by Michael Todd
“So cute.” He chuckled. “She seeks to hurt with her little metal knives.”
When Katie slashed the tip across the large demon’s arm, he hissed and screamed from the properties inherent in Joshua’s weapons.
THE PAIN! He tried to find the little slut who had injured him, but the pain was so bad it was hard to focus. He swiped a hand to his left, then to his right, but neither hand found the prickly human’s flesh.
Before the demon could regain its composure, Katie jumped and latched onto the tapestry behind the beast. She looked over her shoulder at Eric and winked as she pushed off and brought her knees down on the demon’s shoulders.
She dropped her arms to her sides and slowly ran her swords up the demon’s back. He roared in pain and fell forward on all fours, convulsing.
She stabbed him. “You don’t deserve to die fast, you fucking bastard. You deserve to suffer.” She ran the other sword into his back before pulling them both out.
Crossing her arms in front of her, she pulled them apart like scissors, slicing through the skin on the back of the beast’s neck.
The demon howled wildly, thrashing in an attempt to knock her off. She yelled to Damian to catch his attention and nodded with an evil smile on her face.
He chuckled and hurried over, yelling out a bible verse as he pressed his new weapon against the top of the demon’s head. The animal burst into shrieks as Damian’s hand pushed into his skull, the cross melting everything it touched.
The demon collapsed onto the floor and burst into a plume of dust. Katie picked herself up and stood next to the guys, who were staring at the remaining demons.
The humans had the more hideous smiles on their faces.
When Calvin and the others arrived at the empty store, they crept around back attempting to move in unnoticed. As they walked slowly and quietly through the puddled back lot, they could hear shrieks and howls from inside.
There were humans in there, and obviously they were not feeling what was going on.
“Fuck this,” Calvin said, cocking his gun. “Go big or go home, right?”
Jeremy laughed. “Hell, yes.”
“I got your backs.” Rob cocked his gun. “It’s time, yes?”
“Let’s kick some demon ass, Rob.” Jeremy smiled.
Calvin kicked in the back door and raced in, his guys on his tail.
After he pushed through the stockroom and out to the empty showroom floor he slowed down and stopped, his mouth open.
The men stood side by side. They had expected demons, but nothing even remotely close to what they walked in on.
23
Calvin, Jeremy, and Rob looked at the scene in front of them with horror on their faces.
There were people—innocents, one of them the missing cop—strung up in the middle of the floor, almost as if they were there as sacrifices but not intended for infection.
One of the three people was clearly dead; there was a pool of his blood on the floor and his entrails spilled out of his stomach. The other two were badly hurt, but still alive.
Around them were six demons, all medium in stature, foaming at the mouth and ready to fight.
“Well, boys, it looks like we are going to have to deliver the fucking pain first.” Calvin nodded. “On my mark. One…two… Go!”
Calvin sprinted to the left, his guns spraying bullets at the two closest demons. He emptied his clips and went to his knees. He held his guns in the air and ejected the clips, then slapped the weapons onto his belt and reloaded them. One of the demons lunged at him, blood covering its mouth and teeth.
“Oh, so you’re the motherfucker that likes to eat human guts.” Calvin grunted. “I got something for you!”
He pointed both of his guns at the demon and unloaded them right into his gut, pushing him backward until the demon hit the wall, screaming in agony.
The demon fell to the ground and turned back into its mangled human form. Calvin stood up and holstered his guns, then pulled out a Chokutō sword and swiped it through the air around him.
A demon snarled and lunged forward as Calvin sliced his blade through the air, and it took the demon’s hand off his arm.
The beast stumbled back clutching the gushing nub, but looked up in time to see the shining blade swerve to the right before it slipped through its neck.
The demon’s head rolled onto the floor, but the body stood for a moment before falling into a pile at Calvin’s feet. Calvin spit on the body and sheathed his sword, turning to help one of the innocents down.
Meanwhile Jeremy had sprinted forward, pulling the crossbow from his back. As he ran toward the first demon he cocked it and aimed, then pressed the trigger and let the quarrel fly. It whistled through the air and hit the demon in the forehead. The beast flew back and slammed into the wall, its eyes rolling back in its head before it turned to dust.
The quarrel fell to the ground and clinked as it bounced through the demon’s remains.
Jeremy turned as another swiped its claws across his chest.
“DAMMIT!” he shouted, jumping back so that only the tips of the creature’s talons cut through his skin.
“Damn, that fucking hurts!” He grabbed his chest, feeling the surge of burning blow through him as though the injury awakened something—or someone—inside him.
Jeremy could feel his strength increase. He turned toward the demon and growled loudly, his muscles pulsing.
The demon looked left, then right before it backed up, sensing something was different about the human now.
Jeremy pulled his knives from his belt and threw the first, catching the creature in the shoulder. Then he threw the second, which struck the other shoulder.
He chuckled to himself as he flipped the last knife in his hand. He tilted his head and looked at the beast, and could sense fear in its heart. He shook his head, and his eyes glowed brighter.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He ran forward, dodging left, then right as the demon tried to figure out how to evade the rushing human.
Jeremy punched the demon’s chin up, then slammed his last blade into its neck. “Never let a wild dog sense fear,” he whispered as he sliced the knife across the demon’s neck, then jammed the knife into its chest as hard as he could.
Jeremy gritted his teeth just inches from the beast’s face and smiled as he watched the life leave its eyes. The creature burst into dust, and Jeremy stumbled slightly forward, laughing.
“Go to hell, you bastard,” he growled.
Jeremy turned and ran for the other person hanging by ropes and hooks.
Calvin dropped to his knees and Jeremy stepped onto his back. Reaching up, Jeremy carefully lifted the woman off the wires and cradled her in his arms. He stepped down off Calvin and lowered her to the floor.
“Th-Thank you,” the woman gasped, blood bubbling in her throat. “You are…a…hero.”
With those words the air left her lungs and her eyes rolled back in her head. Jeremy laid her flat on the floor and tried to revive her, but she was gone.
Calvin walked up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder, squeezing tightly. Jeremy let out a deep breath and looked up at Calvin, eyes wet.
“Yours?” he asked, hoping they had saved at least one.
Calvin just shook his head, looking back at the man. He was young, wearing a college hoodie as he lay lifeless on the floor.
A screech caught their attention, and a moment later Rob was battling a demon. Calvin and Jeremy stood up and had started to run over to Rob when they saw a sword push through the demon and out his back. A screeching wail rang through the store, then the creature burst into dust, taking its wails with it to hell.
“Yes,” Jeremy yelled as he slowed his run, laughing and throwing a fist in the air. “Nice job, buddy!”
Jeremy gaped as the sword slipped from Rob’s fingers and clattered on the floor.
Rob slowly raised his head to smile at Calvin and Jeremy, holding his hand tightly against his stomach. Blood oozed between his fingers an
d dripped onto the floor. Rob took a step forward, but his knees began to buckle. Jeremy ran forward and caught him, turning him over on his back and laying him in his lap. Calvin knelt next to him and pulled his hands away to see if he could stop the bleeding.
“Am I going to be okay?” he sputtered, looking up at Jeremy.
Jeremy looked at Calvin, who sighed and pulled himself out of Rob’s line of sight, then shook his head.
Jeremy kept a straight face and looked back down at Rob. He nodded and forced a smile.
“Yes,” he said. “It’s just a scratch, man. You are going to be back in no time.”
“I got them.” Rob laughed. “I’m always the medic, and they were my first kills.”
“That’s fucking amazing.” Calvin leaned forward. “You are the hero of the day. Me and Jeremy nearly lost our heads back there.”
“Yeah?” Rob choked and coughed.
“Hell yeah, dude,” Jeremy said, holding back tears. “You are the fucking hero.”
Rob smiled and looked up at the ceiling, his body starting to relax. Slowly his eyes closed, and he breathed his last in Jeremy’s lap. Jeremy swallowed hard and looked out the front window. Anger and rage bubbled inside him as a tear trickled slowly down his cheek.
No survivors.
Korbin only had one bullet left, and he pointed his gun at the demon’s forehead. The rest of the creatures were dead or dying, except for the one Derek was fighting off.
Korbin didn’t notice the liquid on the ground where he was stepping and his ankle buckled as he moved forward. His hand jerked to the side as his finger pulled the trigger, firing the last bullet.
Without even flinching, Korbin tossed the gun to the side and pulled out his short sword, holding it in front of him. Slowly he backed the demon toward the wall, eyeing a piece of rebar sticking out of the concrete.
“You think you can come into our city,” Korbin growled, “and attack our children? Destroy our world and get away with it?” he asked rhetorically. “You are out of your goddamned mind.”
The demon lunged forward, snapping its three-inch fangs and swiping at Korbin with its claws.
Korbin danced left, then twisted right as he sliced his blade through the beast’s skin. The demon whined and screamed, then stumbled back as Korbin tossed a piece of cinderblock out of his way.
“Go back to hell where you belong.” He kicked the demon’s chest and it flew backward.
The demon was impaled, and it screamed and flailed. Korbin stood there and watched as the demon struggled, unable to move, fear on its face.
Slowly the demon grabbed the rebar and looked Korbin straight in the eyes as it tried to pull itself off, but before it could yank itself free it burst into dust.
Korbin stood there for a moment breathing heavily, just staring down at the pile of ash on the floor. Blood dripped from the rebar, beading up and hissing as it hit the floor below.
He wiped his sword on his pants and sheathed it at his side. He heard a rustle next to him and turned as Derek stumbled into him from the other side.
“You okay?” Korbin asked, catching Derek and holding him up.
“Yeah,” he said, shrugging. “Just playing a game or two with the demon over there.”
“All right,” Korbin said. “You mind maybe just killing the fucking thing so we can be done with it?”
“Sure.” Derek stood up on his own, then patted himself on the back. “Give me a little push, then?”
Korbin chuckled. “You asked for it.” He grabbed Derek by the back of the collar and his belt loop as the demon stalked toward them. “Hope you’re ready.” The two men took two steps, then Korbin lifted as Derek jumped toward the creature.
“Woohoo,” Derek yelled, a knife in his hand.
The demon looked surprised as Derek came at his head.
The demon dodged to the right, but Derek reached out with his left hand and grabbed the beast by the neck, swinging himself around like a stripper on a pole. He landed hard on his feet in front of the demon and looked it in the eyes with an angry smile on his face as the demon grabbed Derek by the neck and lifted him off the ground, leaving his feet dangling underneath him.
Derek reached straight up in the air, clutching his knife with both hands. “Fuck you,” Derek got out between gasps of air.
He slammed the knife into the top of the demon’s head, piercing the skull and sending the blade straight into its brain.
The demon released his grip on Derek, who miraculously landed on his feet, and stumbled backward to fall over a pile of debris.
He shook violently and wailed for only a moment before turning to dust.
Derek coughed, rubbing his throat as he walked over into the pile and pulled his knife from the ash. He wiped it on his leg.
He stood there for a minute looking at the human remains and the piles of ash that were all that remained to say the demons had existed. He shook his head as he walked over to Sebastian’s body and stared down at it.
He didn’t know the guy, but Sebastian had saved his life. He bent down and picked the man up and carried him over to the side, laying him gently on the ground, then walked back to the center of the room.
“Get the other kids out of here,” Korbin told him. He was standing next to the bus holding a small boy’s lifeless body in his arms. “Make sure they see as little as possible, okay?”
“Yes, boss,’ Derek said, seeing the stress and pain in Korbin’s eyes.
Korbin walked in front of the bus and laid the boy next to the other two. His heart and soul hurt, and in that moment he didn’t feel like a bad-ass demon hunter.
He felt like one of those children who were still alive in that bus, wondering why them and not him. He felt like he had failed them, failed their families, failed their friends.
Korbin leaned against the bus and crossed his arms in front of him, trying to catch his breath, but as he stared down at the three children he heard the whimpers and cries of those still alive.
Slowly he walked around the side, where Derek, even after everything he had just witnessed and done, carefully, caringly, and gently, helped each child off the bus and out the door.
He couldn’t help but think that maybe somewhere in there—somewhere in the innocence of a child, the heart of a warrior, and the tragedy of a lost life—there was hope.
That maybe all that, all the pain and sorrow, all the struggle and grit, weren’t for nothing. Maybe it was his only mission, his life’s work. It had been deep and dark and exhausting, but in the end he’d saved fifteen souls, not just from death but from possession as well.
Derek walked back in and nodded at Korbin. “What now?”
“You should head over to help one of the other teams,” Korbin answered. “I am going to have to work with the police department on this one. You can’t have children killed and human bodies on the ground and walk out clean.”
“Right,” Derek said. “I can stay here with you, at least until they come.”
“I’ll be all right.” Korbin looked around. “Besides, I need you to take Sebastian back to the base so that we can alert his team and get him a proper burial.”
Derek glanced over to the wall where Sebastian’s body lay. “He saved my life.” He looked down before gazing at Korbin. “He didn’t even know me, and he saved my life.”
“That’s what we do.” Korbin put a hand on Derek’s shoulder. “You gonna be okay?”
“I don’t know,” Derek admitted. “Long term, I don’t know. But right now I have no choice. I am going to go help my team. Call us when you need a lift. We’ll come get you.”
“All right,” he said, watching Derek pick up and cradle Sebastian.
“And Korbin?” Derek said before walking out.
“Yeah?” Korbin asked.
“You are one hell of a leader,” he told the man. “Inside the team and outside of the team. I’m proud to know you.”
Korbin nodded. “I’m proud to know you too, Derek.” He said it again und
er his breath.
Derek lifted the body up a little more, getting better hold, then turned right and started walking through the building to the front.
He didn’t want the kids to see the body, so he went the long way and circled back around to the SUV. He opened the back and gently laid Sebastian inside, staring at him for a moment before putting him in a body bag and zipping him up. He closed the back of the truck and gritted his teeth, feeling almost sick to his stomach.
It had been one hell of a fight, and he still had no idea what shape either of the other teams was in.
To Derek it was a victory—fifteen little lives saved because of one man and his ability to see between the black and white. He inspired trust and caring in his team, and they followed him into the depths of hell and back.
Derek wasn’t sure what recovery would be like, but he sure was ready for a damn nap.
24
Katie stood in the doorway and looked at the bodies in the room.
They had been too late. They’d only been able to save the few elderly ladies; no one else in the entire church.
Even the priest had died in his own blood. The only thing they had done successfully was kill quite a few demons, including one rather large and nasty one. Luckily no one on her team had been killed, but she and Damian were pretty torn up.
She looked down at her arm and cringed at the blood trickling down to her elbow. She’d gotten a bloody lip as well, but that had already healed, though the dried blood was still on her chin.
Damian was sitting in a chair to the side, looking at the bodies strewn across the floor. There was sadness in his eyes, and his mind was so far removed that he didn’t even flinch as Eric sewed him up, one stitch at a time. When Eric was done with Damian Katie limped over and sat down, watching as Eric cleaned her wound and shook his head.
“What?” Katie smiled.
“I don’t know if I can stitch this up before it heals on its own.” He smiled, his tiredness evident. “I’ll give it a couple stitches for good luck.”