by Michael Todd
Angie pointed at the sign with a straight face. “No, they’re all team play. Now get your booty in gear and come find a team.”
Juntto pouted. “I’ve never been good on a team. I suck at talking to people. I suck at being human. I suck at all of that. Why do you think I was sent to this dimension by myself?”
Angie smiled and put her hands on his arms. “That’s not true. You don’t suck at any of that. In fact, every time we’re out somewhere, I find you talking to someone. You attract people with your wonderful personality. And don’t forget, you fought on a team with Brock and the others. And Katie and Pandora too. They aren’t fond of teams either, but they love being with all of us.”
Juntto let out a long breath and nodded. “Okay. Let’s find a team.”
Angie clapped her hands. “That’s the spirit. Now put on a happy face so you don’t scare your prospective team.”
They made their way into one of the smaller arenas, where everyone was looking at the different vendor booths lined up through the center. Juntto walked around the room, asking random people if they wanted to be on his DOTA team. The first five or so didn’t play the game, but after a while, he had managed to collect three guys to play with him.
Juntto rubbed his beard. “Do you guys have any friends here with you that play? We need a fifth player.”
The guys looked at each other. They were all in their teens, and all relatively nerdy. They looked at Juntto and shook their heads. Juntto sighed and let his arms fall to his sides. Angie rolled her eyes and tapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll play.”
Juntto slowly turned toward her and put out his hands. “I’m such an idiot. How did I not think of that before? Out of everyone I know, you are the best DOTA player ever. You’re probably the best on the team. No offense, guys.”
The guys all shrugged, finding themselves nervous around a girl. Angie blinked at them and chuckled, picking up on their nerves right away. “You guys need to snap right out of that shit if you’re going to be on the winning team. You can’t be afraid to talk to me while we’re playing.”
Juntto chuckled watching them. “She’s pretty hot, right?”
Angie punched him in the arm. “And you. The next time I wipe your useless dead DOTA body off the map, just remember you should have asked me first.”
She put her head up and stomped off toward the registration table. Juntto chuckled, walking with the guys behind her. “Girls are so mysterious.”
One of the guys scoffed. “Tell me about it. They are worse than Blighttown in Dark Souls.”
Everyone else just nodded.
Katie was starting to feel claustrophobic in the condo. All the talk about friendships and fighting was getting to her. She stepped onto the balcony and stretched out her wings, soaring straight up into the sky. She flapped a bit harder until she got to the roof, landing softly. I think I’m actually starting to get that shit down.
Pandora chuckled. Until you trip and land on your face.
Katie smiled and walked to the edge of the building, sitting down on the ledge. She dangled her feet over and looked down at the crowds dispersing in front of the building. What do you think those protestors do when they get home?
Pandora scoffed. Probably feed their nine cats, say hi to their mother, and retire to the basement where they pull up social media and become keyboard warriors.
Katie nodded with wide eyes. You’re probably right. I should have not threatened to toss that guy in the Hudson.
Pandora sniffed. Nah. He will keep it to himself. He pissed his pants, and everyone noticed.
Katie giggled. Whoops. She looked out over the city and let out a deep breath, the steam rising up above her. I wonder where I would have been if I never got infected?
Pandora howled with laughter. Scared, holding your volleyball and wondering what to do with your life now that demons were taking over. You would have been hopeless. You forget, I got a glimpse of who you were when I first got shoved into you.
Katie was about to argue back but stopped. I don’t even have a defense. I’m pretty sure you’re right. I’d like to say life would be a lot less complicated, but that’s bullshit. Life is always complicated, angel, demon, or other.
Pandora chuckled. Yeah. Speaking of demons, it seems like my demon powers are almost completely gone. I feel like that is going to pose a bit of a problem for us. I mean, I can still heal you and all that stuff, but as far as portals to hell, that probably won’t happen again.
Katie shrugged. Okay, so you lose those powers. So what? You’re gaining angel powers, and so am I. If your demon powers are fading, then we better get a handle on my angel powers.
Pandora wasn’t sure how she felt about her lack of demon powers, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Well, if we’re going to do that, then we need a testing ground to do it on. There has to be something nefarious going on somewhere in the country, right?
Katie nodded, pulling out her phone. Well, if we don’t see it here, then Timothy will know just where we can find some action. I guess it’s good to still have my team somewhat intact. In a good way, I’m not completely on my own yet.
She called Timothy, and he answered right away. “Hey there, sassy lady. You still pretending to be Frosty the Killer Snowman? Mowing down the big man in red?”
Katie shook her head. “Very funny. No, hopefully that was a one-time deal.”
Timothy sighed. “Too bad. I thought it was fabulous. So, what can I do for you?”
Katie knew Timothy would have called about any major attacks, but there had to be more than that. “Is there anything going on in the United States? Or wherever, I guess.”
Timothy typed on his keyboard. “Nothing serious or you would have gotten a heads-up already. It looks like there is something going on in Florida, but the locals have it under control.”
Katie stood up and walked across the roof. “That’s fine. I don’t want to do a ton of fighting. Just testing something.”
Timothy paused. “Okay. Do you want me to send you the coordinates?”
Katie shook her head. “No need. I’ll call you later.”
“Sounds good,” Timothy replied. “Kisses!”
Katie hung up and nodded. Looks like we got our spot. Now what?
Pandora stepped out of Katie, sending her slightly off balance. “Now we learn how to make a beautiful portal.”
Katie shook the dizziness from her head. “On my own?”
Pandora smiled. “All on your own. Okay, the first thing you want to do is draw your hand through the air like you’re unzipping a pair of pants on a sexy man.”
Katie raised an eyebrow. “How do I know where I’m going?”
Pandora waved her hands at Katie. “You don’t, not really. The first time, you’re just trying to get out of this dimension. The second time, you’ll need to focus on where you want to go.”
Katie swallowed and faced forward next to Pandora. She focused her energy and mind and waved her hand through the air, then paused for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth. “Nothing happened.”
Pandora squared her shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s like wiggling your ears or rolling your tongue.”
Katie wrinkled her nose. “I can’t do either of those things. My tongue is pretty much just flat all the time. I’m surprised I don’t talk with a lisp.”
Pandora laughed. “I feel like if you did, it would change the whole dynamic of who you are as a superhero. People would be thrown off.”
Katie blinked at her.
Pandora sighed. “Just let go. Find that part of you that has wings and can call your angelic armor. That part of you knows how to do it. Once it comes to you, it will almost do the work without you putting effort into it. Of course, that will take you fucking relaxing those goddamned shoulders.”
Katie snarled, letting her shoulders drop. She took a deep breath and tilted her head back, thinking about how it felt to summon her angel powers. Once the warm glow filled her chest, she reached o
ut and waved her hand. She opened her eyes when Pandora gasped to see a wide-open portal in front of her.
10
Katie and Pandora stepped through the portal, letting it close behind them. Katie looked around; they were in a snowy forest. It was beautiful, like something out of a fairytale. The sun was bright, and the snow sparkled beneath her. It was powdery and light and wisped around her like fireflies in the summer.
Pandora elbowed Katie and nodded ahead of them. Katie looked up to find a young guy with a sword and a woman with a purple mohawk. Pandora faked a smile and waved at them, leaning toward Katie and speaking out the side of her mouth. “Now, think about that location in Florida. Everything you know about it. Beaches, swamp. And there will be demons there. That will help you pinpoint the exact location.”
While Pandora and Katie conversed, the purple-mohawked girl slowly turned toward the guy. “What’s happening? Do you see those two angels?”
The guy was watching them intently. “I do.”
The girl blinked several times, frozen in place. “What do we do?”
The guy slowly shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Katie took a deep breath and waved her arm in front of her again, a new portal splitting open. She looked at Pandora and they both nodded, taking each other’s hand and stepping through. The portal slammed shut, leaving the guy and woman perplexed.
The woman walked to where the portal had been. “Should we tell the Shaman?”
The guy chuckled nervously. “What are we going to tell him? That two angels visited us?”
The woman nodded. “Right. Let’s just keep this between us.”
Katie looked down as her boot slipped into the sand in front of her. The portal closed behind her, and she wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Looking around, she realized they were on the beach, and it was chilly, even for Florida. There were still umbrellas up, though, and the waves were crashing on the shore just a few feet away from them.
Pandora looked at the blue sky and squinted her eyes. “I think you found Florida. That, or we are in some strange dimension that has beautiful beaches.”
Katie stepped forward, looking at the stretch of sand in front of them. “If it’s another dimension, let’s hope they don’t have sharks with legs.”
Pandora gasped. “Oh my God, it could be like Sharknado. That would be epic.”
Katie slowly turned her head toward Pandora. “Really, out of all the movies we have watched together, you decide to get excited about Sharknado? You really need to get with the program here.”
Screams came from behind them. Pandora and Katie whirled around to find several demons chasing people across the beach. One of the demons had a frisbee in its mouth and it was slobbering all over it. Pandora grimaced at the sight. “Nasty little fuckers. Well, it’s not an incursion, but it’s a good place to start, I guess.”
Katie sighed. “How does this even happen? Where did these little bastards come from?”
A glopping noise came from their right. Both of them looked over, staring at a porta-potty sitting on the sidelines. Shit spurted out of it, and a small rift was open right over the seat. Katie gagged, covering her mouth, and Pandora sneered, her lip twitching. “I was wondering why such a beautiful place smelled like the underbelly of a pig. Those assholes opened a rift right into a fucking toilet. I told you they don’t actually have brains. I’ve always wanted to dissect one and see if there was just ooze up there.”
Katie turned away from the outhouse and swallowed, closing her eyes. “I guess it could be worse. I could have opened the portal inside the porta-potty. We would be testing angelic powers smelling like feces.”
Pandora waved her hand and grabbed her throat. “It’s too much. Stop. I can do eating puppies and even watching Lucifer devour his dinner with bits of food and bone flying everywhere, but this? Nope. I’m too perfect for this shit. Let’s take care of these demons and go find the damn incursion. I don’t want to be here anymore, beautiful beach or not.”
Katie nodded and reached for her sword. “Agreed.”
Pandora grabbed her wrist and shook her head. “Try to summon your angelic fire. You used it once before to lay waste to a whole bunch of demons. Remember though, it drains you, so it can’t be used all the time. But if you get into trouble fighting, it’s good to have in your back pocket. Kind of like a backup gun.”
Katie sheathed her sword. “I guess I can try it. Just hope it doesn’t knock me out too bad, or we will be taking a vacation here. You can’t open a portal.”
They heard a loud crunch and followed the sound. A demon had caught one of the women and was holding her by the neck with his teeth. Pandora groaned and pulled out her sword. “Okay, change of plans. They’re now eating people, so I guess we should send them back to hell.”
Katie nodded. “Probably a good idea.”
They ran toward a group of people who had been backed up against an embankment by three snarling demons. Katie took the right, and Pandora the left. Pandora walked up behind her demon and tapped it on the shoulder with the tip of her sword. The demon turned around, growling at first, then its eyes grew wide.
Pandora laughed. “That’s right, you idiot. It’s me. The former queen of hell, now transformed into one sexy fucking angel. You aren’t going back to hell today, my friend. You are d-e-a-d, dead.”
She sliced the demon’s head right off its shoulders. It screeched and then went silent as the head hit the sand and quickly turned to ash. Katie did the same without the theatrics, stabbing the second through the heart. The third, she cut in half. The people watched them with wide eyes as the angels sped off down the beach to take out the last couple of demons wreaking havoc.
Katie cut down the last of them and wiped her forehead, walking over to Pandora. Pandora dropped the body of a dead demon and watched it turn to dust, which blew out to the sea. “Fair winds, my friend.”
Katie sheathed her sword. “Okay, I think I’m ready to try to focus my angel fire.”
Pandora nodded and looked around. “Good, but this place is done for. We need to keep training.”
Katie pulled out her phone and called Timothy back. He answered quickly. “Why does my locator app tell me you are calling from Florida? How the hell did you get there so fast?”
Katie shook her head. “Long story. I took care of an incursion on the beach somewhere in Florida. About a half-dozen demons. Where is another small incursion?”
Timothy chuckled. “Doing some light housekeeping today?”
Katie smiled. “You know me, always staying on my toes. These small incursions are actually kind of fun. No giant death monsters trying to smash me with boulders.”
Timothy giggled. “That’s right, sweet cheeks. You keep looking at the bright side.”
Katie and Pandora stepped through another portal, talking to each other and not paying attention. Katie shook her head. “No, you can’t just roll into a party and start throwing out magic fire. You actually have to protect the humans.”
Pandora shrugged. “Collateral damage.”
Katie sighed. “Sometimes you really scare me.”
Pandora looked up. “You know what scares me? Disgusting puffy pink things. Where the fuck did you take us?”
The dimension was brightly colored. Tall, slender tree trunks shot up around them toward the sky with puffs of wavy pink cotton-like foliage forming a canopy. Small furry animals scurried across the ground, stopping and waving. Katie tilted her head to the side. “Did that thing just smile and wave at me?”
Pandora wrinkled her nose. “I think it did. I feel like the fucking Lorax is going to come rolling around the corner at any minute to protect the trees.”
Katie smiled. “I liked that movie. Good message in the end.”
Pandora rolled her eyes. “Please. I think trees are the last thing Earth needs to worry about right now. Try man-eating demons trying to take over and use you as slaves.”
Katie pouted. “Fine. But if we lose to the demons,
I want to come here to live.”
Pandora shook her head. “That’s when we will part ways. But for now, please get us out of here.”
Katie rolled her shoulders. “Why can’t I just use this dimension as a shortcut all the time?”
Pandora shrugged. “Maybe if you spent enough time here, you could, but you have to really know a place to be able to travel directly there.”
Katie put out her hands. “Then hold onto your corset. Who knows where we’ll end up?”
Katie opened another portal, and they stepped through.
Angie grimaced and covered her face as Juntto slammed his hand on the table top. He’d just lost a game of DOTA 2 pretty badly. He stood up and stomped over to the team. “I still get two more tries. I’m a bit rusty, but I’m getting it together.”
Angie clapped her hands. “Okay, gather around. We may not know each other very well, but we know this game like the backs of our hands. When you’re a good player, you can play with anyone, right?”
The guys all nodded. Angie smiled. “That’s the spirit. We need to move like one team. We need to trust each other and have each other’s backs. If we don’t all make it, then none of us do.”
Juntto slapped his hands together, interrupting Angie. “That’s right. I’ve played with some really big newbies, but we all had each other’s backs and we came out on top. There is nothing different about this. We are warriors. Whoever you are here—nerd, jock, hot chick—it doesn’t matter. When we step into that game, we are warriors. We will battle through the thick of it. We will take the hits and keep getting up. We will swing our Meteor Hammers, Shadow Blades, and Skull Bashers with the strength of a thousand men! We will watch their blood sink into the soil and their bodies fall to the ground like heaps of rotten meat!”
Angie lifted her eyebrows, glad that Juntto had gotten his groove back but unsure how hardcore he really needed to be with the kids. She bit the inside of her lip and continued to listen.