CHAPTER ONE

Hell Hunter
By Shaun Avery

I stand before the gates of Hell, a machete in one hand, a camera in the other. I consider my plan. And then I enter.

There are people who’ll pay, you see. Think of those left behind when the Cenobites come. The wives and husbands. Imagine what they’d give for vengeance. That’s where I come in. And I need no box. There are many portals to Hell.

I watch my prey. As I step forward, he turns. Making that dreaded sound. That infernal chattering. I swing the machete. The blade slices through his torso, and it topples to the ground. His legs continue to stand for a second, before they, too, collapse. I smile. And then I take a picture.

My client pays well for proof of revenge. See, people always go for the Lead Cenobite. But he’ll be expecting it. So my plan was: go for a minion. I succeeded. But then late one night, I hear something. ‘Oh no,’ I say. I hear it again. ‘Oh God.’ I step out of my bedroom. He is coming up the stairs towards me. The Chatterer. Minus his legs, now he is crawling. I take a step back. But he stops me. The Lead Cenobite. ‘There are many portals to Hell,’ he says. ‘You did not close them all when you returned.’ Then The Chatterer is upon me, and I realise with horror that he will not need legs to take his vengeance upon me. All he will need is teeth.

Shaun Avery is a crime and horror fiction fan with stories upcoming in many anthologies and magazines. The Chatterer has always been his favourite Cenobite in the Hellraiser movies/comics/books. He makes no apologies for this.