Addy looked over at the approaching demons and understood. She lowered her shotgun and made it onto the bus. Then she turned back and said, “Well, what are you waiting for?”
Smithy put a hand on David’s back and ushered the tiny demon back onto the bus. The women inside whimpered, but they accepted his presence. Mass climbed on board and heard Smithy reassuring them.
Tox grabbed Mass’s waist and started helping him down the aisle. “Hell of a couple of days, huh?”
Mass’s vision was spinning. He wanted, more than anything, to be back at Portsmouth. No more being out in the field. He just wanted to be safe. “I fucked up so bad, Tox. Everyone is dead.”
“Not everyone,” he said. “And we have a busload of innocent women who will be thanking you later.”
“But—”
“No more thinking, Mass. You’ve earned a little silence, so leave things to the rest of us.”
Mass clambered onto a seat near the front. The comfort was amazing, his heavy body sinking into the worn cushion. Almost immediately he began to fall asleep. It was only Nas’s screams that kept him alert. He could’ve looked out the window to see what was happening to the man, but it was better to imagine it. Hopefully it hurt enough to make the man see how misguided he had been. The world had no room for zealots. Religion was dead.
The soft grumble of the engine and the vibrations through the seat was finally enough to make Mass close his eyes and try to sleep. They were getting out of there. They were going home.
13
Tox took the driver’s seat, which allowed Smithy to take a breather. While he was nowhere near the state Mass was in, with his torn throat and bloodshot eyes, he was utterly exhausted. He took a seat with David, who stared out the window with fascination, and toyed with the yellow scarf around his sliced forearm. It made him think about Harriet. He had barely known the women, yet it hurt his heart that he never would. She had been damaged and afraid, but brave and decent. He wondered how many people like that were still alive.
Were they really heading back to Portsmouth? Were there people there? Safety? Could he finally get off the road and stop surviving? Start living? It seemed impossible. The end of an endless nightmare.
The women were all huddled at the back of the coach with Addy watching over them, but when he peered back at them, none made eye contact. What must they have been through? It made him happy that Nas and all his followers were dead. He had watched the man get torn apart by the burnt men and the primate. His hook had come loose and tumbled into the mud. Once the demons swarmed over him, it was the only part of him left.
“We go safe place?” David asked. One of his eyes seemed to have died in its socket. It no longer moved when the other one did. How much time did he have left? Was there any way to help him?
Smithy nodded. “Yeah, buddy. The fighting is over now. We’re going to a safe place.”
David smiled, all his teeth now gone. “Good. Dave happy.”
Smithy welled up with tears. He didn’t know whether it was the tiredness, the relief of surviving, or if he was sad for this little demon who had somehow become his friend. David had had multiple chances to run, but he had come back every time. David was as much a warrior as anyone on this coach.
To keep himself from weeping, Smithy got up and headed for the front of the bus. He passed by Mass, who had fallen asleep within a minute of sitting down, and carried on until he was up front with Tox.
Tox was rolling the large steering wheel back and forth as he manoeuvred away from the containers. They hadn’t yet made it away from the demons, but they no longer felt like a threat. After being smashed to pieces by the coach, they were battered and broken too. Both sides were licking their wounds.
“We lost a lot of good people,” said Tox, glancing only partially at Smithy, “but I’m glad we were able to pick a few up. Those women will need all the help we can give them, but you’re going to be welcomed like the hero you are, Smithy. If Addy hadn’t found you, I don’t think any of us would’ve made it.”
“We all did our bit,” said Smithy. “I think we would have failed without any one of us.”
Tox smiled. “I think so too. That’s why it’s so important that we stick together. Portsmouth is a safe place, but only because we fight to protect it. You up for that?”
“I’ve been fighting since this thing began. I’m just glad I’ll get to do it beside other people.”
“You won’t ever have to fight alone again, Smithy. You know why?”
Smithy shook his head. “No, why?”
“Because you’re an Urban Vampire. Welcome to the family.”
“I’m not quite sure what that means, but thank you. I’m grateful you people found me. I’m just sorry you lost so much.”
Tox nodded. “I suppose that’s war. It never gets any…”
Smithy frowned. “What is it?”
Tox lifted his foot off the accelerator and let the coach lose speed as it neared the edge of the field. “Look!”
Smithy stared ahead and slightly to the left. A man crawled along the ground, legs broken and trailing behind him. “It’s Crimolok.”
“No,” said David, calling from a little further up the aisle. “Crimolok is not here. He is not inside my head.”
Smithy and Tox looked at one another, each clearly trying to figure out what that meant. Then it made sense, and realisation dawned over them both.
“I’ll go wake up Mass,” said Smithy.
Mass had to fight to open his eyes because his lids were so heavy. The way Smithy was shaking him and talking to him was not with the urgency of danger, but it was urgent. Something important was happening and Mass needed to see it.
“W-What is it, Smithy? I can barely move.”
“I know, mate, but you have to stand up and see something. I’ll help you.”
Smithy put his arms under Mass and lifted him from his seat. His entire body ached, and his left knee refused to bend, which meant he had to hop and shuffle towards the front of the bus. Tox was at the steering wheel, looking back at him with a grim expression. For some reason, he had stopped the coach.
“Tox, we need to get out of here. Why aren’t we moving?”
“Look! Look who’s out there.”
Mass squinted and peered through the windscreen. At first he saw nothing but grass and a long wooden fence. Then he saw a figure in the grass. Crimolok was dragging himself along, and he was massively injured. “We’ve got him. We’ve got the bastard. Get him on board. The bastard is coming back to Portsmouth with us.”
Tox winced at him.
“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Smithy spoke from beside him. “It’s not Crimolok. It’s Vamps.”
“What? How do you know?”
Smithy pointed back towards his demon pet, David. “I have a demonic radar with me. He can’t sense Crimolok, which means—”
“Which means that’s Vamps out there,” Tox finished.
Mass readjusted his grip on Smithy. “Take me out there. Take me to him.”
Smithy didn’t argue. He reached up to the dashboard and took the shotgun Addy had left there when she’d boarded. Then he opened the door and helped Mass down the steps before carrying him across the field to where his best friend lay in a tangle of his own limbs. Once Smithy got him close enough, Mass told him to go.
“You sure, man? This might be a trick or something.”
Mass shook his head. “I don’t care. Just leave me.”
“Fine, but I’m leaving this with you. Two shells.” He handed Mass the shotgun and went back to the coach.
Mass tried to use the shotgun like a walking stick, but it was slightly too short. He was too tired to stay upright even if it had worked. The only thing he could do was drop to his knees and drag himself up beside his friend. The rain had let up, but the whole world was soaking wet.
Up until then, Vamps hadn’t noticed the coach, or Mass and Smithy walking towards him. Now he flinc
hed and turned to look at Mass. His eyes were full of pain and confusion – but they were his eyes. Vamps was staring back at him.
Mass grinned despite the tears rolling down his cheeks. “Hey, gangster, looks like you got your ass beat.”
Vamps stared at him like a stranger for a moment, but then a smile slowly spread itself across his lips. “You should see the other guy.”
The two of them fell at one another, grabbing each other in their arms and hugging as fiercely as their broken bodies would allow. “I missed you, Mass. I miss you all. Ravy, Gingerbread. I just want to go back.”
Tears dripped from Mass’s chin. “Me too, man. Me too.”
“But we can’t ever go back, can we?”
Mass squeezed his best friend harder. “No, mate, we can’t.”
The two of them broke apart and looked at one another. Vamps’ face was no longer distorted like it had been, but cracks in his skin and painful blisters showed the strain of Crimolok’s presence.
“Are you dying?” Mass asked, fearing the answer. Knowing the answer.
But Vamps shook his head. “No. I can feel him in me, healing my body. He’s not doing it on purpose, but his… his energy is too powerful to contain. I can feel it knitting my bones back together. He hates it. He wants me to die so he can escape, but he can’t do anything to make it happen. If he frees himself, I think he’ll end up even more trapped somehow. Like in purgatory or something.”
“Do you know his thoughts? Can you tell me anything that can help?”
Vamps shook his head. His voice was pained, but he was clear and precise, as though he’d been waiting a thousand years for a chance to talk. “I-I only hear what he allows me. He tricked me into closing a gate. I thought I could use his power to close them all, but he wanted me to do it. He wanted me to close the gate so he could bubble up to the surface and take control. The gates aren’t evil, Mass. They’re seals, meant to keep evil from invading the Earth, but Crimolok broke them and they opened. They still have power over him though. They call him back to Hell and dampen his power. He needed them to invade, but now they hurt him every single moment that passes. By closing the gates, we make him stronger, and he’s been getting stronger since he got here. Soon, even trapped inside my body, he’ll be unstoppable, but if I die… I don’t know, but he wants to get free real bad. I have to keep him inside me.”
Mass placed his forehead against Vamps’ and asked, “How can I help you, man? Tell me how.”
“You can’t. Just get out of here before he comes back. I don’t have long. Soon, it won’t be me again.”
“Does it hurt? Being a passenger in your own body? Does it?”
Tears cut through the blood on Vamps’ cheeks. “It’s like acid being injected into every cell of my body, and it never stops. It never lets up even for a second. The evil inside me… it’s hollowing me out. But it don’t matter, man. I’ll hold on as long as I can so I can watch you beat the fucker. Keep fighting, Mass. Don’t stop. He can be beaten, I know it. For that, I’m willing to suffer for a million years. The pain don’t matter.”
“You always were a badass. I love you, man, you know that? You were always the best of us.”
Vamps closed his eyes and smiled. “Love is what separates us from them. It’s the one thing Crimolok can never understand about us. Maybe if he’d ever felt it himself, he wouldn’t have been cast down.”
Mass had the feeling Vamps knew things that no human was ever meant to know, but he was in too much pain to explain then. Perhaps they couldn’t even be explained. “I want to take you with us. We can help—”
Vamps shook his head. “No, man. You can’t help me. It’s my burden. The pain, the suffering, it’s only worth it if you get out of here and keep fighting. Kill some demons for me, yeah?”
Mass wiped the tears off his face. “I’ll kill a hundred.”
“Good man. I’ll see you around, okay?”
Mass grabbed the shotgun and used it to push himself to his feet. He looked down at his friend, a broken mess, and tried to comprehend the agony he must be in. The agony he willingly endured to help the rest of mankind. It broke Mass’s heart. “How long do you have left until he’s back?”
“I don’t know. A few hours maybe. Believe me, I’ll make the most of it. Two broken legs is almost ticklish to me now.”
It was a joke, but Mass didn’t find it funny. He raised the shotgun Smithy had left him. “I don’t care what we have to do to win this, Vamps, but you’re the best friend I ever had.”
Vamps nodded. “Ditto.”
“And that’s why I have to end your suffering.”
Vamps opened his mouth to speak, but Mass pulled the trigger and shot him in the face. Then he emptied the second shell into his chest to make sure there was no chance of Crimolok healing him. It was all it took to make his friend, and his friend’s suffering, disappear.
Mass collapsed backwards into the grass. The smoking shotgun fell into the grass beside him and he began to sob. He sobbed so hard his chest hurt. No one approached him for several minutes, but when someone did, it was Addy. “Hey,” she said in a soft, gentle voice. “You okay?”
He shook his head.
“I listened to what you said, you know.” She sniffed. She’d been crying. “Back at the house?”
Mass looked at her but said nothing.
“I decided to keep living. That’s what Gross would have wanted. We’ve all lost people we love, but we keep on fighting because it’s the right thing to do. We can’t let the bastards get away with this.”
“I shot… I shot my best friend in the face.”
She chuckled. “Friendships are complicated. I reckon he would have done the same for you.”
“He was in so much pain. Every second was agony. I don’t care what happens next, but I couldn’t go on knowing that. I… couldn’t.”
“Yeah, well, maybe things will work out okay. Shit doesn’t seem to have hit the fan yet, does it? Perhaps nothing bad will happen.”
Mass considered it. He had shot Vamps and killed him, but there had been no explosions of hellfire or demonic fury. He had killed his friend and nothing had happened. Maybe they really would be okay. Maybe…
The sky lit up as though a thousand suns had suddenly entered the Earth’s orbit. An almighty wind arose from nothing and rocked the coach on its axles. The distant trees swayed. The world itself seemed to howl.
Addy licked her lips and peered around anxiously. “I really shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Let’s get back on the bus,” said Mass, reaching out for her support. “Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”
Addy helped him up and they got going.
The first thought that came to mind when Smithy saw Mass shoot his best friend in the face was hypocrite. The second thought was that he probably shouldn’t have left him that shotgun.
Mass had made it very clear that killing Vamps would be a bad idea, so what the hell had just happened? There had already been a blinding light and an almighty gale, so some kind of bad shit was clearly about to go down. He doubted it would end with a herd of galloping unicorns.
Addy helped Mass back onto the bus. Smithy said nothing. The guy had made his decision and now they all had to live by it. No point arguing over something that couldn’t be changed.
Smithy put a hand on Tox’s back. “We should get out of here.”
Tox nodded and switched the engine back on. Then he switched it back off. He was staring ahead, transfixed by something in the distance. Smithy turned his head to see what was the matter. He gasped. Then stared in silence for a minute more. A new gate had opened, so big and so tall that it filled the entire horizon. A mammoth, world-swallowing gate. And something was coming through.
Smithy punched Tox on the shoulder. “Yeah, step on it, mate. I don’t feel like sticking around.”
“Yeah, me neither.” Tox floored the accelerator and turned the wheel. The coach slid on its rear wheels and fishtailed. It missed the ope
ning in the fence and instead flattened a large section of it. The large tyres were undeterred, and they steered over the rotting wood with ease, biting into the gravel road that led away from the farm.
Then they were moving, gaining speed steadily and moving away from the rapidly growing gate behind them.
Addy moved to the front. “Was that what I think it was?”
“I have no idea,” said Tox, “but I don’t think we should stop to take pictures.”
They made it onto the main road a few minutes later. Smithy could still see the throbbing light of the gate behind them. It was hidden by trees and the undulations of the land, but the glow it gave off made it all the way to the clouds. If it had been night, then perhaps it would have spread across the entire country.
What the hell was it? What could be the meaning of a gate many times the size of any other? This was all because Mass shot Vamps. Why the hell had he done it?
Mass was back on his feet, although he was as pale as a sheet and suddenly seemed like a frail old woman. His large biceps seemed to hang off his bones. “Take this road here.”
Tox glanced at him. “Why?”
“Because our brothers are this way.”
Tox followed Mass’s direction for a couple of minutes and then sped up on a clear A-road heading south. “We’re heading back to where we started,” said Tox. “The toilet block where we parked the truck.”
“No,” said Mass. “We’re heading to where Honeywell and the others died. I want to take them home.”
Smithy frowned. “You lost friends here?”
Mass nodded. “This is where it all started. Gemma set a trap, and we walked right into it. I lost a lot of good men. They deserve to be buried in Portsmouth.”
“Okay. I’ll help you get them. This coach has luggage bays on the one side. Maybe we can place them inside.”
Hell on Earth- the Complete Series Box Set Page 135