by Roy Bright
Louder, faster.
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen. He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
It is now at its peak, a hammering intensity inside the room, tearing into the detectives’ minds, torturing them from inside.
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
Then it stops.
The silence is deafening.
Pete hears his own breath and heartbeat pulsing in his ears; it is overpowering.
They stare at the group and they know: this is it.
The room erupts as the Taken charge at them, screaming.
Captain Banks is the first to open fire hitting one of them square in the chest, dropping it to the ground.
Pete joins in and bullets rain in on the former officers.
Martin snaps out his trance he too, opens fire.
Bullets rip through skin, muscle and sinew exploding into the Taken.
Blood spurts outwards everywhere as the detectives move between targets with speed and precision, their hands shifting left and right, unloading round after round, dropping their targets to the ground. Bullet after bullet pierces through flesh and bone. They slam into skulls, snapping heads backwards under the force of the high velocity projectiles. Empty cartridges eject from the handguns and fall to the floor with small metallic clanks, as the detectives empty entire magazines into the group.
Captain Banks’ firearm stops, the top slide locked in the rear position indicating an empty magazine. He releases the spent magazine and, before it hits the floor, retrieves a full one from his belt, inserts it into its housing, hits the top slide-locking lever and re-chambers a new round, such is his skill. He opens fire again.
Within thirty seconds, it is over and Banks brings the detectives’ gunfire to a halt with a raise of his right arm. They survey the destruction, their former colleagues slain. Men and women they had known, shared conversations, drinks, highs and lows with now lay not five feet away from them, dead by their hands.
Martin is the first to speak, his voice shrill and erratic. “What the fuck is this shit? What the fuck is going on?”
Pete lowers his gaze and breathes in and out, deep and slow. “Martin, they weren’t the people we once knew, they were changed, controlled somehow. We had no choice.”
Banks turns to his detectives, about to reassure them, when the ground behind him moves and shuffling bodies writhe once again.
All three men look on in terror as what they thought they had killed, now return back to life. Although the wounds inflicted by the bullets remain, the dead are getting up and it is clear that they going to charge at them again.
Banks is angry, “Goddamn puppets, they are being controlled like goddamn puppets. Everyone, fall back, now!”
Thirty-Two
Gary and Judas look at each other as the chanting that had dominated the precinct main room and risen to a crescendo, ceases and gunfire erupts.
Judas knows what this is, what has caused this. It is Lucifer. He has worked his way into those with fear, dread and weak minds and they belong to him now. He also knows that he is able to control them even in death and he moves to hurry Gary along. “Gary, we gotta go. They won’t stay dead.”
He looks at him. “What do you mean, they won’t stay dead?”
“Forget it, let’s just get out of here, we need to get to the vehicles.” He says, pushing past him.
He stares at him for a moment and then snaps back into action. “Okay, I got everything,” he confirms, checking in the bags once more, “Let’s go.”
The gun battle rages on behind them as they make their way down the corridor towards the holding cells.
Charlotte has her hands over her ears and her eyes closed, as the sound of gunfire and the speed of their retreat has her terrified.
Abi does her best to comfort her with an arm around her shoulders but she looks more terrified than the child.
Judas steps in and sweeps her up into his arms. “Let’s go, kiddo. It’s time we weren’t here.”
She buries her head into his left shoulder as they bolt to the doorway. The gunfire behind them stops.
He intensifies his desire to get out of the station and commands to the group, “Move! Don’t stop, keep going, come on, move!”
Gary swipes the key panel to the holding cells with his card and the panel buzzes.
They burst through the door and charge down a corridor that runs parallel with the cells, Judas carrying Charlotte with his left arm, his swords in the other hand. As they pass the cells, more Taken rush to the bars and scream at them, a high-pitched scream that pierces the air and Judas knows that Lucifer has a strong and far-reaching hold into this area and is now taking control of the wayward and weak of mind all over. The group rushes to the door at the end of the corridor, a door more often than not, used to transport prisoners in and out of the station without the need to pass through the front desk area, but for now, it serves as their salvation.
He drives them on. “Keep moving. Do not look at the cells and do not invite the Deceiver into your hearts. All of you must stay strong now. Come on, keep moving.”
As they race through the gauntlet of screams, Charlotte once again covers her ears.
The screams are terrifying. High-pitched like a bird of prey hurtling towards the ground, powering towards its victim.
Behind them, they hear the buzzing of the holding cells door lock releasing. Everyone stops.
Gary turns, draws his gun and drops to one knee.
Judas is within two feet of the back door. He places Charlotte on the ground and readies his swords, moving in front of the girl, shielding her.
The door bursts open.
Pete and Martin burst through, turn and begin to fire.
Captain Banks follows them and repeats the covering procedure as Pete forces himself at the door, helping it on its way to closing as much as he can.
The door isn’t closing fast enough, as the automatic close function is preventing it from doing so any quicker.
Pete almost has it closed as fingers penetrate the small gap between door and frame and Martin pushes his gun into the gap and fires. The fingers disappear and the door closes.
Martin rests his back against it and slides down to the floor then jolts forward as it receives a massive thud from the other side. The Taken in the cells continue to scream and he shouts back at them, “Shut the fuck up, shut up, fucking, shut, up.”
“Get a grip, Detective Dowd,” Banks says, taking charge. He is commanding, using his rank and vast experience in tense and heated situations to calm his detective and get him back on track.
He looks at him for a moment, nods and gets back to his feet.
The door takes another massive hit from a barrage of bodies and all three men brace themselves against it.
Gary runs over to his colleagues. “What’s the deal? Will it hold if we all bolt now?”
Banks shakes his head, “I doubt it, Gary, I think this will need at least two of us to hold whilst the rest of you push on ahead and secure the vehicles, then we will have to perform the best hundred-yard dash of our lives.”
“Shit!” He shakes his head, “Okay, I’ll stay and hold the door, who else?”
Captain Banks disagrees, “No, Gary, it’s clear you need to be with the others ahead.”
The door jolts again as it takes another massive pounding. The three grit their teeth and brace against the door with more force.
Banks grunts. “You need to go, Gary, get what needs to be done, done! I have the door—”
Before he can finish Pete speaks up, “I’m staying too. The Captain’s right, you need to get the fuck out of here and get that child to safety.”
The door thunders with force once again and this time, the brickwork around the entire frame crumbles covering the three men in du
st.
The Taken in the cells scream louder.
Martin looks at the damage, his eyes wide. “Fuck me! They’re gonna take the whole fucking wall down.”
Captain Banks is about to order Gary to get moving when Judas interrupts their decision-making. “Gentlemen, we need about two minutes to get into that garage and for Gary to sort the keys and fire up the vehicles. As soon as he does and we sound the horn, you guys haul-ass down this corridor and into the garage. You get through the door and into a vehicle. I will be waiting. I will take every single one of these fuckers heads off. It is the only way to stop them. Any questions?” He doesn’t wait for a response, “Good. Gary, with me, now!”
He runs down the corridor to the door leading to the garage, passing the Taken who continue their barrage of screaming. Arms thrust through the bars, fingers outstretched, hands waving at them in a futile attempt to grab hold of him as he runs past. He reaches the door and bending down, grabs hold of Charlotte once again.
“Everything’s gonna be okay, kiddo. Let’s move.”
She nods, attempting to smile.
Gary joins Judas by his side followed by Martin.
Judas looks at Abi. “You ready?”
She nods, “Yeah. Let’s just hope none of them have had the sense to run around the building and wait for us in the garage.” She offers a nervous laugh.
Judas and Gary look at each other, wide eyed.
“Time to go,” Judas says, opening the garage door. He is relieved to find it quiet and still. Behind them, the door continues to pound and the Taken continue to scream as Pete and Captain Banks hold the line.
Pete looks at his superior with worry, and he spots it.
“Hold this door, Pete, hold this door no matter what. As soon as we bolt, we will let Mr. Demon Slayer ahead take care of this and we can put this place behind us.”
He nods, “They best hurry, Captain, cos I’m just about good and ready to shit in my pants.”
They laugh as the door takes another huge thump.
Captain Banks turns his head around a little, “Awww give it a fucking rest for a minute will ya. Fuckers!”
Pete can’t help but laugh at his Captain’s rare lapse of composure.
The group in the garage race towards the office where the keys to the vehicles should be.
Judas has put Charlotte down and is facing the door they just came through, swords down by his side ready for anything that would come through that isn’t friendly.
Gary smiles as he spies two squad cars parked almost next to the office. He hopes they are fueled and ready for a patrol. He hopes and prays. “We’re in luck, guys,” he calls out, pointing to the cars, “Let’s hope the keys to those cars will be in the ignition ready for the night watch.” He looks into the car on the left-hand side and slams the driver’s door window in triumph, his suspicions confirmed. Sat in the ignition is the key. “Martin, check the other car.” He motions to the second vehicle and Martin hurries around to the driver’s side door.
Martin opens the door and laughs. “Fuck yeah, man, we got keys, buddy, we got keys.”
Judas takes charge. “Everyone, into a vehicle now. Charlotte and Abi into the left vehicle with Gary. Martin you crew the second one and get your guys into it as soon as they get through this door. I want both vehicles street-side and heading towards Jersey as soon as the other two are in.”
“What?” Gary says, frowning.
Charlotte pulls at his left arm, “No. You have to come with us.”
He bends down. “Charlotte, we don’t have time to argue, I need you on the road and heading to safety.”
“But you promised, Judas,” she says, her eyes pleading. “You promised you wouldn’t leave me again.”
He looks at her, a forlorn look in his eyes, apologizing with them. “I know I did, sweetie and I am sorry, but I will have to break that promise. It’s the best way to keep you safe and keep those men in the corridor alive. I need to hang back here because when the other two detectives let go of that door it will give way and the Taken will be through. If I am not here to stop them, then one or both of those guys won’t make it and that is not acceptable, not anymore. Those creatures don’t have the skill to take me down so don’t worry. I will clean up here then come meet you very quickly afterwards. Look, over there in that corner, a police bike.”
She follows his pointing finger and sees the bike.
“I will be on that bike and with you not five minutes later, okay?”
She shakes her head but knows it is useless to protest as he is making it clear that he needs to do this.
Gary has overheard his conversation and darts off to the office.
Judas smiles at her and strokes her hair. He then reaffirms his command to the group. “Okay, everyone into a vehicle now. Martin, sound your horn when everyone is in, let’s get your guys out of that death corridor. Gary, I need my harness.” He turns around but cannot see him. “Gary?”
“I’m here, okay, I’m here.” He runs towards him and hands him a key. “For the bike, man, it’s the key for that bike. And here is your harness.” He hands it to him and Judas wastes no time in putting it on.
He smiles at Gary. “Cheers, man. Keep her safe, yeah? I’ll be right behind you.”
He nods and grabs hold of Charlotte.
She breaks free from him for a second and hugs Judas. “Five minutes, you promise?”
“Five minutes, kiddo, I promise.” He says, hugging her back.
Martin leans out of his car, “I don’t mean to spoil the moment people but, let’s fucking go!”
Judas ushers her onwards. “Go, Go!”
Gary grabs hold of her hand and leads her to the car.
She jumps into the back seat with Abi who grabs her and kisses the top of her head, trying to calm and reassure her. “It’s gonna be alright, sweetie, you know he’s gonna be alright.”
She says nothing.
Martin has his car running and positioned facing out towards the exit. Gary follows suit, firing his squad car into life, moving it up ahead of Martin’s, ready to speed away the very moment that everybody is accounted for. He looks at Martin who in turn nods at him.
Martin pushes on the steering wheel hard setting off the car horn. He holds it for one long blast.
Judas stands about fifteen feet from the door, armed, ready.
Everyone waits in silence. No one comes.
Martin sounds his horn once again whilst at the same time telling to himself, we need to go back, they haven’t made it, we can’t leave them. He is just about to get out of the car when the door to the holding cells bursts open and Captain Banks and Pete power through.
Banks screams at the cars, “Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Both men race past Judas as a horde of Taken try to get through the door all at once. A couple fall to the ground as they scramble through and more pile on top of them, eager to get at their prey.
Judas lets out a scream of defiance that makes them stop. He announces himself to them, “I am Judas Iscariot and this is the end for you all.” With both feet apart, he holds his right sword above his head, the arc of the blade uppermost with his left sword out in front of him pointing at them.
They file through the door and creep into position. There they stand, swaying, eyeing him, deciding with their hive mind what to do as the fearsome energy flowing from this man has them stunned.
Captain Banks and Pete dive into Martin’s car and all of the car’s occupants then look at Judas, watching him, as one man stands defiant against a horde of demonic creatures, creatures that no longer resemble the people they once were. Save for the uniforms they are still dressed in; you would never know that they were once human. Their twisted, grotesque brown bodies glisten under the strip lights with blood red eyes and razor-sharp teeth, all bared at Judas, hissing at him, their clawed hands raised.
He peers back toward the cars whilst maintaining his attention on the Taken. He screams at them, “Go!”
; The cars screech into life and race up the ramp and out into the street. The Taken scream in unison and rush at him.
He grins and laughs, “Yes! This is it for you.”
The first to reach him is dispatched instantly as he swings his right arm down and to the left, parallel to the ground. The creature’s head detaches with it and the rest of the body, exploding into dust. He continues the move, spinning to his left and all the way around, decapitating a second creature, and it too explodes. Another lunges at him, thrusting its claws downwards, attempting to drive them into his face. He twists his body to the right and pushes his left shoulder forwards causing the creature’s attack to swipe down into thin air. He lifts his left sword up, removing the creature’s arm just below the elbow and then, drawing it to the left, removes its head, another addition to the dust pile.
Another attacks from his right, and he thrusts his elbow into its face, feeling bone crunch. The creature reels from the force of the blow and Judas reacts, lunging forward, kicking it square in the chest sending it sprawling to the floor. One of the Taken rears up in front of him and grabs him by the left shoulder. He throws his left forearm up, breaking its grip and inserts the right sword straight through its forehead. He pulls the sword out and kicks the creature in the chest, sending it flying backwards, knocking down three of its companions in the process. He now breaks into overdrive and flurries his swords out in front of him, driving forwards. Pieces of the Taken drop to the ground as he carves a path through them, and they explode into dust. He extends both arms to the side in an arc, removing two creatures’ heads then continues to slice through the rest with deft footwork, whilst using his brute strength to kick, elbow and punch back any that get too close. At each available opportunity, he removes a head in a delicious dance of eloquent death; thrusting, slicing and riposting as they all try in vain to land their claws upon him. He moves to an unheard melody, his skill in complete syncopation with his body. The fight lasts no longer than ninety seconds, such is the speed in which he attacks the twenty or so. The very last one of them rushes at him with a final cry of defiance and he steps to his right, whilst at the same time thrusting his left sword into the creature’s throat up to its hilt. He lets go of the sword and draws the Taken into his body with his left arm as he drops to his left knee and pushes the creature’s upper body out in front of him, its back arched. He reaches behind its head and, grabbing the blade of his sword, twists it around to the left. The creature falls to the ground, headless, and explodes into dust, leaving Judas kneeling. He spins the blade, grabs it by its handle, stands and inserts both into the harness.