Detarru Island

by Mickey Deymon

  While we were walking down the intersection at Sunnyside Street, I had this gut feeling again. I asked everyone to make a right turn on Irving Avenue, which would lead us to the I-495 Interstate, towards downtown Manhattan. Surprisingly, Matheus and my grandfather were letting me lead the way.

  They trusted me.

  Irving Avenue was looking a lot more ruined than Sunnyside Street.

  Cars were crushed, houses were destroyed, and some were on fire. We came across an unoccupied school bus that was parked on someone’s front lawn. Fortunately for us, it was still running.

  We heard screams and some growls. A few demons were heading our way.

  “Hurry!” I shouted. “Get in!”

  Everyone ran to the bus, while I was struggling to keep up. Thank goodness Patrick noticed and gave me a hand.

  “Come on, buddy!” he said while helping me out.

  As we were about to get in the bus, a lady came out of a house screaming and shouting for help. She had a demon right behind her. He grabbed her by her long hair and pulled back, then let go, causing her to fall on the ground, face first. She was hurt pretty bad. I couldn’t bear to watch, I had to save her.

  I ran to her.

  “Erick? What are you doing?” Patrick shouted trying to stop me. The pain in my chest and body had me limping, but I wasn’t going to let that poor lady die.

  Luckily, Luis and Jimmy joined me and ran past me. They both attacked the demon in unison.

  He didn’t see it coming.

  Luis grabbed him by his horns, while Jimmy kicked him right in the eye so hard, it exploded. Just like that, the demon dropped dead. Karma really got him good, and he sure deserved it. Yet I never thought these guys had so much strength in them. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before.

  Luis fixed his hair and winked at me as I watched them in awe.

  “Hehe, quien es el Matatan? Po yo!” he said in Spanish, cocky as usual.

  My Spanish was not very good, but I think he said something like ‘Who’s the man? Me of course!’ or something.

  Jimmy helped the lady up. She was bleeding from her forehead and knees from the fall. She was in her late fifties, gray hair, very skinny, pale and fragile for her age.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yes, thank you, thank you so much for saving me.” She thanked us all, then she hugged Luis and Jimmy.

  “You live alone?” I asked.

  “I do, yes.”

  “Please come with us,” I pleaded.

  She hesitated a little. “Where are you headed?”

  “To the city,” I replied.

  “Oh my, haven’t you heard the news? It’s dangerous down there. Everyone is evacuating.”

  “I know, and it looks like it’s going to get worse soon. Listen, I would hate to leave you behind, so why don’t you stick with us.”

  “Alright.” She nodded.

  We all ran back to the bus where the rest were waiting.

  “Why are we going to the city, Erick?” Larry asked.

  “There’s something I need to do. Can you drive this thing?”

  “Totally.”

  He got in front of the wheel and turned the bus around. We drove down the interstate. As I stood in the front of the bus, the guys were seated looking out their windows for any demons. The lady also sat quietly while cleaning off the blood on her knees with the tip of her skirt. I looked out through my window and saw that there were many abandoned vehicles on the road.

  It was a mess.

  It’s like Satu wanted to wipe out an entire civilization.

  We had to zigzag through traffic and drive in the emergency lane on the right. I noticed a few pedestrians running around on the streets. I guess they were running from demons.

  “What is your name?” I asked the lady.

  “Sarah. What’s yours?”

  “My name is Erick.” I extended my hand.

  “Nice to meet you, Erick.” She took my hand.

  “The old guy over there is my grandfather and these are my friends,” I said, pointing at the guys and Kate. I mentioned everybody’s name. “I hope you don’t mind coming with us.”

  “No, not at all. Thank goodness you were around to save me. Do you know what those things are?”

  I glanced at Pops and Matheus. I wasn’t sure what to tell her. Pops joined the conversation and explained everything. She gasped, and couldn’t believe those monsters were really demons from hell.

  “No worries, Sarah, these guys will protect us,” Kate said smiling.

  Have I ever mentioned how gorgeous she was? I looked at her while she spoke to Sarah. The way she spoke, the way she smiled, then looked at me, then at Sarah. It was breathtaking.

  They were having a conversation for a moment, and I think they were even talking about me, but I was too distracted looking at Kate.

  “I gotta say, he’s one of a kind, right, Erick?” Kate asked.

  “Huh?” was my reply.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Uh, yeah! Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, feeling like an idiot again.

  “Are you two… you know? Going out?” Sarah asked.

  “Umm, no, uh not exactly,” I replied blushing while Kate shook her head.

  “Hmm, well just so you know, you’d make such a cute couple,” she suggested giggling.

  At this point, Kate and I were feeling kind of awkward.

  Kate spoke first. “Thanks, Sarah.” She smiled, then turned to me. “Umm, we need to place some ice on those cheeks. They’re looking really bad.” She started touching my face.

  “Ouch, that hurts.”

  “Sorry,” she said with puppy eyes.

  I forgave her MILLION times.

  She walked to the back of the bus, looking for a first aid kit. When she found it, she grabbed the kit, then took out an ice pack, a few gauze pads and alcohol pads. She provided a few bandages for Sarah too. Then she started cleaning up my bruises and boo boos. Her hands were soft and gentle; I didn’t feel a thing.

  “You are pretty good at this,” I said, admiring her.

  “Really? Thanks! It comes with practice, I guess. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor.”

  “You should totally go for it!” I encouraged, smiling. She smiled back and continued cleaning up my wounds.

  "I wanted to thank you,” I said, breaking the silence.

  “For what?”

  “If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve never found them,” I said looking at the guys. She turned to them as well. She sat across from Sarah and started helping her with her wounds.

  “Now I see why my brother respects you so much.”

  “He does?”

  “My brother wasn’t always like this, you know. He used to be such a jerk, and very rebellious for some reason. He was just always so…”

  “Grumpy?” I finished.

  “Yes! Exactly. Then ever since he met you, he changed drastically. I didn’t understand why at first, but now I do. They all respect you and look up to you as a leader. You have a great heart, and that is very contagious. Because of that, they believe in you and now I do too!”

  I was speechless.

  “Look out!” Matheus warned.

  There was a loud boom. Larry turned the wheels to the right, and we almost fell on top of each other. “Brace yourselves, we’re being attacked!” Larry screamed.

  I walked to the front of the bus and saw a few fireballs aimed our way from the sky. We dodged one of them, but the other hit the roof of the bus. It got us by an inch.

  We were lucky. There were more fireballs seen from a distance heading our way.

  “Larry, we need to get on the service road, now,” I instructed. I figured we were a bright yellow cheese bus, for everyone to see. I thought maybe by driving on the service road,
we’d have a better chance of staying unnoticed. It worked for a few minutes, then two huge demons spotted us again.

  These two were different, and they weren’t cyclops. They were uglier and bigger. No teeth, hollow eyes and no nose. Taller than an electric pole with long arms, and white skinny pale skin. One of them opened his mouth wide and a small fireball was created and grew bigger and bigger by the second.

  So that’s where they were coming from.

  As soon as the giant ball got big enough, the demon spit it out, up in the air. Unfortunately for us, we were the targets. Larry again turned the wheels and dodged both the monster and the fireball. The turn was so unexpected; I didn’t get the chance to hold on. I fell on top of Matheus and almost killed the poor thing. Sarah and Kate were holding on to each other while the guys watched in horror through their windows.

  Both monsters ran after us.

  “Faster, Larry!” Jimmy yelled. “They’re gaining on us!”

  “I am going faster,” Larry countered, pressing on the gas. I took a quick glimpse at the speedometer and we were going 100 miles an hour.

  Fast, but not fast enough to get away from these anorexic giants. One of the white devils stretched his long arms and smashed our back windows.

  “Larry!” Kate shouted again.

  “I know. I know!” Larry screamed at her. He was under a lot of pressure and his forehead was sweating.

  “We need to get off on this exit!” I said.

  “Where are we going?” he asked, concerned.

  “I need to find an old friend.”

  Deep inside I was hoping this person had made it back to the city. If not, it was all for nothing.

  One of the white devils lurched at us again with his huge hand. He missed, but made the bus swerve a little. We almost hit an abandoned police car. The other beast was about to launch another one of those fireballs but I saw the Midtown Tunnel coming up ahead.

  YES!

  The tunnel was too small for the beasts to follow. That was good news.

  As soon as the demon launched the fireball, Larry hit the gas even harder. When we made our way inside, the ball hit the top of the tunnel, causing a big chunk of wall and rubble to come down on us. The impact was so big that Patrick and Bruce were lucky not to get crushed in the back. Luckily, the bus was still halfway inside, and we were able to get out.

  “Everyone alright?” I exclaimed, making sure no one was hurt. Everyone was accounted for.

  I checked on Pops and Sarah, both were alright. Then I made sure Kate was okay. Larry pulled the handle to open the door. Matheus was the first one to get off the bus and scoped the area for more danger.

  Suddenly, a hand crashed through the back of the bus and grabbed on to my leg. It was so fast I didn’t have time to react.

  It was one of the white devils again.

  I was trying to get free but the thing had a pretty good grip on my leg. He was dragging me out of the tunnel. Jimmy, Luis and Patrick all grabbed on to me and tried to pull me out of his grip.

  It wasn’t working.

  Matheus came running fast. He bit the monster with his sharp teeth a few times. We heard loud cries and the demon was in pain, but he still didn’t let go of my leg. Kate ran to the back and picked up a sharp piece of glass from the broken windows. She punctured the thing several times, then she stabbed the pinky finger, twisted the glass, pulled the skin hard, and then ripped it off, just like that. Red blood spilled all over her and my legs. I was baffled.

  Not only was she HOT, but she could also kick butt!

  After a few agonizing screams, the demon let go of my leg. He tried to pull the bus out, with us still inside.

  Talk about stubborn.

  Bruce helped me up and we all ran out just in time before the demon managed to get the bus out. The rest of the wall collapsed behind us and there was no way in or out from that side of the tunnel.

  We were all gasping for air.

  “Everyone alright?” Jimmy asked.

  “That was close,” Bruce said, still breathing hard. I looked at Kate who was trenched in demon blood next to me. She didn’t look very happy.

  “You totally rocked back there!” I said, even more in love with her than ever.

  “Don’t mention it.”

  She felt sick and had her arms out, trying not to touch the blood on her.

  “We have to be careful,” Matheus spoke. “Let’s try to stick together. Danger waits in every corner. Let’s get out of this tunnel before those things come back.”

  It was going to be a long way out.

  Chapter 14

  Manhattan

  From a bright sunny and clear blue sky to a dark cold and gray ominous one, the city was looking more chaotic by the minute. More and more people were injured and more demons were destroying everything in their paths. Downtown Manhattan was no longer a city. Trains and subways weren’t running and abandoned. Bridges were collapsing, and buildings were evacuated. 42nd Street and Broadway was no longer a street of attraction either. The big monitors were all shut down and some were broken. The few that were still functional were broadcasting the destruction of the city from helicopters. There had to be hundreds of white devils all over the city, blowing up buildings and streets with their deadly fire balls.

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art was strangely the only building that had not been touched yet. Everyone had evacuated the city except for one specific group of people. There were hundreds of men and women lined up in front of the museum. They were all suited up in black and they were all armed.

  The Satunians.

  Their army expanded from 86th Street all the way down to 58th, between Lexington and 5th Avenue. That was only 1% of such magnitude of an army. There were thousands of demons waiting by The Gates of Hell. Waiting for orders from a bald man in a cape, standing in front of the Museum.

  Satu.

  He was looking at his powerful army while they looked back at their leader. Satu kept looking at the city’s destruction. He enjoyed every minute of it. He erupted with laughter, celebrating his successes so far.

  He raised his right hand and pointed towards the city.

  Such command had the Satunian army, marching together towards their commanding posts.

  “Lola?” Satu called.

  A female demon walked up to him. It was the same female demon that wounded both Erick and Matheus.

  “You called?” she said, standing next to him.

  “Where have you been?” he asked furiously.

  “Oh, just toying with humans!” she replied with enthusiasm.

  “I need you to do one last thing for me.”

  “That’ll cost you”

  “I know.” He forged a smile.

  “Great! What do you need?”

  “Your demons haven’t found Ethasus yet. I’m starting to believe they aren’t qualified for this task.”

  “Do not underestimate them, Satu. That will change once they start feeding on human souls.”

  “So why haven’t you given the order?” he asked, even more aggravated.

  “Because you didn’t ask,” she responded innocently.

  Satu really disliked her.

  “Find Ethasus, and bring him to me as soon as you can. Can you do that? Or is it too much to ask?” he said with gritted teeth. His soulless eyes stared down at Lola with a strong fortitude.

  She found that very captivating in fact. She knew Satu was going to find every way possible to not lose this fight. He had a massive army now and the possibility of Ethasus winning this fight was very low. Nonetheless, he insisted in capturing Ethasus, which was very unusual to her.

  “You must be desperate,” she mocked.

  He didn’t like the remark. He stared her down again with that insensitive glare. Lola was never intimidated though. She ignored his cold s
tares and walked right past him. Her back was now facing him and she simply did not care.

  He was surely a joke to her.

  “Why do you need me to find him so badly?”

  “It isn’t your place to question me,” he countered.

  “Sure it is, because without me, you wouldn’t have an army,” she said flatly. Satu didn’t reply. He imagined crushing her bones in pieces, yet he knew she was right. Lola was the Master Chief of Inferno, and she knew all the prominent demons. Even devils from other dimensions. He knew she was way too resourceful, but not for long. He had bigger plans in mind. One where his reward was going to be mightier than ever before. He only needed a source of power, one that he could control. He had the perfect group in mind.

  The Others.

  “You are absolutely right,” he finally said, pretending to be nice. “The reason why I need your help is simply because if I have Ethasus, The Others will come here looking for him.”

  “What makes you so sure they’ll come here just to save him?”

  “Because they’re buddies!” he said with a cynical laughter.

  “Alright then, I’ll do it, but like I said, this is going to cost you,” she reminded.

  “Of course! Name your price.”

  “Ethasus!”

  Satu’s eyes opened wider than a football. For a second he kind of wondered if she was referring to his soul, or did she have something else in mind?

  “First tell me, what do you need him for?” he questioned.

  “Not until you tell me why you need The Others.”

  Both were silent now. They both had big plans, none of which they would speak of.

  When it came down to demons, it was ‘trust no one,’ or ‘finder’s keepers’ types of ideals.

  “Very well then, I’ll hand you Ethasus once I have The Others,” he bargained.

  “It is always a pleasure doing business with you.” She jumped up in the air, spread her black wings, and flew off over the billions of Satunians who were still marching off to their respective destinations.

  Downtown

  We finally made it out of the tunnel safely.

  As we moved down the street, we saw a wave of people marching by. They were all in different groups, each heading different directions. They were all armed and ready. Men and women of all ages were marching together.