Caliga

The candle lights flickered as the slight breeze of the night entered the dark room. Montana Mills got to his feet and secured the window, closing his only way out. He then stared at the weird symbols and drawings on the floor and felt a chill running up his spine.

"I'm way out of options. At least I could cross this out of my bucket list."

He made his way to one side and picked up the plastic sachet lying on the floor. It was a repacked dosage and one described to be party use. It shouldn't hit him too much in case he messed up.

At the very least, he'd die.

A slight smile curled Montana's lips and poured the contents into his mouth. Before it could completely take effect, he performed the remaining of the ritual. His head began to spin, and he started losing his touch on reality.

One moment, he was staring blankly; the next, he was laughing out at nothing.

A draft coming from behind him made him lie down on the floor. His bed was steps away, and there was nothing which could encourage a breeze from coming. When he turned his head towards the bed, he saw a beauty gazing down at him.

Her long reddish hair draped down her side, and she had her head tilted as if meeting his gaze from his upside-down view. Her skin was radiant white, and her eyes were the bluest he had ever seen.

Montana then laughed out before sitting up and scooting to face the woman reclining on his bed. She wasn't wearing any clothes or even tried to cover anything she had. However, her eyes had been rather not amused.

Smiling like an idiot, Montana was about to speak when her melodious voice traveled to his ears.

"You've been laughing and crying, brooding and then celebrating for a few minutes. You're lucky I'm still hearing you out." She then flicked her gaze at the symbol on the floor. "Even your invocation is half-assed."

"Madame, can I pet your hellhound?"

"My hellhound?" The woman raised her brows. Did he mean something else with that? She then sat up properly and spread her legs in the guise of stretching. "Which hellhound do you want to pet?"

"A big boy… a good boy!" Montana started giggling as his arms waved as if suggesting a size of a big dog.

The woman then glared at him. He was asking for a real hellhound? She then crossed her legs. "I don't have a hellhound."

Montana then changed expression and threw a tantrum. "I thought you demons grant any wish! I want to pet your hellhound!"

A brow rose, and the woman couldn't believe what she was seeing. Did this man want to get eaten alive?

However, she responded to this call for a reason. Since she already had expended a lot of energy and time to be here, she sighed and sent a message to her minions to fetch a hellhound. Even if they had to steal one, she didn't care.

A huff then blew on Montana's face. When he turned to his side, he saw a creature that resembled a wolf. Yet, it was black, and its eyes were glowing red. Its sharp ears and slender legs made it look more like a giant dog than a wolf. Its fur was also short and prickly. Moreover, its breath reeked of decaying flesh.

"Hellhound…" Montana whispered as he reached out and placed his hand on the hound's head. His palm grazed against the prickly fur, but he didn't bother about it. He then started maniacally smiling as he used both hands in petting the hound. "Such an evil boy…"

The hound's eyes moved down at the human and then to the woman who summoned him. She only snorted and reclined on the bed again.

"I have already given you the hellhound. Now, aren't you interested in anything else?" The woman hummed as she was prepared to make a deal. Right, this man was so lazy and shut-off that he didn't do things that he didn't deem necessary to live… to the point of making him feel suffocated by such a mundane life he created. Moreover, he wasn't bound to any ambition.

Such a man was what she sought for.

"No, I just want to pet the hellhound. Evil boy… who's the evil boy, yeah, it's you…"

"…one of the demon princes of Hell is in front of you, and you're not making any deals with me aside from petting a goddamn hellhound?"

"Hey! Don't you dare curse a hellhound!" Montana suddenly grabbed the hellhound in a protective stance and covered its sharp ears. "No, no, I love you, baby…"

A smile curled the woman's lips as she sat up straight again. She then snickered in the background, seeing Montana cooing at the hellhound. "I see… okay, I'll let you have the hellhound. His name is Caliga. Though you would need to feed him if you want to keep him."

Montana's eyes lit up as he flung his gaze at the naked woman. "I can have the hellhound? What do I feed him? Meat? Will frozen work?"

"Idiot. Hellhounds only eat human souls. Are you prepared to kill just to feed your little… evil boy?"

"…a soul?" He turned to the dog who only stared back at him. Montana then looked at the woman again. He kept on flinging his head back and forth, and so he felt lightheaded. He just took hold of his forehead and winced at the sudden pain.

Bang! He fell straight to the floor.

The woman's smile dropped as fast as he did. It seemed that the person couldn't finish his contract signing. She then sighed again and shook her aching head. Even though she was happy to work with lazy, unambitious creatures; she wasn't saved from their antics.

"Caliga, take care of him for me. I'll just come back when I have finished my other works."

The hellhound nodded and got to his feet. He sniffed near the candles and huffed through his nose to blow them all out.

…

The sun slipped past the curtains that were drawn to let the light in. The stark light shone on Montana's face, to which he responded with a groan and a roll to the side. However, he suddenly shot up to a sitting position as he remembered a few of what he did last night. Then again, his head hurt from suddenly sitting up, and he cried in pain.

Lick. Something huge licked his hand while it was cradling his head. Montana didn't remember owning a dog so he didn't know what could have licked him. More when the very thing snorted just next to him, making his breath of decay reach Montana's nose.

The human grabbed his own nose immediately and turned to see a huge horrifying black dog next to him. On his mouth was a piece of paper with words written on it. When Montana received it, his eyes slowly took in every letter written on it.

'Take care of Caliga since you said you wanted to pet a hellhound regularly. If you let anyone know about his existence, he will run back to Hell. Feed him a human once a week. -Belphegor'

"What?" Montana didn't understand, but he knew that whatever was happening couldn't be reversed anymore. Besides, the dog in front of him seemed to be well-trained and wouldn't dare destroy his things. However, he eyed at the letter again and read the last line.

"Feed you with a human? What? Do I have to dig graves?" Montana rubbed his aching head and then turned to the huge dog again. "Do you even eat corpses?"

Caliga's ears folded, and he lowered his head. Montana then brought his hand on the dog's head to pet him. "I… I'll try to find a way. I have a week, right?"

Before he could think about other things, his alarm sounded from the bedside table. It was already six in the morning, and he had to prepare for work. His face fell into a sad look before bringing his gaze to what seemed to be his new dog now.

"How did I even win a hellhound?"

…

Montana was very different from what he was last night. Caliga watched him do his routine for the morning and even followed him out of the house. Since the hellhound wasn't seen by anyone, he felt safe to come with his new master.

It was Caliga's first morning in the mortal realm, and he hadn't seen much of it before. He only knew that humans were delicious to feed on.

Small animals like normal dogs and cats bark and hiss at the sight of the hellhound. However, Caliga paid them no attention as he kept on walking next to Montana on his way to office. Unlike yesterday, the man wasn't only clad in underwear; he looked so respectful in that suit… yet boring.

Caliga and Montana sat on the subway on their way to his workplace. A woman who had a baby with her entered and sat next to them. Even if Montana moved easily to give her enough space, the baby still cried as soon as she saw Caliga seated between Montana's legs. However, the mother only apologized as she consoled her baby.

After a few more minutes of walking, Montana finally reached his building. When he led the way, a bicycle zoomed right in front of him. Montana gasped as he felt the wheels roll on his foot twice. His toes ached as soon as Montana's ass hit the ground.

However, the bicycle wobbled. The rider fell since a shoe was too big a bump. He crashed on the asphalt, impeding a crowd of people along with Montana.

"Hey, you!" The rider decided to hold Montana responsible even if he was at fault. "Why did you push me, ah?!"

"I didn't—!" Montana was going to argue as he cried, but he saw Caliga stand in front of him.

As the hellhound stood in between him and the unsuspecting rider, Caliga only had one thought. Would it be too early for lunch?