Demon Gate: Beyond the 9th Circle: The Rapture Was Just The Beginning.

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Demon Gate: Beyond the 9th Circle: The Rapture Was Just The Beginning. Page 9

by Heath, Joel


  Pulling the trigger the queen’s head vanished in a

  puff of blood and gore and the body dropped to

  the ground. The two remaining queens leapt from

  the building at a distance of three hundred feet.

  Their path would carry them several hundred feet

  up the tower, it wouldn’t be enough to land on

  top, but it didn’t have to be, their claws dug into

  the side of the tower as they raced to the summit.

  The two remaining queens would reach the top of

  the Stratosphere Tower in seconds and Spencer

  knew it.

  He tossed the grizzly aside and went for a

  machine gun sitting nearby, racking the weapon

  he made ready to fight a battle he did not expect

  to win.

  “I don’t mean to be a downer, but we

  have to take off their heads. How are we going to

  do it with these?” Vince asked.

  Spencer looked for the sword he had kept

  from the battle site outside Shreveport Louisiana

  just a few days earlier but it was too late, the queens reached the top and leaped over the

  restraining railing as they landed atop the tower. As they unsheathed their swords, they

  charged at Vince and Spencer who responded

  with a high rate of gunfire from their M249

  machine guns. These at least slowed the approach

  of the queens.

  “Where’s the sword?” Spencer shouted. “What sword?” Vince asked.

  One of the queens had finally succumbed

  to the gunfire and dropped her sword. Spencer

  had depleted his clip, so he resorted to using the

  gun as a blunt weapon and clubbed the other

  queen before reaching down and grabbing the

  dropped sword.

  The queen that had dropped the sword

  was stunned, but still made the effort to shriek,

  enraged that a mortal had stolen her sword. The

  blade seemed to turn against Spencer and swung

  at him despite being in his hand. Vince had

  finally exhausted his clip and quickly grabbed

  new ammo in shaking hands. The sword in

  Spencer’s hand began slicing the air wildly of its

  own volition.

  “Watch it, Spencer.” Vince chided as he

  finished reloading. The queen tried to call the

  sword back, but Spencer wouldn’t let it go. She

  shrieked again, her shriek seemed to call the

  sword to her. Spencer noticed the other queen

  was coming for him.

  “Vince, cover me, I’ve got a plan.” Vince opened fire on the attacking queen

  and Spencer released the sword, as he did he

  drew his Glock, took aim and fired a single round

  at the other queen aiming right for her eye. The

  gunshot served only as a momentary distraction,

  but it worked. The queen was not able to catch

  the sword and it plunged into her chest. Spencer

  ignored the stunned queen and approached the

  wounded queen.

  “Let me get that for you,” Spencer offered

  indignantly then pulled the sword from her chest

  and lowered the blade to the queen’s neck and

  sliced a swift, brutal cut that severed the black

  neck, her head rolled away.

  The remaining queen had regained

  enough of her strength that she retreated. Seeing

  that five other queens had been killed and their

  assailants were unscathed, it was either run or

  die. Spencer searched for the grizzly, he was

  going to finish off the sixth queen, but it was

  nowhere to be seen.

  Vince went to the edge to check on the

  demons that were trying to knock the tower

  down, their efforts were still ongoing, but the

  impacts were far less substantial. They seem to

  have been distracted by the death of so many of

  their leaders.

  Spencer heard what sounded like a gun

  shot ripping through the air and went to the edge

  of the tower to try to identify where the shot

  came from. In the distance he saw what looked

  like a large military truck, a Hummer sitting parked as though it were ready to head north up

  the Las Vegas strip.

  “Vince, it’s time to leave,” Spencer

  suggested as he gathered up the machine gun and

  strapped the new sword across his back then he

  and Vince quickly reloaded their M249’s before

  heading out. “There might be other survivors.” Vince and Spencer headed back into the

  tower.

  “How are we going to get down? There’s

  no power,” Vince objected.

  “Maybe there’s an emergency evacuation

  stairwell,” Spencer said optimistically.

  Spencer and Vince headed into the tower and

  quickly did find an emergency evacuation

  stairwell and thundered down the hundreds of

  steps.

  Half way down Vince asked an obvious

  question. “Aren’t we getting out of the frying pan

  and into the fire?”

  “If we stay we’re dead any way.” Spencer

  replied. “Best to get out while we can.”

  The bottom steps were coming into view

  and the door to the outside loomed ahead.

  Spencer and Vince made ready for an onslaught

  that would likely lead to their deaths, but after

  smashing through the door they saw that most of

  the demon army had fled. A small handful still

  remained, they quickly converged on the door

  way that Spencer and Vince just emerged from

  and were cut down by machine gun fire. Vince looked around. “There are no

  queens around,” Vince observed.

  “We did just kill five of their queens,

  maybe the sixth split while she had a chance.”

  Spencer reminded.

  “Leaving her soldiers to die?” Vince

  questioned.

  “No honor among thieves…or demons for

  that matter.”

  “Maybe they have to have a queen in

  close proximity to withstand our weapons.”

  Vince surmised.

  “Maybe,” Spencer said half-heartedly, he

  was focusing on getting out alive. Spencer

  headed for the loading dock where he had left his

  GTO and sadly found it had sustained significant

  damage.

  Spencer dropped the M249 in the back

  seat and dropped into the driver’s seat, Vince

  waited outside the driver side door as Spencer put

  the key into the ignition and turned. The car

  started but it started to whine.

  “Get in; we have to leave, NOW!”

  Spencer urged as Vince got into the passenger

  seat. “My car isn’t going to last much longer,

  those damn demons must have done something to

  her.”

  As they pulled out of the loading dock,

  Vince poked the barrel of the large machine gun

  out the window to deal with any demons that

  would risk an attack. Spencer turned onto the Las

  Vegas strip and headed north to where Spencer expected to see the Hummer. Passing the pawnshop they raided the previous day, they

  realized the Hummer was no where in sight. “Where the hell did they go?” Spencer

  asked.

  “There!” Vince shouted when he caught

  the sound
of a large truck. Spencer turned his

  head to the right to see a desert camouflage

  Hummer with a large weapon on top. The

  Hummer disappeared too quickly to see the

  driver so Spencer sped to the next street and

  turned right hoping to catch the driver’s attention

  but the Hummer passed before Spencer came

  anywhere near it. It was too late, the Hummer

  was a good thirty yards away and the GTO was

  starting to smoke.

  “We’ll never catch them now.” Spencer

  said.

  “Like hell.” Vince said as he racked the

  M249 and fired several shots at the buildings

  ahead of the Hummer. The military vehicle

  rocked to a dead stop and a single person climbed

  out, an M-16 assault rifle in hand. It was a

  woman; her red hair flowed in the breeze as she

  high ported the barrel of her weapon. It was

  Gretchen!

  “You!” the woman shouted when she

  realized who she was looking at. “I should leave

  you here to die!”

  “Gretchen?” Spencer asked in relieved

  awe.

  “You leave me in New Mexico, and I’m

  alone for three days surrounded by Hell. That’s

  all you can say?” Gretchen shouted.

  Vince looked at Gretchen, then back to

  Spencer. “You were right.” Vince commented,

  and then looked back.

  “Look you guys, we have to get the hell

  out of here. We took out five queens: one

  escaped and took her army with her. More are

  sure to come.” Vince explained.

  “You got other weapons?” Gretchen

  asked.

  “Lots of them.” Vince assured. “But our

  car died.”

  Spencer was still in shock that Gretchen was still

  alive, but made the effort to come back to reality. “There’s no time to fix it. We’ll load your

  gear and get moving.”

  Gretchen turned around and drove back to

  the GTO to unload. Her jaw about his the ground

  when she saw the guns loaded onto a trailer that

  Spencer towed behind the GTO.

  “You weren’t kidding,” Gretchen

  commented.

  Spencer and Vince unhitched the trailer

  and hitched it onto the Hummer, then started

  moving the contents of the GTO onto the trailer.

  As they finished loading the last of the weapons

  and supplies, a demon dropped down from the

  roof of an apartment complex. Spencer reached

  for his M249 and fired at the demon who

  dropped, stunned.

  “He’s not dead, Spencer,” Vince

  observed.

  “Damn it, his queen must still be nearby,”

  Spencer guessed.

  “Too late, we’re getting the hell out of

  here,” Gretchen said and reluctantly directed

  Spencer to the driver’s seat as she headed for the

  gun turret on top of the military vehicle, Vince

  got into the front passenger seat, and the

  Hummer sped away. Spencer glanced into the

  mirror and saw that the one demon was joined by

  several hundred demons.

  “Gretchen, if you’re going to use that gun

  it had better be now!” Spencer shouted. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep your shirt on,”

  Gretchen griped as she primed the 50 caliber

  Gatling gun. A single pull of the trigger and the

  multiple barrels started to turn and spew massive

  shells toward the oncoming demons.

  “They’re still coming, can’t you go any

  faster?” Gretchen shouted while she held the

  trigger down.

  “Vince, how well do you know Las

  Vegas?” Spencer asked.

  “What do you want to know?” Vince

  replied.

  “Where’s the nearest road out of here?” “I-15, turn left on Washington Avenue,”

  Vince directed and Spencer took a hard left as

  they came to the intersection of Las Vegas

  Boulevard and Washington Ave. If they were driving any other vehicle, they would have

  rolled. I-15 was just over a mile away.

  Spencer took a right on to I-15 and

  headed north. The speedometer read ninety-five

  miles an hour when Gretchen climbed down into

  the Hummer.

  “Alright, where are you taking us?”

  Gretchen demanded.

  “Away from Las Vegas.”

  After passing through North Las Vegas,

  they drove by Nellis Air Base towards Mesquite.

  Gretchen stayed quiet in the back seat, only

  glaring at Spencer on occasion. It wasn’t until the

  I-70 junction that Vince decided to break the

  silence.

  “So where did you find her?” Vince

  asked.

  “Her name is Gretchen,” Spencer and

  Gretchen said simultaneously. Spencer and

  Gretchen looked at each other but Gretchen

  looked infuriated before turning to look out the

  window while Spencer recounted the story. After a couple hours, a town appeared out

  the Hummer’s right window. Fillmore, Utah.

  Spencer was tired of driving and decided to pull

  over and have a look around.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Taking a rest.” Spencer said as he shut

  off the engine and opened the door.

  Vince decided this was a good time to get

  out and relieve himself. Gretchen wasn’t getting

  out; she didn’t trust this guy she once looked at as her hero. Spencer walked away wondering how he would talk to Gretchen about his leaving

  in Clovis.

  Vince returned to the Hummer. “You

  don’t trust him?” Vince asked dubiously. “Why the hell should I?” Gretchen

  demanded. “He left me to save his own ass. He

  didn’t care if I lived or died.”

  “Wow. It sounds like he really hates

  you.”

  Gretchen nodded.

  “So, why did he leave when he could

  have just killed you?” Vince asked.

  Gretchen paused to ask herself a question

  she had never thought to ask.

  “We met three days ago at a truck stop

  near Kingman, Arizona and since we met he

  went from freaking out to borderline suicidal;

  mostly about abandoning you,” Vince explained. Gretchen looked at Spencer off in the

  distance. “He seems fine now.” Gretchen

  observed.

  “Maybe because now he knows you’re

  alive.” Vince suggested.

  Gretchen started shaking her head. “No, it

  doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Ask him about it some time,” Vince said

  before he turned at a noise. It was Spencer

  returning.

  Gretchen paused and recalled Vince’s

  comment from Las Vegas. “What did you mean when you said to Spencer ‘you were right’?”

  Gretchen asked.

  Vince smiled awkwardly. “When he first

  mentioned you I asked if you were hot. He was

  right, you are,” Vince said as Spencer appeared. “It’s time to go.” Spencer said.

  “I’ll drive.” Vince offered before

  climbing into the driver’s seat.

  Spencer climbed into the front passenger

  seat. Spencer’s worry and poor sleeping habits

 
over the last week were quickly catching up and

  he soon fell asleep. When Spencer awoke, a light

  rain was falling and a large city loomed out of the

  Hummer’s right passenger window. It was late,

  maybe five or six in the evening; they hadn’t

  made very good time.

  “What city is that?” Spencer asked as

  images from a seemingly dreamless sleep danced

  in his memory.

  “That’s Salt Lake City,” Vince replied Gretchen saw Spencer’s mouth hang open

  in awe.

  “Is something wrong, Spencer?” Gretchen

  asked.

  Spencer was dumbfounded, he had seen

  the city before, but he had never been there

  before, how was that possible? “I’ve seen that

  city before,” Spencer replied.

  “Have you ever been here?” Vince asked. “No,” Spencer half-heartedly replied. Vince glanced down at the gas gauge.

  “Damn.”

  “What?” Spencer asked.

  “We need to stop for gas, this thing

  inhales gas,” Vince replied.

  “Do you think it’s safe?” Gretchen asked. Vince scanned the Salt Lake skyline;

  several of the taller buildings obviously had

  suffered damage a couple of them looked like

  they were on the verge of collapse.

  “For the moment. Time is precious, so

  let’s not waste any,” Vince said veering off I-15

  and heading into the city. After turning on to

  North Temple, they headed east and found a

  Maverick station.

  “Damn, power’s out here too.” Gretchen

  mourned as she pulled up to the gas pumps. “Not to worry.” Spencer remarked as he

  climbed out and got to work. Within a couple

  minutes fresh fuel was pumping into the

  Hummer’s fuel tank, it would take some time to

  fill the tank so Spencer reached for the weapons

  cache on the trailer for the nearest weapon, which

  was a P-90. After checking the clip he racked the

  weapon and headed into the gas station. Their

  food rations were getting low and he hoped to

  find something edible in the store.

  “Where are you going?” Gretchen

  snapped distrustfully as Spencer pulled the glass

  door open.

  “Inside, maybe there’s something to eat in

  here.” Spencer replied.

  “What do you expect us to do?” Gretchen

  demanded.

  “Stay here and watch the Hummer.” “What if more demons show up?” Spencer looked at the guns they were

  hauling and then to the 50 caliber gun atop the

  hummer.

  “Shoot.” Spencer headed into the store.

  Before the glass door closed the rancid smell of

  rotting bread, dairy and meat slapped Spencer,

 

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