The World Ends Tonight

by Wood, Rick

  What’s more, Martin knew sooner or later he was going to have to answer questions.

  But the Church would arrive soon, if they hadn’t already. Clear up this mess. Sort out the answers.

  For now, he was happy Derek was alive.

  Martin leant his head back, feeling content, calm, happy it was all over.

  His mind relaxed. His eyelids grew heavy.

  His mind drifted to heavy dreams.

  He was back on the field. Staring at Eddie’s broken corpse beside him. The blood from Eddie’s torso pouring through his hands.

  He was breathing heavily, sweating profusely. He clutched a knife, staring at it, in adamant disbelief of what he had just done.

  He turned to the face laid beside him. It didn’t move. Eddie’s eyes stared straight ahead, fixed in a rigid position with nothing behind them.

  A thin slit in his heart where Martin had just withdrawn the knife still gushed blood. It poured down his sides like spilt wine, sinking into the grass beneath him.

  Martin’s first thought was – how is he still bleeding so much when he’s dead?

  Then his head dropped.

  Oh, dear God. I killed Edward King. I killed him.

  He looked down at his hands, eyes wide, face full of terror. His arms shook, his legs shook, his entire body seized.

  He bolted upright and his eyes flung open. He was beside Derek’s bed, peering around himself, perspiring heavily, his head a complete daze.

  “You were talking,” came a reassuring voice.

  Martin threw his head up, elated to be staring at the open eyes of Derek.

  “Derek!”

  After his initial excitement left him, a growing concern at Derek’s feeble state filled him with alarm. The man could barely lift his arms. Yet he was still staring happily in Martin’s direction, a weary smile spread from cheek to cheek.

  “I’m okay,” Derek reassured him. “The question is, are you?”

  Martin shook his head.

  “I killed Eddie, man,” he answered, his voice drifting into a whimper. “I killed Eddie…”

  “Martin, listen to me,” Derek spoke once more, reaching out, finding that his arm would not stretch more than half an inch.“It’s okay,” Derek kept repeating. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

  Martin vigorously shook his head.

  “But… aren’t I going to hell?”

  “Martin, look at me,” Derek commanded. “Look at me.”

  Martin finally gave in, looking Derek in the eyes.

  “You did well,” Derek spoke sincerely, making strong eye contact, assuring Martin knew that he did the right thing. “You did well, you did what he asked. You didn’t kill a human, you sent a soul back to heaven – you just restored the natural order. It’s over.”

  Martin froze.

  Those last words rang in Martin’s ears again and again and again.

  It’s over.

  It’s over.

  It’s over.

  “Is it?” he asked.

  “What?” Derek replied.

  “Over? Is it really over?”

  Derek smiled and nodded. His smile grew, and Martin joined him in a happy grin.

  “For our part, it is,” Derek answered. “It’s up to Eddie and Cassy now. Our part is done.”

  Martin nodded, dropping his hand to his side. Within seconds he had become an emotional mess, tears rolling down his cheeks, looking through the window at the black clouds which were now parting, revealing a pleasant image of a clear, starry sky.

  When he looked back to Derek, he was asleep again.

  “Good luck, Cassy,” he spoke, wondering if they could hear him.

  62

  Cassy’s right hand gripped Eddie’s ankle as tightly as she possibly could. Her white dress, stained with splatters of blood, fluttered manically in the surge of the wind as they travelled at what seemed like a million miles an hour.

  The only thing that was stopping her from falling into the aerodynamic resistance was her grip on Eddie that was feeling less and less secure.

  They were in a narrow passageway, soaring ahead, speeding along a cylinder casing that would lead to either heaven or hell.

  Vague colours and blurs streaked past their eyes, supernatural elements surging against them too quickly to make out. She struggled to lift her other hand against the resistance of the speeding wind beating against her. She persisted, scrunching up her face, battling the elements until she finally managed to grip both hands around his ankle.

  She peered toward Eddie’s face to find that his eyes were closed. This was the passageway to the afterlife – no one is ever conscious for this, and she knew his eyes would not open again until they reached their ultimate destination.

  He would not know whether she was successful until he landed in either a saintly garden or a malicious pit of hell.

  It was her job to get him to heaven, and she had to do it on her own, praying against the odds that they would even be let in.

  Numbing herself against the rapid ferocity of their tumultuous speed, she clung on, wrapping her hands firmly around him.

  All the fighting would mean nothing if she let hell take him now.

  Using his leg to climb, she pulled herself up his body, gripping, squeezing, until she reached his chest and could wrap both arms around him.

  It was okay.

  She had him.

  They were on their way to heaven and she had him.

  Just as a sense of security settled in, she felt a painful hit pound into her side and spin them in manic circles.

  She grew dizzy against the rotations, doing all she could to remain around him, to make sure it did not derail her.

  As the spinning slowed she looked to her side, gasping.

  A grinning, malevolent, red face glared back at her. She had never seen the face before, but recognised what it was instantly, understood what was happening.

  Hell was mounting its attack.

  She was staring into the eyes of Satan.

  The devil himself had come to claim Eddie’s soul.

  His dark-red hand gripped its blackened claws around Eddie’s leg, seemingly holding on with far more ease than Cassy had been afforded.

  The devil reached a scarred fist backwards, then launched it forward into Cassy’s face.

  A bolt of pain and burst of shock shook her, sending a painful surge through her nose.

  She loosened her grip on Eddie for a brief moment, but managed to clutch back onto him, ignoring the flickers of blood soaring past her, determined to keep hold of him.

  Not just for humanity’s sake, but for her loving brother’s soul.

  He’d fought for hers on millennium night, now it was her turn to save him from an eternity of damnation.

  The devil cackled, lifted its arm and shot a line of ongoing fire in Cassy’s direction. She ducked her head and withstood the fire, feeling the heat burning her skin, scorching her, forcing her to endure agonising pain.

  Her hands slipped, and she ended up back at Eddie’s ankle, grasping on for dear life.

  She had to endure it.

  It didn’t matter whether she survived, she just had to see Eddie’s safe passage to God.

  My life means nothing now.

  Whatever the devil threw at her, she had to take it. Had to suffer the agony.

  Still, the devil’s continuous burst of fire hounded her skin, berating it with a temperature she couldn’t withstand. She felt her insides singe, her body burn with severe torment.

  The stream of flames paused, allowing her to look down at herself, recoiling at the sight of her blackened skin. Her entire body was scarred and covered with smoky residue, throbbing with the torture of a thousand burns, her white dress now black.

  Ash floated out of her hair and she had to blink it out of her eyes.

  Her hands throbbed with burns, causing her continuous pain as she forced her muscles to cling on. She had to resist the temptation to loosen her grip and relieve the pain.
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br />   Must withstand… Must keep hold of Eddie…

  More cackles, roars, and growls echoed within the hollow cylinder, sadistically cackling voices accompanied by faces.

  More and more demons announced themselves, leering at her, following her as she sped through, filling her gut with dread.

  She gulped.

  She was vastly outnumbered and outpowered. She didn’t know how she was going to do this.

  Can’t.

  Let.

  Go.

  Must.

  Keep.

  Going.

  Another rapid burst of flames fired toward her and she felt what it was truly like to be burnt alive. It went through her skin, penetrated every cell, pounded her head, filled her body with piercing heat.

  I’m not going to be able to do this…

  The burst of flames ceased and she noticed tinges of black ash flying off her body.

  She wished Eddie could help her.

  But he was dead. His soul was sailing, but he would not know. He would not know who was winning this battle.

  I’m going to end up letting go, I can feel it…

  She tried manoeuvring herself around Eddie’s body so that she was shielded from the fire, but simply found herself surrounded by further masses of flying demons chasing after her with their arms surging an onslaught of flames in her direction.

  She was not about to be afforded mercy.

  What should I do?

  She had no powers. Heaven had its naivety in assuming the truce with hell would hold. Being an angel granted immortality, but nothing else.

  It all seemed so silly now.

  A truce with hell.

  A truce with creatures made of nothing but evil.

  Fools.

  She closed her eyes, scrunched her face, and tensed her body. Readied herself for further attack.

  She had to withstand it.

  Had to be resilient.

  Be strong. Like her brother.

  Like Derek, like Martin, like Jenny.

  This was her part in the war.

  This was the final part in the war.

  She had to see it through.

  A sudden roar of fire exploded against her ear drums and she felt it hit her from all directions. It travelled inside her, mixing with her bones, killing her muscles, filling her with dread and agony.

  She looked up at Eddie’s resting face.

  The fire scorched her knuckles.

  It was too much.

  “No!”

  Her hands slipped.

  She let go.

  When the fires stopped she opened her eyes.

  She searched her empty hands.

  She was no longer travelling or flying. She was static. Hovering helplessly in the middle of nowhere. Eddie was gone.

  She was entirely alone.

  She tried to travel forward, tried to chase after them, but it only made her realise she did not have the powers that demons did.

  She was completely stationary.

  They had Eddie.

  And Cassy was left floating in the abyss.

  63

  “No!” cried out Cassy defiantly. “No!”

  But it did nothing.

  Eddie was gone. She had let go. It was done.

  All that they had endured was for nothing.

  She looked down at her blackened skin. Her burnt, destroyed body.

  Her skin flaking off into ashes.

  She sobbed. She thought of Derek, thought of his face covered in disappointment. Thought of Martin, his face sympathetic, most likely understanding – and that, she decided, would be even more devastating.

  She thought of Jenny. What she would do. How she would not give up, and she would continue fighting for Eddie until the very end.

  She had failed.

  She had disappointed everyone.

  Eddie.

  Her brother.

  The one who lived whilst she died.

  The best older brother she could have asked for. He took care of her, raised her, never once getting annoyed by the irritating little sister who followed him around.

  Eddie had battled hell for her.

  Eddie had defeated Balam for her.

  Now he was taken. Aimed back to hell, for this all to start again. For the heir to rise once more. Only this time, the devil would know how the heir could be defeated. That would give him the advantage. He would take extra precautions, kill more people, do anything to ensure the heir of hell would rise.

  Humanity would not succeed in a second war.

  She closed her eyes.

  Allowed herself to hover weightlessly in the never-ending tube, the path to purgatory, heaven, or hell.

  Eddie would awaken later. He would awaken with the knowledge that Cassy had failed him. That he would be returning to hell to live out the rest of his life as a demon hell-bent on death and destruction.

  She allowed herself to remain still, lifting her arms out, keeping her eyes shut.

  Her body relaxed.

  Her mind overwhelmed with thoughts of inconsolable sorrow bashing against her skull.

  Something tucked around her waist.

  Was it a demon?

  Something come to finish her off?

  No…

  It was something else.

  Something soft. Reassuring. Two sensitive arms wrapping securely around her.

  Without warning or expectation, she found herself flying forward again.

  Soaring through the tunnel, travelling faster through the beyond than she ever had before.

  She opened her eyes.

  How am I doing this?

  Something had a hold of her. Something gripped her shoulders.

  She grew alarmed.

  Are the demons taking me, too?

  She looked up.

  It was no demon.

  “Gabrielle!” she acknowledged. “You came back!”

  “Cassy,” Gabrielle smiled. “We never left.”

  “We?” Cassy exclaimed.

  Gabrielle nodded.

  As they travelled faster and faster, Eddie and the mass of demons came into view. They all had their claws dug into Eddie’s body, ensuring they had him on a secure passage. Flames followed them, echoing in their wake.

  Gabrielle and Cassy soon caught up.

  Then, in a sudden bright, shining-white light, the fire ceased.

  An overpowering light pushed into everything. Cassy shielded her eyes, watching the bodies fall past her.

  Demons fell. All of them. Plunging downwards, masses after masses of them, soaring back to the pits of fire, flying away from Edward King.

  Cassy couldn’t understand.

  Who had created that bright light?

  Who could possibly have the power to push so many demons away at once?

  The only thing left clinging onto Eddie was the devil. The defiant devil, snarling downwards at them, roaring adamantly. His hand grabbing hold of Eddie’s leg.

  He would not let go.

  Defiant to the end.

  As Gabrielle took Cassy next to Eddie, Cassy wrapped her arms around his chest, holding him in a secure and loving embrace.

  “Hold on tight,” Gabrielle whispered in her ear, not letting go of her.

  Cassy squeezed, wrapping her legs around Eddie’s waist for extra security.

  The blinding white light grew bigger.

  A dawn of realisation hit.

  Cassy finally understood who it was.

  This was Cassy’s answer.

  Her answer to her resolute question of, “Where is our God now?”

  He had finally answered them.

  The devil cowered. His face flickered with fear as his grasp loosened. With a final, reverberating, insolent snarl, it let go and went floating downwards into the beyond.

  Gabrielle let go of Cassy as she and her brother continued to fly upwards on their own accord.

  Cassy smiled.

  He had come to help. He had actually come to help!

 
; The devil flew in the wind, eyes widening, aware that he would not be able to pass this Light.

  He disappeared into the nothingness, knowing that he had lost.

  The white light grew bigger and bigger until it surrounded them, encapsulating the entire surroundings.

  Cassy looked down.

  The devil had reappeared. He hovered, as if waiting to see what was going to happen.

  Cassy held on tight, refusing to let go.

  Gabrielle disappeared into the bright light. Back into heaven.

  Cassy closed her eyes.

  Her body pounded against a solid surface, and she stopped floating.

  Her head throbbed, as if she had just hit a large piece of glass.

  She opened her eyes.

  Gabrielle had gone into the bright-white light.

  Cassy’s body had hit against it. She couldn’t get through

  Now her and Eddie’s unconscious bodies lingered solemnly in the abyss, immobile, unable to gain entry.

  She could not enter heaven. She had killed Bandile’s followers, and was denied entry.

  As was Eddie.

  The devil floated back up toward them, spreading its fearful frown to a knowing smile.

  The devil’s hands wrapped around Eddie’s ankle.

  His grin grew wider.

  There was nothing Cassy could do. She could fight him, but she wouldn’t last long.

  The devil had hold of Eddie.

  Now all that was left was for the devil to take him back to hell, and make this entire war mean nothing.

  64

  “Eddie…” Cassy urged. “If you were going to wake up, now would be the time…”

  But she knew it was pointless.

  He was on his journey to the afterlife. No one was awake for this.

  “Cassy…” the devil hissed. “You lose…”

  His hands clenched around Eddie’s body, his elongating claws entwining him like roots of a tree, wrapping around him until he had him secure for the descent to hell.

  “No!” Cassy screamed.

  She kept her arms around Eddie’s neck, clinging on for dear life, doing all she could to muster the last, pointless fight for Eddie’s soon-to-be-damned soul.