Doug ran through the hotel hallways, panting as her was trying to stay clear of the murder monkeys. He looked at the tablet Bierce gave him to see how many soul shards were left. There were five left, all in one corner. Doug waited when he saw the menacing bellhop monkey charge past him. Once it was out of sight, he pressed on. He ran in the direction when he noticed eight spots running towards the soul shards. They didn't look like the murder monkeys but he wasn't sure if whatever the things were dangerous. He made it to the corner and to his astonishment were eight plush toys, picking up the shards and studying them. One was a female black sheep, the second was a crow, the third was a rat, the fourth was a pink and white bat (who was fighting the sheep over the shards) the fifth was an alligator, the sixth was a red dragon, the seventh was a gilla monster, and the eighth was shark. "Hey, what are you doing with those soul shards?" Doug pointed and asked.
"Whose asking?" The crow asked.
"Finders keepers." The alligator chuckled.
"They are beautiful crystals so they belong to us." the bat replied.
"Don't you know what those even are?" Doug asked. "They are soul shards. They aren't gemstones! They are the remnants of souls that were destroyed here."
The sheep bleated, "Are you saying this the afterlife? We aren't dead or dying."
Doug scratched his head. "Then how did you get here?"
The sheep explained, "We are toys trapped in a toy factory called 'Playtime Co.' We were teenagers before we were turned into toys. We were trapped in there for years until we saw a portal open. We decided we wanted to escape and we all hopped through, and here we are."
Doug said, "The portals only open when someone dies. You must have hijacked it."
"Yup, we are making this place our new home." the alligator replied.
"No, if you want to live! There are dangerous bellhop monkeys who will rip you all to pieces." Doug asked. Just as he spoke, a murder monkey spotted them and screeched. "Shoot! We've been spotted!" Doug gasped.
"Well, take us somewhere safe!" the sheep shouted. "Don't just stand there!"
"Right, gather the shards and follow me!" Doug led the eight critters out of the halls and towards an elevator. The eight critters followed him in. Doug managed to close the doors in time before the monkeys attacked them.
"So we are in Hell?" the shark asked.
"Sort of, these are the nightmare realms, they are ruled by a demon called Malak." Doug replied.
"What's your name?" the sheep asked.
"Doug Houser." the man replied.
"Well, we are the nightmare critters." the sheep said.
"And you were all human children?" Doug asked.
"Yes, until we got experimented on by Dr. Harley Sawyer." the crow said. We saw an old employee enter our territory. He was going to try to destroy the doctor. Twenty minutes later, the portal opened and we hopped in."
Doug deducted, "Then that is how you all got here! The portal was meant for the doctor's soul. Now he resides here with Malak and his demonic army."
"Are you dead?" asked the gilla monster.
"Almost, my body in dying in a hospital."
"Well, do very guilty people end up here?" the shark asked.
"Yes." he replied.
"Well, we did kill and eat the workers who tormented us." the sheep said.
"You WHAT!" Doug cried out.
"Chillax, we aren't eating you." the crow said.
"What did you do to end up down here?" the bat asked.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Doug said. "You haven't told me your names yet."
"I'm Rabie Baby." the bat said. "And I want to know what dark secrets you are hiding."
"Nice try." Doug muttered. "You are not finding out."
"I'm Poe." said the Crow. "I like to dwell in dark places."
"I'm Baba Chops, and I prefer being alone. My friends always drag me out." the sheep muttered.
"I am Maggie Mako, and I only eat anything processed or sugary."
The gilla monster was next. "I'm Icky Licky, and I am not to blame if I sprain my ankle running out of here."
"I'm Allister Gator, and I love to chill out."
"For three months at least." Raby Baby giggled.
"Harumph!" Allister Gater growled.
"I'm Touille." the rat said. "I love to talk and collect anything that looks cool."
"And I'm Simon Smoke." The dragon grinned. "I'm the strongest one and the leader."
"No, I'm leader." Baba Chops argued. "You better remember that, Simon."
"Aha!" Raby Baby said with excitement! "Doug, I know exactly why you're here, you naughty boy!"
Doug gave the bat an unconvincing look. "Oh yeah, why?"
"You are a ladies' man." Raby Baby said. "No girl can resist a big, strong, hansom man like you. I also bet you're a rich man too."
"What's your profession?" Simon asked.
"Erm, a lawyer." Doug answered.
"Aha! Lawyers can be very rich too!" Raby Baby said.
"Since how is being hansom and wealthy a crime?" Icky Licky asked.
"He's a seducer." Raby Baby responded.
"I don't seduce women." Doug lied. He didn't want the nightmare critters discovering his past crimes.
"And he sold his soul to Malak! That's how he got rich!" Raby Baby gossiped.
"No, I worked hard to get the money." Doug objected.
"Then I know why you are here." Raby Baby said. "Doug Houser, you are a WITCH!"
Doug's jaw dropped. "How on Earth did you come up with a story like that?"
"Do you have any of Malak's powers?" Raby Baby asked.
"No." Doug lied. His eye twitched.
"Where did you get the tablet?" Simon asked.
"From a woman called Bierce. I am taking you to her where we will all be safe. She's the one I am giving the soul shards to."
"Is she a witch?" Maggie asked.
"She did give me some of Malak's powers." Doug answered without thinking.
"So you are a witch." Baba chops said. "You work for a higher sorceress."
"Will you stop calling me a witch!" Doug said annoyed.
"That would be a shame because I would happily volunteer to be your familiar." Raby Baby said.
"Nah, a girl witch would like you as her a familiar. A man's familiar would be a dragon like me!" Simon said.
The elevator doors opened. "Hurry, let's get out of here!" Doug said. They ran through the lobby with the murder monkey screeching behind them. They managed to charge through the portal, just in the nick of time. They found themselves in a strange ballroom.
A woman in a black dress and gray hair spoke. "Doug, you managed to come back in one piece and you brought some toys with you."
"Hey, lady, we are not toys!" Baba Chops shouted.
"Well, we were people." Raby Baby said. "We are his witch's familiars now."
"Really?" Bierce looked amused. "Would you all like to help Doug with his quest?"
"Sign us up!" Maggie said.
"Good, because you aren't just traveling through nightmare realms, but to realities of other worlds. Some strange forces have teamed up with Malak to use a new strategy to keep us from rebuilding "The Riddle of Heaven". It's a magic ring that will grant people a wish."
"Ooh, I think this is going to be awesome." Maggie Mako said.
"But you are going to have to suffer to get it."
"Bring it on!" Simon grinned.
Doug sighed to himself, "I hope those nightmare critters understand what they are going to go through to achieve this!"

End of Chapter