by Amy Cross
“Oh, give it a rest,” Hannah replied, stepping out into full view of the demon. “This isn't the time to prove that you're brave, just go. Your job was to get his attention, and you've done that. I'll catch up with you. If you stick around, you'll just give him an opportunity to jump back into your body.” With that, she stepped forward, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the demon. “You don't belong down here,” she told him firmly. “You're not the kind of demon who strides the world and gets up to shenanigans. That's not your strength. You're the kind of demon who drifts around, feeding off the misery and pain that gets stirred up down here. You're a parasite. That's fine, it's your life-cycle, it works for you. Go back to it, instead of trying to walk around and do stuff on your own.”
The demon stared at her for a moment, before slowly tilting his head to one side and offering a broad smile filled with rows of stained, sharp teeth.
“You're really not going to be smart and take my advice, are you?” Hannah continued with a sigh, before glancing back toward the nearest corner. “Alice! You're not still there, are you?”
She waited.
Nothing.
“Good,” she muttered, turning back to the demon. “At least this time, I don't have to worry about -”
Before she could finish, the demon lunged at her, slamming her hard into the wall and knocking chunks of plaster down as they both tumbled to the edge of the balcony. Gasping for air, Hannah tried to twist free, before her hair was tugged back and then her face was slammed into the railing. She dropped down for a moment before hauling herself up and spinning around, just as the demon reached out to grab her throat. Ducking out of the way, she threw her weight into his chest and knocked him back toward the nearby flames, finally forcing him down and letting out a gasp of frustration as she climbed onto his chest.
“Do you even know who you're dealing with here?” she snarled, staring down at him. “Do you?” she shouted, leaning closer. “Do you know what kind of a mess you're in right now?”
Roaring with anger, he reached up and grabbed her neck.
“Oh, you're really smart,” Hannah continued. “You really know how to pick your fights, don't you? Not only are you starting to really irritate me, but you hurt a friend of mine in her previous life and now you're trying to use her again in this life. I don't have many friends, but a few -” She gasped as she felt his grip tightening around her throat. “Really?” she spluttered. “Are you this stupid? Can't you -”
Suddenly he rose up and threw her back, sending her tumbling through the air until she slammed into a column and then slumped to the ground. Winded, she began to pick herself up as he stepped closer.
“I like it down here,” the demon said firmly, his voice echoing against the roar of the advancing flames. “Watching the carnage was fun, but now I wish to add to it myself. I wish to be in its fiery heart.”
“By burning everything down?” she asked, struggling to her feet.
“There are worse ways to announce my presence.”
In the distance, sirens could be heard approaching.
“Hear that?” she asked. “Human emergency teams, coming here to put out the fire. What are you gonna do when they get here? Burn them too?”
“If it pleases me to do so,” he replied with a smile, “then yes.”
“And then what? Burn more and more? Just keep on burning your way around the world until there's nothing left?”
“Maybe the wise ones will bow down before me,” he told her. “If they do, I might let them live if they turn out to be sufficiently entertaining. I have time to come up with a full plan. For now, I'm just enjoying myself.” Holding his arms out, he smiled as more flames burst through the air, crashing into an old elevator shaft.
“You can't wipe them all out,” Alice replied, still trying to get her breath back. “If there are no more humans, who's going to fight for your entertainment?”
“The gods, perhaps?” He smiled again. “And then the angels. And then the other demons. And then...” His smile broadened as he stepped closer. “Even Death herself.”
“Fat chance,” she said firmly, as the floor beneath her feet began to creak and shift.
“I've heard about you,” the demon continued. “I know what you are.”
“Then you should know I have dominion over all creatures,” she pointed out, “dead or alive. Even the ugly pyromaniacs. In fact -” Checking her watch, she paused for a moment. “Okay, that gave Alice more than enough time to get out of the building,” she continued, limping toward the demon. “Now it's time to get this over with, even if -”
She stepped aside as the demon suddenly lunged at her. Grabbing his shoulders, she pushed him against the balcony and then slammed all her weight against his back.
“Go on,” she hissed, “let's see your light show. It was so entertaining before, but this time I don't have to protect anyone, so I don't need to hold back.”
Before she could react, the demon's body began to burn. Fighting the urge to let go, she held on tighter than ever, grimacing as the flames built until finally she couldn't see anything beyond the brilliant white light filling her eyes. Turning, she looked back and realized she was at the heart of a huge inferno that was roaring from the demon's body, and a moment later she heard glass shattering above. Looking up, she saw that the shopping mall's domed roof had broken, showering the atrium with glass, but she had no time to take cover. A vast explosion burst up from below, sending Hannah crashing through the ceiling and onto the next floor as the entire mall began to collapse. She twisted in mid-air, trying to grab hold of something, but instead she began to fall, tumbling down into the flames as the building's broken walls fell all around her.
Finally, she landed hard against the ground and then hauled herself up as the shopping mall continued to collapse. Staring straight ahead, she saw the source of the flames and took a few steps forward, until she found herself standing over the damaged, burned body that the demon had left behind.
“You all done?” Hannah asked. “Finished your petulant little tantrum, have you?” Looking around, she saw that at least half of the building had been completely destroyed, leaving the other half standing but burning, with flames spreading from one abandoned old shop to the next. Sirens were still getting closer, and flashing blue lights could be seen in the distance.
“You...” the demon whispered, struggling to raise his tattered body off the ground. “You have no fear...”
“I have lots of fear,” Hannah said, stepping closer until she was towering over him. “Why else do you think I get out of bed in the morning?”
Kneeling next to him, she reached out and placed her right hand over his face, digging her fingers into his eyes as he let out a pained gasp.
“Like I said,” she continued, watching as a faint orange glow began to rise from the demon's face, “you don't belong down here, so we'll just have to find a way to put you out of harm's way.”
“Hannah!”
“Alice?”
She turned, but it was too late to shout a warning. Having risen from the demon's face, an orange glow rushed past her and slammed into Alice, knocking her back down into the rubble.
“Alice!” Hannah shouted, getting to her feet and leaving the demon's crumpled body behind as she raced over and saw that Alice was already trying to get up. “What the hell are you doing here? I told you to leave!”
“I had to come back for you,” Alice replied, wincing slightly as she felt a sharp pain in her head. “I had... I couldn't just abandon you.”
“Yes, you could!” Hannah said firmly, crouching in front of her and staring into her eyes, seeing a faint orange glow behind Alice's pupils. “I had him down! He had no other body to go to, he would have just drifted away and gone back to how he was!”
“I couldn't leave you,” Alice stammered, as the pain grew. Her voice was echoing slightly and finally she let out a gasp.
“He's back inside you,” Hannah continued, unable to hide her irritation. “W
hy won't you just obey instructions?”
“I -” Alice began, before her whole body began to convulse.
Grabbing her, Hannah held her in her arms for a moment, staring in horror as Alice's eyes rolled to the back of her head and her mouth opened in a silent scream.
“Not again,” Hannah whispered. “I won't let you die on me again, not like this. I insist that you get old and gray first!”
Hearing voices in the distance, she turned and saw flashing blue lights over by the main fire. Glancing around, she realized that there wasn't much left of the shopping mall, with just a dozen or so old shops still standing. After a moment, her eyes settled on one shop in particular.
“Birthdays,” she whispered.
She paused, before a moment of realization struck her when she saw a bunch of old cardboard boxes stacked next to the store's main window.
“Birthdays,” she continued, looking down at Alice with a faint smile. “Okay, I don't know if you can hear me, and I know we're not that close, but I can't think of another option right now, so here goes.” She took a deep breath, before leaning down and clamping her mouth against Alice's, as if to kiss her. She held position for a few seconds, their open mouths touching, before finally she pulled back slightly as she drew the orange glow out of Alice's body and into her own. Finally, once the last of the glow had been transferred, she closed her mouth, despite the vast quantity of air she was holding.
Mumbling something unintelligible, something that sounded a little like “Wait here,” Hannah got to her feet and raced across the rubble, dodging burning pieces of concrete that continued to fall all around. When she reached the abandoned card shop, she used her shoulder to smash the glass of the window and then she climbed through, making straight for the cardboard boxes in the corner.
Still holding the orange cloud in her mouth, she tore the boxes open, pulling out cards and envelopes and party hats and assorted other items before, finally, she found a packet of multi-colored balloons. Tearing the packet open, she pulled out a yellow balloon and held it against her lips, at which point she began to blow the orange cloud into the balloon. After a few seconds, she pinched the end and took a deep breath, before tying the balloon tightly and holding it out to admire for a moment.
“How do you like your new home?” she muttered, tapping the side of the balloon before hurrying back out of the store and into what was left of the atrium. Letting go of the balloon, she watched as it rose up, passing the burning balconies until it reached the shattered glass dome and began to float ever upward, heading up high above the city.
Finally, she let out a sigh of relief, before turning and seeing that Alice was slowly hauling herself up off the ground.
“Happy now?” Hannah asked.
“What happened?” Alice replied, wincing as she limped closer.
“Nothing much. I just sucked the rest of the demon out of your mouth, blew him into a balloon, and sent him on his way.”
Alice looked up at the night sky and watched as the yellow balloon disappeared from view. “A balloon can't hold a demon,” she muttered, before turning to Hannah. “Can it?”
“Not for long, but by the time he gets out he'll be high enough that he'll remember his old life and he'll go back to it. I told you, demons are kind of simple-minded. He came from up there, and he'll be happy enough up there again once he forgets about wanting to be down here. He'll go back to his old ways and just drift with the clouds, watching over war-zones and absorbing all the human misery he can find.”
“So he won't come down again?”
“Not unless he has another accident with a plane, but that was a million-to-one shot. And even if it happens again, his link to you should have been broken.” She turned to Alice. “You're welcome, Wendy. Or Alice. Which do you prefer?”
“I...” She paused. “I guess I'm Alice now. Alice Warner.”
“You look like an Alice.”
“I do?”
Hannah nodded, before turning as she heard voices getting closer. “I think there are some emergency teams arriving. Come on, you don't want to have to start explaining this to people.”
Guiding Alice away from the ruins of the burning building, she led her out across the wasteland until they reached the edge of the river. Below, the Thames rippled as a cool breeze blew through the night air.
“Why did you hang around?” Hannah asked, holding back a little. “I told you to go and you didn't.”
“I couldn't leave a friend behind to face a demon,” Alice replied, turning to look out across the river.
“What friend?” As soon as the words had left her lips, Hannah understood and a hint of sadness entered her eyes. “Oh.”
“So I guess you can tell me now,” Alice continued, turning to her. “What exactly are you?”
She looked around.
“Hannah?”
Stepping forward, she looked in every direction, but there was no sign of anyone nearby.
“Hannah?” she shouted, but she already knew, deep down, that it was too late.
In the distance, more and more flashing blue lights were arriving at the burning shopping center. Flames were still billowing into the night sky, sending up vasts plumes of smoke. Somewhere up there, too far now to be seen by anyone on the ground, the yellow balloon was rising higher and higher.
Epilogue
Eighty years later
“Hey, Mum, come on, sit up.”
Helping Alice up from the bed for a moment, the girl grabbed a couple more pillows and slipped them into place, before easing the old woman back down.
“Better?”
“Better,” Alice replied with a smile. She was old now, well into her eleventh decade, and her once-dark hair had become light gray, while her face was wrinkled and tired. “You should...” She paused, struggling a little for breath. “You should go down to the others. You don't want to be... wasting your time up here with an old woman.”
“I like being with you,” the girl replied. “The others are going to come up in a few minutes, too. I hope you weren't counting on some peace and quiet this afternoon, 'cause David and John want to play Monopoly and we figured we'd put the board on your lap. Are you going to join in?”
“I'll...” Alice paused, as she saw light shining a little more strongly through the window. “I'll watch.”
“Back in a minute, then,” the girl replied, heading to the door. “Do you want anything from downstairs, Mum?”
“Just water.”
As soon as the girl had left the room, Alice turned and watched the light as it continued to stream through, casting a bright patch on the carpet. The light seemed to flicker slightly, as if it had briefly changed at some base level. After a moment, Alice became aware of movement nearby, and she slowly turned to see a familiar figure sitting in the chair next to her bed.
“Hey,” Hannah said with a smile. “Long time, no see.”
With tears in her eyes, Alice stared in shock.
“Sorry I took off last time,” Hannah continued, shifting awkwardly in her seat. “I've never been very good at goodbyes, but I did promise myself that I'd come back and check on you. Thanks for not telling anyone about what happened, by the way. If you had, I'd have come back sooner and wiped your memory. You're lucky I didn't do that anyway. I broke a lot of rules for you.”
Sitting up, Alice continued to stare, as if she could barely believe what she was seeing.
“I knew you'd come back,” she said finally, her voice sounding tired and frail. “I don't know how, but I just knew it.”
“I don't usually come back and check on people,” Hannah continued. “I usually only attend a death with it's going off the rails. I let nature take its course and I only interfere when it's strictly necessary.”
“I'm an old woman now,” Alice replied.
“No kidding. I can see that.”
“I have...” Alice paused. “I have four children.” Her eyes opened wide as if she could barely believe what she was saying. �
�I'm one hundred and seven years old!” she added. “Isn't that amazing? One hundred and seven! Even with all these medical advances, that's still...” She paused. “I was a mess last time we spoke.”
“And now look at you.” Hannah smiled. “I've kept track of your life. I know you've done well. Husband, kids, a successful career. You might have had a rough start, but once that demon was gone, you really shot up, huh?”
“I did my best,” Alice replied, “but... I always hoped you'd come sooner.”
“It wasn't the right time.”
“And today is?”
“Yeah,” Hannah replied, with a hint of sadness. “Today's the right time.”
“But -” Alice paused, before realizing what she meant. “When?” she asked finally. “I mean, do I have time to say goodbye?”
Hannah shook her head.
“When is it going to happen?”
“About two minutes ago.”
Alice opened her mouth to ask what she meant, but somehow, deep down, she could already feel that it was true. Holding her hand up, she realized she cast no shadow on the nearby wall.
“When your daughter comes back up in a few minutes' time,” Hannah continued, “she's going to find that you passed peacefully in your sleep. Like I said, I usually only show up for a death when things are getting complicated. It's been a long time since I came for one that was going down normally. To be honest, it's a nice change of pace.”
“I suppose I should be flattered,” Alice replied, clearly shocked.
“You bet,” Hannah continued, getting to her feet. “So are you ready? I figured you'd like one final walk through the garden before the light takes you.”
“Yes,” Alice said, slowly easing herself to the edge of the bed, “that would be nice.” She paused for a moment, looking down at her frail old feet as they hovered above her slippers. “I don't feel scared,” she said finally.
“That's good,” Hannah replied.
“Why don't I feel scared?”
“Maybe because you know a little more about how it works,” Hannah pointed out. “Not many people ever get to remember a past life.”