place of a million lights.
- That's where your journey ends?
- No, but that's where our separate journeys begin.
Her words cut the conversation. They rode in complete silence. Andrew wondered who the woman was and what she was doing in such a place, wherever they were. But he didn't dare to ask. Somehow he knew he wouldn't get his answers. Not too long and he began to see lights in the distance.
- Las Vegas, baby! Woooooh!
The woman started laughing and turned on the stereo.
"Can you see the Joker flying over~" Blared from the speakers as they left nothing but dust behind them.

Solution

- Take a seat in that chair.
Annie pointed Ace to a large, padded chair in the middle of the room. She carried a small table next to it and put a platter with tools and medicine there. Ace sat down and looked at Barry who gave him a reassuring smile and a nod. Ace exhaled deeply and laid back. Suddenly he was pushed deep into the chair and couldn't move the slightest bit. He could only stare forward and listen.
- I guess I should have let you know we're staring.
- HAH! You scared the living crap outa'im!
Barry's hearty laughter did in no way reassure Ace. Annie stepped into Ace's line of vision and bent forward for him to hear better.
- It's going to hurt like hell so please don't squirm.
She stretched her arm, looked at Ace and directed her hand towards him. Fingers stretched.
The ring on her slender finger began to glow and slowly covered her in dark light. Once it had engulfed her the light launched towards Ace. It pierced trough his chest and it could be seen from the pain in Ace's eyes - it wasn't done with just that. His eyes started rolling back into his head.
- Barry! Take the MD from the table and administer it on Ace!
- The MD? What is that?
- A morphine dose. Quick!
- You could have just said that.
Barry took a syringe, stumbled over to Ace and, without much ceremony, stabbed him square in the chest. In a moment Ace's eyes returned to their place and didn't appear half as terrified as they had been before. Barry exhaled with relief and planted himself on a couch opposite of Ace. The dark tentacles started going in and out of Ace as if sewing him. Annie was trembling but her eyes were firmly focused on Ace. Then, with a final snap the tentacles retreated into the ring on Annie's finger and she fell to her knees. Barry was there immediately and helped her get up. With the help of Barry she got to the table and took a vial of solution. Gripping it in her hand she stumbled over to Ace and stabbed another needle into his chest. This one intended to fix him up for good. Ace slowly regained his movement and quickly removed both needles.
- I absolutely hate them.
- Hate what?
- Needles, Barry, needles. And I just got STABBED with two of them!
Ace threw the syringes into the furthest corner of the room.
- Ace, I think you should be saying thank you to someone here.
Barry nudged his head towards Annie who was now completely lying in Barry's arms.
Ace stepped closer and found her wondering gaze.
- Thanks.. umm.. I don't know what I'd do without you.
- Heh, you'd probably die.

The response ruffled Ace a bit and he snapped back.
- Well I'm not THAT useless, mind you.
Annie slowly looked up at Ace.
- Bring me your sword.

Ace looked at her. Puzzled slightly. Was she going to try and stab him again?
- My sword? What do you need that piece of garbage for?
- I've got something that might change your mind about it.
Ace looked into her eyes for a moment, but not sensing any faltering in her resolve he stepped out of the room and went to the car. The sword was sort of a relic. He liked it but it hadn't proven to be of much use. It's not like you can stand up against guns with a mere blade nor can you hide it efficiently so it could be used by surprise. He took the sword from the floor of the rear end of the car and went back inside.
Annie was sitting on the couch with the table in front of her. On the table there was a white cube  Solution. Ace slowly went towards her.
- Where did you get solution so pure? 

Getting solution in such a state was rare if not impossible.
- You gave it to me.
She gave Ace a wry smile.
- Give me your sword.
Ace placed his blade on the table next to the cube.
- What do you mean by "you gave it to me"?
Barry looked at him with a look that Ace was unable to read. He was hiding something.
- Ace, this came from you. I had a feeling that this is the case so I wanted to make sure. Ace. This is your blood.

The boy, the bear and the enchantress

Dust  was being dragged in the air as the black SUV rushed along the dirt road next to an enormous lake. There were hardly any clouds in the sky so the sun had heated the car up to an ungodly temperature. The front passenger seat was covered in fast food containers laid on top of Ace's dusty coat. The windows were up as the dust around the car would make the already damp air unbreatheable. Ace could hear his friend snoring in the back seat. 

- I hope she's not as upset as we think she is..
- She'll rip your balls off the moment she sees your face.
The giant man in the back seat let out a deep laugh that was interrupted by a snore.
- I thought you were asleep.
- Can't sleep with you blabbering.
- That's usually not an issue for you Barry.
- We're about to have our heads chewed off, you think I can get some proper sleep while I know that?
- It's not you she's mad at..
- Yeah but if you puss her off I'm more likely to get torn a new one.
- We're almost there. Brace yourself.
The SUV slowed down as it took the last few meters to the wooden house. It was rather beautiful and calming after the city and it's skyscrapers.
The car crawled to a halt by the front entrance. Both men stepped out of the vehicle and took a few reluctant steps toward the door.
- You know, I think I could try living with my ribs like this. There's still time to turn back.
- Ace, you take on armed men like it's nothing. You even took down a tank for christsake. Don't tell me you're afraid of one little-
- DON'T EVEN DARE TO CALL ME LITTLE YOU GODDAMN BEAR! AND DID EITHER OF YOU SHITS NOTICE WHERE YOU PARKED YOUR DAMN HEAP OF METAL? I GREW THOSE PLANTS FOR- UGH. I hate you.
- Nice to see you again Annie.
The girl in front of Barry and Ace had dark hair haphazardly pin in the back yet it was still covering a good portion of her face. That could be from her furiously rushing trough her house to yell at her arriving guests. She held her arms crossed on her chest like an upset child. The dark ring resting on her left band's index finger had caught Ace's attention as he knew all too well what it can do.
- You're always a charmer.
Barry's deep laugh was did nothing to warm her up.
She nimbly slid down the steps and put her arms around Ace's waist, crushing him as hard as she could.
- I hope you're ready, because l'll make sure that the pain is so terrible you'd wish you were dead.
Her whisper was slow and sent shivers down Ace's spine. Of course, she knew they wouldn't just visit her for the 'fun' of it.
Leaving her hand wrapped around Ace, the girl ushered both men inside.

The house was refreshingly cool after the long car ride. The smell of tea hanged in the air. There were landscape photos and pictures of wolves along the hall. On the other side there was another door leading to a terrace. The lake could be seen from there.
Annie took Ace and Barry into a conjoined room.
- Make yourselves comfortable. I have to get prepared. What exactly did you do this time?
- I entered an overdrive with broken ribs I-
- YOU FUCKING IDIOT! You expect me to break you apart and put you together again?
- I figured you'd enjoy it..
- I.. Why would you enter an overdrive with such heavy injuries?
Barry slowly extended the blood soaked dagger towards Annie.
- Annabelle. Ace didn't have a choice.
Annie stared at the blade. Clearly shocked. Her hands were trembling. She rushed out of the room without a word. The room went silent. A grand clock announced the time with two loud rings.