by Michael Todd
Once they were immobilized, the weapons specialists opened fire. The frag rounds exploded and tore the demons apart. Those who were lucky took one to the head and died instantly. Others took a few minutes to crumble to dust, but by that point the soldiers didn’t mind watching them suffer in the least.
Across town, a smaller group emerged and zeroed in on the perimeter where the humans were still being processed, but before they even took a step toward the innocents the Army opened fire on them, tearing almost all the demons to shreds before they burst into dust. One, however, managed to dodge the bullets. He leapt over the first line of defense and landed hard on the ground, looking around at the civilians and soldiers with a feral snarl.
The soldiers pulled their weapons, but not fast enough.
The demon lashed out with its claws and hooked a woman by the waist, then tore her body apart even as the soldiers reacted. The demon whirled as it felt the burn of the special bullets in its back and slashed his claws across a soldier’s chest, almost cleaving her in two.
Mass panic set in and the civilians scattered, their screams masking the demon’s snarls. The soldiers couldn’t get a shot off without risking hitting one of the humans. Suddenly a woman tripped, sliding across the grass toward the demon. She scuttled backward and raised her arms over her face, shrieking as the demon picked her up.
“Drop her!” the soldier yelled.
He smirked and bit into her midriff. The soldiers opened fire on the beast and the demon bucked, but continued to tear chunks out of the screaming woman. The general rushed from his tent, pistol at the ready, to see what all the ruckus was about and ran over to the line of soldiers.
“Shoot him in the head! In the head!”
The soldiers shifted their aim, but the general pulled the trigger first and his bullet struck the demon right between the eyes. The demon screeched and turned to dust and the body of the woman hit the ground with a thud.
The general turned to the others. “Always in the head.”
He holstered his weapon and watched the clouds of tear gas drift over the town and away into the distance. The guns had stopped for the moment, but he knew that the tighter they pulled the noose, the more demons would come out of the woodwork.
The general shivered as the chill wind blew over him and looked up as dark clouds rolled across the moonlit sky.
“Something is coming. I can feel it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Moloch paced his office. T’Chezz was on his last nerve.
He repaired the furniture with a wave of his hand as he walked by, gritting his teeth as the furniture moved into place. He was unsure how much more of T’Chezz he could take. Moloch had finally sent him down to get something to eat, which gave him at least ten minutes of peace and quiet.
The war had been a bust, just as he had hoped it would be. The demons had decimated the town, but not a single one of them had made it out. With the military bearing down on them, and the mercenaries in the perimeter working their demon-destroying magic, it wouldn’t be long before the entire army was destroyed. T’Chezz was starting to lose it all over again. His incessant whining and tantrums had put a serious dampener on Moloch’s mood.
Moloch finished putting the office back together and walked over to the window to look at the lava pits. It was time he made a move; it couldn’t wait any longer. He tapped his fingers on the windowsill while he figured out what his next tack should be. He hadn’t planned in detail for this, assuming that it would come later rather than sooner. Just then there was a knock on the door and T’Chezz entered before Moloch could answer.
“We are down to less than three hundred demons.” He groaned. “This is a disaster, and after Lucifer hears of the failure he will never let me send another army up there. Why did you open that gate if you didn’t think it would work?”
“Because you wanted to prove you had earned a place in our ranks. It’s not my fault the plan failed. I was trying to help you.”
“Now I’m completely fucked.”
Moloch’s eyes blazed red and he turned to face T’Chezz, disgusted to see a tuft of hair from his lunch clinging to his chin. Moloch grimaced at the sight, wanting nothing more than to pull him limb from limb, and he marched forward, stopping just inches away. He growled and his lip curled as he created a portal, then grabbed T’Chezz by the neck and pushed him through.
“Stop leading from behind like a sniveling wimp! Go meet the one you tricked. I’m sure she has a few words for you! And for fuck’s sake, wipe your dinner off your chin!”
With that he slammed the portal closed and leaned against the desk, letting out a deep breath. The office was blissfully silent, and T’Chezz was out of his hair for good. He knew T’Chezz stood no chance against his sister or the other droves of mercenaries ready to take his head.
“Finally, peace and quiet,” Moloch sighed.
A laugh filled the air as Baal appeared in his office. “How did that feel?”
Moloch jumped, putting his large black paw against his chest and breathing deeply. Was there no such thing as privacy down here? He sat down behind the desk and leaned back, then lifted his clawed feet onto the desk and put his arms behind his head.
“Damned good. I’ve wanted to do that for so damned long!”
“What if Lilith doesn’t kill him?”
“Oh, I’m sure she will, but if not, I have a special level of hell all mapped out for him when he returns. He will be buried so deep that Lucifer will forget he ever existed. The rest of us will breathe a sigh of relief, knowing the asshole will be quiet for a few hundred years.”
Baal flopped down in the armchair in front of Moloch’s desk—and the legs gave out and Baal crashed to the floor. Moloch put his feet down and leaned forward.
Baal laughed and got up. He brushed himself down and popped a puppy he pulled from his pocket into his mouth.
“I just fixed that fucking thing.”
“Obviously not well enough.” Baal chuckled. “You really should do something with this ceiling. The lava doesn’t go with your motif.”
“You’ve been watching human television again, haven’t you?”
Baal looked up at him and shrugged. “They all look so delicious.”
T’Chezz looked around. He had landed in the town he had sent his demons to. He pulled the fur from his chin, throwing it to the ground. He was enraged; his fists were clenched, his teeth bared. Moloch had tricked him; set him up only to push him through a portal to Earth, just like T’Chezz had done to Lilith when he had wanted her out of the picture.
He growled loudly and punched the side of the building. Stone crumbled to the ground as he stepped into the abandoned street.
He looked up at the hill where the soldiers were stationed. The humans milled around like ants, not knowing yet that he had arrived. Slowly his fists began to unclench and a smile moved over his lips.
“Maybe this isn’t as bad as I thought. Maybe this is exactly where I need to be to show these humans who the master of Earth really is.” T’Chezz let out a deep laugh, which was interrupted by gunfire behind him.
Slowly he turned around, tilting his head to look at the men in uniform aiming their weapons at him. He batted away the bullets coming toward him and took several large steps before backhanding the soldiers. They flew to the right and left, their bodies hitting the ground in a series of thuds. He chuckled as more military rolled toward him and turned as the mercenaries ran out to save the day.
The mercs attempted to fire their weapons at him, but the bullets only hit his thick skin and fell to the ground. They took a step back, watching as T’Chezz smiled and picked up one of the soldiers and chomped down on him. They could hear his bones crack and break as he chewed him up and spat out the skull.
Their weapons didn’t work on him, but he wasn’t big enough to target with their larger ones. It was a bad situation all around, and no one really knew what to do at that point. They threw knives, swords, and fired weapon after weapon, on
ly for T’Chezz to race forward and attempt to kill more of them.
T’Chezz’s growls and roars were audible on the hill. The general stepped back out of his tent and looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the sounds. He noticed a group of soldiers peering down into the town and pushed them aside, seeing a very large demon—one that hadn’t been there before, or at least not that anyone there had noticed. He was too big to hide, but too small to aim at with the Humvees. The general tightened his jaw and marched back into the tent.
“Sir, what is it?” his tactical officer asked.
“A very big fucking problem is what it is. I want you to radio the teams at the C-17s. Tell them to unload the Stryker and just have them stand by. I don’t know where this demon came from, but I don’t want to wait around to find out if there are more of him.”
“Yes, sir.”
Down in the town more and more mercs came out of the buildings they’d been searching and edged closer; close enough to get a full view of T’Chezz. None of them had seen a demon that powerful and strong before, and they knew there was no way that they were going to be able to take him.
T’Chezz found the whole situation amusing. They had been Big Billy Badasses when it came to demolishing his army, but now that he was there they just froze or ran off to safety.
“Stupid humans,” he grumbled. He wondered where his beloved sister was. “Don’t worry, I will have each and every one of you as a snack before the night is over with. Go on, run away! Tell your general. Tell your mercenary leader. Tell whoever you want that T’Chezz has arrived and shit is about to get crazy. I rule this turf now, and you will all answer to me.”
He growled as the clouds continued to darken overhead. This had not been in the plans.
Katie crept through the old farmhouse on the outskirts of town. She didn’t sense any demons near, but she still didn’t trust that instinct fully. She could have sworn she’d seen someone in the window as they passed, and she wanted to make sure there were no more innocents left in or near the town. As she crept up the steps, the hair stood up on the back of her neck.
Pandora chuckled. What’s wrong with you?
I don’t know. I guess old houses just creep me out.
Why? You afraid there’s a ghost in here?
I think I would welcome a ghost after the things I’ve seen. If I were human I would need therapy.
You probably still do.
Ha, ha, very... Wait, did you hear that?
Katie froze on the staircase and listened hard. There it was again—the whimper of a child. Katie took off up the stairs, fearful that a child was in danger. She headed down the hall and burst through the only closed door in the house—and came to a stop when she saw a mother, father, and two small children huddled in the corner of the room. They all looked like they would never be the same again. Katie put her weapon away and held out her hand toward them.
“Hey,” she began kindly. “My name is Katie, and I am one of the good guys. I am here to get you guys to safety. Outside, up on the hill, are a whole lot of Army soldiers, and they have a safe place for you to go. Will you come with me?”
The father and the mother looked at each other for a moment and back at Katie. The father finally nodded and they picked up their children, and Katie sighed in relief. When the little girl looked at her curiously Pandora did her best to keep the red out of Katie’s eyes, knowing it would scare the hell out of these poor humans. They must have hidden there for the whole day, listening to the terrifying sounds of the demons tearing their town apart around them. Neither Pandora nor Katie knew how the family had been lucky enough to not be found, but all that was important at that point was getting them to safety.
The mother smiled at Katie and let her lead them back down the stairs. As they walked out of the front door and onto the porch Katie groaned and grabbed her chest. It was like the burning before–only magnified by a thousand. There was something huge close by; she could feel it.
The woman stepped forward and put her hand on Katie’s shoulder, only to pull it back in shock at the sight of Katie’s bright red eyes. She couldn’t control it; whatever caused the burning made her eyes shine brightly as well.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to scare you. I promise I am one of the good guys,” Katie told the mother to calm her nerves. She looked at her curiously for a moment, then followed Katie’s stare behind them to where three armed military men were heading toward them. “You see those men coming toward us? They are Army soldiers. Go to them. They will get you to safety.”
They ran off the porch and Katie bent at the waist, almost doubled over as she gripped her chest in pain. She gasped for breath, looking into the distance with watery eyes. A loud growl echoed through the valley, sending chills down Katie’s spine. She had never felt anything like that before.
Pandora, what’s going on?
He’s here, she hissed.
Who is here?
T’Chezz. You better let me take over your body.
Katie nodded and took a deep breath to prepare for the switch. Pandora pushed her way through Katie and took her over. Her body morphed, her breasts growing larger, her waist smaller, and her hips wider. Her hair darkened and lengthened by several inches. When the change was done Pandora stood on the porch staring toward the center of town.
“I’ve got this,” Pandora announced aloud. “It’s time Earth realizes Mother is here to protect it.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Pandora growled as she stepped out of the alley. T’Chezz stopped torturing the people around him for a moment and dropped the body in his hand. A malicious grin split his features as he stepped forward to greet Pandora.
“Well, well, well,” Pandora snarked. “Look what the cat dragged in.”
T’Chezz looked down his nose at her. “Ah, Lilith. Or is it ‘Pandora’ these days? Or maybe you go by your human’s name now, since you have become her slave?”
Pandora sneered. “Do I look like a slave?” She gave her brother a condescending look as she ran a hand down her body. “Nope, definitely all me. Seems you are mistaken about how things work up here. Then again, you were always slow on the uptake.”
T’Chezz gritted his teeth. He had forgotten how much of a bitch his sister could be. “Enough small talk. Time for you to go back home.”
Pandora growled. “You’ll have to kill me first.”
T’Chezz lunged at her and swung. “That can be arranged.”
Pandora leapt to the side and struck T’Chezz on the arm, snapping the bone in half. He growled loudly and switched stance, favoring his good arm to give his body a chance to heal the bone while he continued to fight. Pandora smirked and slid across the blacktop. She grabbed T’Chezz by the shoulders and used him as a fulcrum as she kicked his kneecap out. The leg bent inward and the knee popped out of its joint. He screamed and reached down with his good arm to pop it back in. His other arm was almost healed again.
She picked up a car from the street and threw it toward him, but he knocked it to the side as he charged her. She laughed loudly and waited until the last second, then she jumped and punched his arm again to break the bones in the same place. She knew if she kept him healing he wouldn’t be able to fight as hard.
“Just like when we were younger; always with your tactics.” He laughed and picked up a car, flinging it at her as she landed.
The car hit Pandora hard, sending her flying to land on her back across the street. She got up, shook it off, and tore down the street after him. Nobody would ever question just how strong she was again after she grabbed a truck with one hand and slung it at her brother. It hit T’Chezz in the chest and he staggered and groaned, but he recovered quickly and clamped his healed arm around the truck, crushing it into a ball.
Pandora grimaced, narrowing her eyes. He threw the ball of metal and she dodged to the side, but not far enough. The ball hit her in the shoulder, and she sprawled to the ground. She laid there a minute, then sat up, clapping her hands.
T’Chezz growled at her snarky response, hating her even more on Earth than he ever had in hell.
Pandora got to her feet and shook her head. “You had one chance to kill me, but fortunately for me you are a complete fuck up. I was inserted into a Nephilim!”
T’Chezz took an involuntary step back with a look of shock on his face. “There aren’t any of those left!”
Pandora shrugged her shoulders, sending a motorcycling spiraling toward his head. “Guess I’m wrong, then. Maybe she’s just a normal human who can kick ass. Either way, you are fucked!”
Moloch was sitting back in his office chair with a popcorn bucket full of kittens on his lap, munching away as he watched the fight between Pandora and T’Chezz. He couldn’t stop laughing at how badly T’Chezz was getting beaten. He picked up a kitten and it wiggled free, then jumped to the ground and ran off.
“Damn it, I hate when that happens. I’ll end up finding it under the couch, all decomposed. A shame; these are my favorite.”
Moloch shrugged and went back to the entertainment, almost spitting a kitten out when a motorcycle hit T’Chezz in the head and knocked him off his feet. Just seeing the look on his face made every part of his plan worth it. Still, there was something strange about the way they were fighting; something different than normal. Moloch’s laugh began to fade and he slowly sat up, narrowing his eyes. There was no sound, so he couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“How can she use so much of her power on Earth?”
Pandora stepped back and put her hands on her knees while she caught her breath. She might look like her human form, but she was still using Katie’s organs and her lungs definitely needed a workout or two. She had just stood up, ready to go again, when T’Chezz stood up tall and straight and put his arms out to both sides, pulling his energy inward. Pandora watched unamused as T’Chezz grew larger and larger until he towered over her. He looked down and let out a deep bellowing laugh.