He’s right. With Al active again, it’s like having a giant target marked on my forehead. It’s only a matter of time before they find me, and reinforcements are already on the way. Fuck.
I try my best to conceal my breath as I hear Ben leading the two officers down the hall to where I am.
Here they come.
Ben’s being a dumbass and talking it up with them as he leads them straight to me. They’re closing in, fast. My heart keels over with every step they take. I raise my gun beside my head and watch as my hand trembles with anticipation.
Three…two…one.
I dive, exposing myself as I soar through the open hall. I see Ben walking alongside the two demons that he thinks are officers, well-guarded and assured. Without hesitation, I pull the trigger, sending off a bullet tailor made and signed with love straight into the skull of one of them. On the way down, he fires a bullet that barely misses my face. Ben ducks and runs away as the other officer shoots at me. Taking the window of opportunity, I fire off again, but my shots miss while his hit. Grazed once and shot in the shoulder. The impact from landing on my hurt shoulder burns likes hellfire, but I know now isn’t the time to call it quits.
I hurry to my feet and post up once again. I look to my right and see the blood soaking through my coat and down my arm. If Al had half a brain, he should already be on it. My injured arm shakes as I test its viability. It’s usable but raising it above my waist is virtually unbearable. As I steady my breathing, I swap my gun over to my other hand and brace for round two. I hear nothing but Morgan screaming frantically somewhere in the coffee house. Ironically, she’s in a better spot than both me and Ben.
I peek around the corner and see a silver barrel pointed only a few yards from my face. A shot fires and I return my head behind the wall as debris from the doorway falls in front of me. Three more rounds fire and punch holes through the wooden wall, narrowly missing my face.
“Ben, they’re not real cops! Run to me! I’ll cover you!” I peek my head out again and see Ben hauling ass towards me. The demon pops up from his cover and shoots our way, but I already have the jump on him. My bullets inaccurately fly towards him, but it’s enough to make him go back into hiding. Fuck, Sailor, get it together. As I reload my clip, Ben scurries next to me. He’s panting, confused, and horrified at what’s come out of a seemingly normal situation. I need more from him, especially right now. If we want to make it out of here in one piece, I can’t have him acting like a liability. He should be better than this by now. If he wants to live, he has to be capable.
“W-what’s going on? You just killed that guy!”
“No shit, but that wasn’t a regular person. That was a demon. Our waitress, Morgan, was possessed by one too. These guys are bad news. They’re imposters of the worst kind, and won’t stop until they get what they want.”
“What?”
“Come on, we have to move.” I crouch down and move amongst the debris to the back of the shop with Ben behind me. The demon officer is still firing shots but only to draw us out. “I told you not to let anyone in.”
“But they were cops! How was I supposed to know!”
“Moments before, you saw a fucking exorcism. Next time, if there is next a time, when I tell you to do something, you do it. As you can see, things aren’t what they seem. I know more than you and listening to me can be the difference between life and death.”
“You’re hurt…”
“Yeah, but I can manage. Lucky for me, it went straight through the top.”
“So what are you, exactly?”
“Human, just as human as you are. I’m just a hunter. But more on that later.” As we continue to move, I direct Ben to where Morgan is. As I travel, a stream of my blood lags behind me but there’s no time to slow down. The officer stopped firing which means he’s on the move, just like us.
Together, we stay low until we reach the kitchen. Morgan’s screams have long since faded and all that remains of her body is a streak of her own blood.
“The fuck. What the fuck is going on here?” Ben exclaims as he turns repeatedly over his shoulder in hopes of finding an invisible assailant. “She’s gone!”
I raise my good hand up to his face as I look ahead. “Quiet.” I study the tracks of blood as I slowly follow the path that’s laid out for me. “Morgan?” I whisper. “Morgan?” I hear what I think to be a faint whimper not too far from where I am. It’s female and lower to the ground than me. “Morgan, it’s me. I’m here to help you.” I point my gun in front of me as I turn the corner. “It’s okay, Morgan,” I whisper as I continue to follow the trail. I briefly look behind me to Ben to make sure we’re on the same page. He nods at me and mirrors me at a distance no longer than two steps. “There,” I whisper. The trail leads to a pantry or storage closet of some sort with only enough room for one. Outside of the electrical humming from the running appliances, everything is silent. I put my hand to the doorknob and aim my pistol at the opening in fear of the worst. I mentally count to three and swing the door open while simultaneously stepping back.
And there she is, drenched in her own blood, shakily holding my blade in her hands. She must have removed it and fled to the safest place she could find in her current condition. With reopening her wound, she’s lucky that she didn’t bleed out. She’s scared shitless. I can see it in her eyes. She was smart to take my knife. Outside of my gun, it’s one of the few things we have that can harm a demon effectively.
“They’re here…they’re back to get me,” she says between her quivering lips as she hastily shifts the pointed edge between Ben and me. I lower my weapon as I walk a step closer to her, but she is still resilient.
“Morgan, calm down,” I carefully say as I reach for the blade that quakes in her hands.
“I am calm!” she roars as she flares her nostrils and speaks through gritted teeth.
“We’re on your side, remember? Just give me the blade so we can keep you safe. You’ve lost a lot of blood, so we need you to stay still until this is over.”
Out of her confusion, Morgan starts to cry, but she still holds on sternly to the blade. She’s afraid. I would be too if I were in her shoes. Waking up on a seemingly normal day only to have a brush with death greet you at the front door. That blade she holds is her only weapon against them. If she, or any of us, were caught in a situation without a tailored weapon, we’d be done for. I can understand why she wants to hold on, but I need it.
“Come on, Morgan, please. We don’t have much time.” I look back at the doorway before extending my hand below her bloodshot eyes. She looks at me as if she’s staring into my soul. I can only imagine how hard it is to trust someone you just met with your life, especially with so much on the line. I don’t break eye contact with her once I feel the weight of the blade settle into my hand. I simply respond with a thank you before stepping away. “Ben!”
“Yeah?”
“Make sure she’s safe. Don’t let her out of your sight. Get something and apply pressure to her wound. Don’t trust anybody that comes near you except me. Yell if you need anything.”
“Where are you going?” Ben asks. He looks to me as I do a quick munitions check.
“To get them before they get us.” The click of my freshly reloaded gun drives the point home.
“Fuck…”
“What? You got any other options? Look, I know I don’t look like the fighting type, but I can hold my own.”
“Yeah…I can tell. So what are you, a witch hunter or something like that?”
I try to keep a serious demeanor but a sly smile manages to run across my face. “Yeah, sure. We’ll go with that.” I can hear Alfonse chuckling in the back of my mind. His intoxicating laugh coaxes me into releasing a quick chuckle as I finish my preparations. The look on Ben’s face is priceless. He must think I’m a psycho or something. No. I’m not crazy, not in the least.
There’s just a part of me now that loves a good fight and has a hankering for mass destruction and bloodshed
.
“You sure you don’t need my help?” I can see Ben’s eyes transfixed on my glowing smile as I eye the shine of my pistol. The remnants of the Holy Water I injected in myself must have bled out from my wound. Oh well. The extra edge will probably come in handy. He’s feeding off me like a parasite, but right now, I’m in no position to refuse his influence.
“Positive. I got it covered. Just do me a favor. Give me your arm.” He steps away with wary eyes. Yeah, he definitely thinks I’m crazy now. “Come on, don’t be stupid. I’m here to help, remember?” Reluctantly, he extends his arm in front of me and rolls up his grey sleeve. “Perfect.” I reach for the syringe in my coat pocket and give it a quick squirt to make sure everything is in working order. “Don’t trip. It’s Holy Water. It’ll make it so they can’t get into you if things go south. Just don’t bleed too much or piss your pants.” I drive the needle into his forearm and watch as Ben winces from the sensation. “That’ll do.” I remove the needle from his arm and place the syringe in his hands.
“What about Morgan?” he asks just as I’m about to pull away from him. I turn back to face her. She’s still pretty shaken up but I can see what Ben plans on doing next. “Hey, don’t even think about pricking her with that thing. She’s already been through enough. I gave her a good dose of it earlier, so she should have some left in her system. But for precaution, squirt some into her mouth. Use the rest on the edge of a knife if you can manage to find one lying around, but be safe. Demons are tricky.”
More than you’ll ever know.
With my back to Ben and Morgan, I snarl at Al’s comment. I don’t have time to deal with his sly banter. I have people to save.
“So, you’re going?”
“Yeah, Ben. You’ll be fine. They’ll have to kill me to get past me, and I’m pretty hard to kill.” I shrug my wounded shoulder as I walk away. It’s coming along rather nicely. Most of the mobility is back, but it’s still a pain to move. I do a final check on Ben and Morgan before I leave them in search of the stray demon.
Chapter 11: The Reaping
I don’t like that Ben guy. He’s a bitch.
“Focus Al,” I whisper underneath my breath as I begin to sneak around the interior of the restaurant. The coffee house has been dead silent since the shooting took place, but I know he’s around. In my investigation, I turn every corner slowly and cautiously look over my shoulder at the slightest inkling of a suspicious possibility. He’s like a ghost. No matter where I check, I come up empty. “Where is he?” I grunt as I post against the nearest wall. Just as I exhale, I hear the blast of a muzzle and I instantly duck. “Damn it!” A bullet tears through the interior of the wall and emerges to the right of me.
I run to the left as the demon’s bullets continue to fly through the air, shredding through everything they touch. I sprint the duration of the hall and turn the corner, hoping to find him exposed, and luck out. I flank him and fire off three shots—two unconfirmed hits and one into his thigh. I go for the kill, but he falls behind cover before I can line my sights. “Shit.” I draw my blade and steadily walk towards the counter top he’s hiding behind.
Be careful. You know, this isn’t the wisest decision, Sailor.
I ignore Alfonse’s warning as I keep my eyes on the counter top. The shine of black steel teases my eyes as the barrel points in my general direction. The demon blindly fires two rounds but both fail to hit their mark. He goes to fire off another round but the click of an empty clip rings as he repeatedly squeezes to no avail.
Oh, you sly devil, you.
Wasting no time, I cut around the countertop and see him on the floor, rushing to reload. While he is fumbling with the clip, I pop him once in the same shoulder where he shot me, and the clip falls out of his hand.
Impressive. You counted his shots.
“So what do we have here? A good ole’ fashioned ambush, huh?” The demon ignores me as I squat down to his level. “How many are on their way?” I give him a second but he refuses to talk. “Typical.” He goes for his clip, but I plunge the knife straight into his knee. “I don’t think you need that.” I shoot him in his other shoulder, rendering him helpless on the ground. “Well that worked out perfectly. So, are you going to say something or just look at me funny all day?” I point my gun to his head but he has more tolerance than I care for.
“More than you can handle,” he says, deliberately laughing in my face as I hear the doors of the shop bust open.
“Fuck.” I fire a shot into his head, ending him before the other demons storm my current location. I pull the blade from his knee and run for cover as I hear them rapidly gaining ground.
There’s no use in running you know. They can sense you, remember?
“Yeah but that doesn’t mean I can’t pick shots.” A rain of bullets fly towards me as I make my escape. There has to be at least three, but it’s hard to tell with them alternating fire from different angles.
You could give me full control. I assure you, I’ll settle this quickly.
“I’ll pass.”
I post against a wall and then break away as I fire off a couple rounds. Before they can return fire, I’m gone and off to my next location. They’re five of them—paramedics armed with handguns and other things I probably don’t want any part of.
Oh my, whatever will you do, Miss Ray?
Another slew of bullets come hurtling my way as I try to shake them. Even though they can’t see me, their shots come dangerously close. “Al, I’m running out of options here!” I wait behind another corner and fire at the first sound of movement that crosses my path. I peek around the corner and see that I hit one of them in the chest. He’s wounded but not dead. I fire another just as the goon squad retaliates, but I come up empty. To my one shot, half a dozen are returned and I’m forced back into cover.
You know where I stand, love.
I crouch against the wall and reload silently, taking full advantage of the momentary ceasefire. In the lull, I hear a set of footsteps steadily moving closer to my position.
Here we go, Sailor, now or never.
As the demon turns the corner, I lunge for him, but he still manages to get his shot off. The bullet rips through the top of my shoulder but it does nothing to stop my assault. Ignoring the pain, I wrap around him and put the knife to his throat, pressing deep enough to draw blood. As I dangle his life in my hands, he lets out a scream that alerts the others who are already well on their way.
“I dare you to try something!” They slow their pace but match me as I begin to back away. Leading him by my blade, I cut deeper and his friends stop altogether.
You know this won’t hold them for long, right?
I’m well aware.
I raise the gun I had hiding behind his back and shoot at the four in front of me. In the trade off, their bullets fly into their buddy while my spray riddles them with holes all over. All four of them drop to the floor as they bleed out helplessly. I invert my knife and plunge it into my hostage’s neck, causing his fluids to spew before his life leaves him.
Nicely done.
“No! Stay away from her!” Damn it, Ben!
The shop comes alive once more as a rush of adrenaline pumps through my veins. I quickly find cover to stay hidden as I hastily reload, wary of the unseen assailants. There’s more? They must have come in between the gunfire so I wouldn’t have noticed. Fuck, this is bad. They could be anywhere.
With my free hand, I fumble through my pocket in search of my phone. The screen is cracked but to my surprise, it’s still in working order. I anxiously glance to both sides of me while I speed dial the only people who can help me get out of this mess.
Come on, come on.
The phone rings but no one picks up. They probably think I’m dead. Ever since I met Alfonse, I’ve been like a ghost to them—exclusively off the grid.
Things are getting more hectic, and I’m stuck hiding when I can make a difference. The tone for voicemail finally prompts and gives me a slight release to my
sense of urgency.
“Hey, I’ll make this quick. It’s Sailor, I’m still alive and I’m in some deep shit. I was working on a lead on Sphinx and got ambushed by a pack of demons at Vickie’s Coffee House downtown. Two innocents are with me. One guy and one girl. Girl in critical condition. If I’m not there when ya’ll arrive, find me. You should be able to track my phone no problem now. I’m turning on my tracker. I’ll see you in a bit. And you better hurry, because I’m about to do something really stupid.”
And who might that be?
I ignore Alfonse as I activate my GPS and hide my phone in one of my socks while I listen to what’s going on at the other side of the shop. Ben is shouting, and the demons seem to be shouting back. “Al, why are Ben and the girl still alive? What are they keeping them for?”
A bargaining chip for you, perhaps. The boy as a stand-alone was already invested in quite heavily before your arrival. They may see potential in having him as a vessel. As for the girl, seeing as you went for an extraction rather than killing her and the demon, they most likely figured you have soft spot for her, which you most certainly do. She is...disposable.
I hear Ben grunt in tandem with a demon as he yells in pain. A gunshot quickly follows after.
“Ben!” I emerge from my cover and run to the origin of the sound. “Ben!” I can see him now. He’s surrounded by demons and holding his arm that’s bleeding from his bicep.
“No, don’t!” Ben reaches out to me but he’s not quick enough. By the time I hear the warning, it’s too late. Just as I stop, I hear the clink of metal brushing across the back of my head. I fall to the floor in a daze, drifting downwards as the world becomes a blur. I feel a tug against my waist. Everything is floating, and I can’t seem to find my center. The phantom hand that moves me flips me over as I lay still, lost in the world. There are screams and more screams. Yelling and shouting, but it all seems so far from me now. In a sea of darkness, I’m surrounded by an ink-black emptiness that stretches as far as my eyes can see. Was I doing something?
Sailor Ray and the Darkest Night (The Pact Book 1) Page 8