by B. Groves
Alison turned her face into the concrete floor and waited for the demon to have his way with her. She was helpless even with the power she possessed and the demon was smart enough to stay away from her hands.
Miguel screamed for help a few feet away, and she thought she heard banging on the closet door behind her.
No, Olivia, she thought. Stay quiet. Please!
She groaned when the demon hit her hard in her side, a pain shot up from her side and into her shoulder.
He taunted her, mocked her, and told her his plans for her. She was powerless to stop him.
Alison resigned to her fate. She didn’t know what happened to the team or Kyle. Miguel hadn’t been able to tell her since he’d been attacked right when he entered the barn.
She turned to see Emma and Samuel standing over the demons with glorious smiles plastered on their faces. Once they released these feral demons, they would have full power over them and it would spread like a virus to the surrounding areas, and who else knew how far they could go.
Alison laid her head down on the concrete and tried to hold back her sobs of defeat.
It didn’t last long because a blur of brown and black fur ran through the door, jumped through the air and landed on top of her and the demon.
Alison didn’t mind the weight on top of her although it was becoming hard to breathe. She smiled as Simon went right for the demon’s neck. He bit down and the demon screamed in agony as he fought to push Simon off him.
Alison took a deep breath when the weight lifted off her.
Samuel and Emma stood with their mouths hanging open from the shock of what they were witnessing.
Emma backed away from Simon and leaned into the wall. Her eyes darted away from Simon for a second and her eyes widened in shock.
Alison followed her gaze and grinned when the team came filing into the barn one by one.
Alison did a head count and relief washed over her. They were all alive.
The demons froze in place as the hunters piled in. John came in last dragging Karen’s body behind him and asked, “Who’s next?”
The demons hissed at the man and several sets of eyes lit up the inside of the barn with a golden glow making some of them cower where they stood.
Alison felt a jerk behind her and turned to see Kyle unlocking her handcuffs.
“Miss me?” He asked with a grin.
Alison bit her tongue after Kyle released her. Her wrists were red, raw, bruised, but she was strong enough to help the team fight.
She stood and hugged Kyle fiercely.
“Where did you go?”
“That asshole, Jason, chased me into the forest, but Simon, chased him off. Then John and the team were already coming up the road,” Kyle explained.
Alison looked around and said, “We have to get Miguel and Olivia out of here.”
The demons attacked the hunters before Kyle could say anything.
Alison bent down and ordered Simon to let go of the demon he was holding down with his teeth.
The man was still alive when Alison placed her hands on him and heard his soul crying out for help inside his cage.
Alison released the man from his cage and the demon exited from the man’s mouth. Simon had taken a stance protecting them in the room’s corner, barking and growling at any demon who tried to come near them.
Kyle and an injured Miguel found the closet door open and no sign of Olivia.
She glanced around and saw no sign of Emma or Samuel.
“Alison, I saw them slip out the back way,” one of the other hunters said. “Find the kid, we’ll take care of this here.”
Alison pointed to the man regaining consciousness on the floor. “He’s good.”
The hunter nodded and waved for them to go while they took care of the others.
Miguel took off in a sprint down the hallway.
Alison handed Simon’s leash to the hunter. “He’ll help you take them down.”
The hunter nodded and took Simon from Alison.
Kyle eyed Alison in confusion. “Don’t you want him with us?”
Alison shook her head. “No. He’ll protect the hunters here better than us.”
“Do you think they’re gone?” Kyle asked.
“Let’s hope not.”
Miguel was screaming for his daughter when they exited the back door.
All three were out of breath and trying to find the slightest movement around them.
Miguel bent over in anguish while Kyle and Alison searched the immediate area.
Before Alison could say anything else, she heard a noise behind her. She turned just as Jason appeared out of the darkness and jumped on Kyle from behind.
Alison ran over and placed her hands on Jason’s head, but he was strong and pushed her away. Alison fell to the ground, but that didn’t stop her. She immediately got up and was about to try again when a noise rang out in the distance.
All four of them froze for only seconds when the gunshot echoed through the trees.
Kyle and Jason were fighting and Miguel took off in a run towards the gunshot.
“Go!” Kyle yelled out to Alison. “Just go find the girl.”
Alison was torn between wanting to help Kyle and wanting to find Olivia.
Kyle kicked Jason off him. Their eyes met for only seconds before Kyle yelled for her to run again.
Chapter 52
Kyle couldn’t see Jason’s eyes since they turned black. His superhuman strength made Kyle weaken quickly as they rolled around the ground, each trying to gain the upper hand.
Jason had taken a cheap shot into Kyle’s already screaming ribs, which made Kyle grunt in pain and move into a fetal position on the soft dirt.
Kyle groaned. Jason moved around him while Kyle tried to stand.
A single spotlight had been lit behind them when Miguel, he, and Alison had exited the barn.
A body covered that spotlight and cast a shadow over Kyle as Jason stepped towards him.
“You’ve been nothing but a pain in the ass for us for years,” Jason spat.
“The feeling is mutual, asshole,” Kyle stuttered in between hard breaths.
“Because of you, I had to off Clara,” Jason commented.
Kyle turned over. Anger and guilt rose within his chest. “You enjoyed killing her.”
“The demon was weak,” Jason said. “It deserved to return to the darkness.”
John had provided Kyle with a knife when they met up at the edge of the forest. Kyle never wanted to use a weapon on one of them. These people were his neighbors, some had been involved with his church, and some he considered friends. They were good people and proud citizens of Wolfpine when darkness descended on this town and now because of Kyle’s persistence, it would all end tonight… starting with this asshole.
Jason lifted Kyle from the ground and made him stand up.
“We were always on to you,” Jason explained, “but we always had a good laugh about it. ‘Look at that crazy Reverend with his piece of wood and his book filled with lies. He’ll never know what hit him.’”
Kyle backed up and the two men stared each other down. “Except I knew what hit me when I discovered there are people out there trying to save this planet from your kind.”
Kyle had a hard time keeping his balance. His legs turned into butter and wouldn’t support him. The pain of the hits almost made him black out and Jason forcing him to stand made it even worse.
All Kyle had was a moment, a moment where he needed to distract Jason long enough to plunge the knife into him.
“Who were you in a previous life?” Kyle asked.
Jason’s eyebrows came together in confusion. “What the hell do you care?”
Kyle shrugged. “Because I want to know before I meet God.”
Jason let go of one of Kyle’s shoulders. He laughed and pointed at himself. “This guy was a real gem. A real boy scout with a perfect life, until one night his drunk friends gave him some soda laced with some kind of drug. His
mind opened, it was my turn and here I am. You would have liked him, Reverend.”
“Maybe I will when Alison comes back,” Kyle said.
Jason chuckled. “That soul is long gone.”
Kyle grinned. “Since his soul has moved on, then I won’t have to pray for forgiveness.”
Kyle reached for the knife under his shirt. He pulled it out as fast as he could and tried to stab Jason in the abdomen, but the demon was too fast and realized what Kyle was doing.
With lightning speed, the demon gripped Kyle’s wrist so hard that Kyle thought the bones would break in half, but he refused to let go.
The knife came between them. Jason tried to direct it into Kyle’s stomach, but Kyle let go and the knife dropped to the ground.
Jason let go of Kyle’s wrist and pushed him to the ground. Kyle landed on his back and groaned from the pain. His chest burned so bad he thought he’d stop breathing any second, his heart thundered against his ribcage.
Footsteps came closer and stopped next to his head.
“I would kill you with my bare hands, but this’ll do,” Jason said.
Kyle reached his other arm out, trying to find a weapon. A branch, a rock, anything.
Jason squatted and toyed with the knife in between his fingers. “There’s nothing there, Reverend. Tell God… He’s a failure.”
Kyle gripped the clump of dirt in his hands. He only had seconds as Jason positioned the knife to plunge into his chest.
Kyle threw the dirt into Jason’s face and Kyle hoped it hit both of his eyes.
He smiled when the knife dropped onto the ground next to him and Jason reeled back in surprise and fell back while trying to regain his eyesight.
Kyle ignored the pain and sat up, reaching for the knife as Jason rubbed his eyes, cursing his human form.
He moved quickly and with all his strength he pushed the knife through Jason’s chest.
Kyle ignored the sound of tearing skin as he pushed with all his strength.
“Tell Satan I said hello, asshole,” Kyle said.
Jason’s hands fell from his eyes, his mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something but was too shocked to form words. He lowered his head and panted as he eyed the knife in his chest.
Kyle watched in horror as Jason’s eyes turned between black and the blue color from his human form. Kyle expected him to open his mouth and release the demon but it didn’t happen. Instead, Jason slumped over on his side without another word.
Kyle caught his breath and stood up. He should run off right away and see where the others were, but he needed a minute to regain his bearings.
He glanced around as he stood on his feet. Everything was so quiet. No noise from inside the barn, and no noise from where the others ran.
Kyle tried to remember the direction Alison and Miguel ran off to. His heart sank in his chest as he thought the worst.
Alison’s beautiful green eyes flashed before him.
He needed to find her and Miguel. He prayed Olivia was safe and that Miguel and Alison would overpower Samuel Manes and Emma.
Kyle started walking in the direction he remembered they ran off to.
They’d run off towards the house. He remembered it was northwest of the barn.
Kyle jumped when a gunshot echoed through the forest.
Oh, God, please keep them safe, he prayed as he stepped into the edge of the forest.
With his friends on his mind, Kyle never knew someone was behind him until Jason said his name.
“Reverend.”
On instinct, Kyle turned around and came face to face with Jason once more.
Kyle’s eyes widened in surprise and before his could react a sharp, blurring pain swept through his abdomen.
He whimpered when he looked down to see the knife’s metal glint in the light from the mill.
Kyle cried out when Jason twisted the blade inside of him. Kyle screamed in pain as he felt his insides being torn to shreds.
Dizziness swept through him. Jason’s face became a blurry mess as Kyle tried to blink and focus on him.
“You told me to tell Satan hello. Tell God we’re coming for his hunters,” Jason said.
Kyle felt the knife slide out of his abdomen. He gripped the area and placed a hand over the wound. Hot liquid poured from the wound and over his fingers as he tried to apply pressure.
Sweat dripped from his face, and his mouth turned to cotton. His legs went numb and he realized he’d fallen to his knees.
His vision cleared just in time to watch Jason’s mouth open and the demon exit the body of the younger man who now lay dead in front of him.
The black entity circled Kyle twice and Kyle was never sure, but he thought he heard laughter coming from the black fog before it dissipated in front of him.
Kyle collapsed onto his side. His hand weakened and the blood poured from the wound.
The dark forest and light shining from the spotlight mixed in a swirl of black and white.
He tried to speak but nothing came from his mouth.
Frantic voices echoed through his head.
He perked up when he heard a female voice. Someone had lifted his head and told him to look at her.
It was hard enough to breathe, he thought, and they want to give him commands? Can’t he sleep for a while?
Kyle struggled to open his eyes. He used the last of his strength to blink them open.
Glowing green eyes were staring back at him. He knew who it was, but he couldn’t say her name although he wanted to.
Chapter 52
Alison didn’t want to leave Kyle behind when Jason attacked them. She wanted to burst into tears when she made her choice to run after Miguel. She only hoped that one of the other hunters would make their way outside and help him.
But Alison’s fate turned her in a different direction. She had a little girl whose life was in danger and Kyle would have done the same thing.
She followed a desperate Miguel through the forest and towards the house.
Alison couldn’t see much, and both of them tripped over roots and brush in the dirt.
Those moments didn’t stop Miguel as he ran through the forest.
Alison realized they were approaching the house and she wondered if Samuel and Emma would run off with Olivia or do worse.
Alison’s heart sank into her stomach. She didn’t want to think about what those two were capable of with the little girl and she hoped that Miguel wouldn’t do anything stupid either.
Miguel and Alison came to the edge of the forest and stopped. She could see the darkened figures making their way towards the house.
Alison noticed another person come out of the forest and approach the others.
Miguel started to run again, but Alison pulled on his shirt.
“Wait,” she said. “Who is that?”
Miguel tried to struggle out of Alison’s grip. “I don’t care.”
“Miguel!” Alison scolded while she gripped his shirt. “Don’t. Do you want to endanger Olivia or save her?”
Alison heard voices rising. A woman and two men’s voices sounded like they were arguing with each other.
Alison tried to hear the third person, but blood was rushing through her ears from their run through the forest.
Miguel and Alison waited for seconds before they heard a scream and a gunshot.
Both of them gasped when they saw the light from the gun.
Alison released Miguel’s shirt and he shot off running towards the three. She followed behind and came upon Emma holding Olivia at gunpoint while Samuel stood over Carter who was nursing his arm and moaning in pain.
Emma spotted them first and pressed the gun into the sobbing girl’s head.
“I’ll kill her,” she said.
Emma’s eyes were as wild as her flaming red hair as she held Olivia against her.
Miguel stopped in his tracks and Alison stopped and raised her hands in surrender.
Samuel turned around and smiled. “Welcome, Alison. I
knew you’d come. The good Reverend is busy with Jason, I assume.”
Alison swallowed and said, “Yes. What do you want, Samuel? If you want to leave, fine. I won’t exorcise you and you can start a nest somewhere else, but the little girl stays.”