I watched as Jon helped Private Hudson to his feet. "It's a good thing you happened to have a dimensional portal closing hand grenade with you," I told him.

"Actually," Jon answered, "that was just a regular concussion grenade I had borrowed from Hudson as we were running in. I didn't know what we were going to find."

"Yeah, what the hell was that thing?" Hudson asked in that slightly whiny voice of his.

"That was Mephisto, the Dark Lord," I told them.

"So what, is he like the devil?" Hudson asked.

"He tries to be, I suppose. He's actually a kind of alien ruling his own dimension that he does pattern after hell. There are a few other beings similar to him and they all compete for human souls. Seems to bolster their power somehow."

"And what did he want with me, do you suppose?" Jon asked.

"He said your soul was particularly powerful. I wouldn't worry though, his ability to move between dimensions is limited. I doubt he'll be able to return here for -"

A sudden loud hum pierced the air, cutting off my words. With a searing flash, the misty portal re-opened and two long red arms reached out and grabbed the back of Jon's tunic.

"You cannot deny the will of Mephisto!" a dark voice shouted from the other side as Jon was pulled through the gap.

Hudson instantly leaped for the portal but it closed as soon as Jon was through. Hudson hit the floor hard.

"Oh great!" he wailed. "What the hell do we do now??"