For Whom The Bell Tolls

by Michael Todd

  One of the soldiers raised their hand. “So you’re saying that we may, in theory, fight the same demon more than once in different battles?”

  “In theory, yes. But because the demon behind this is not Lucifer himself, we are hoping to see the number of demons diminish over time. When you read your packages you will know this has been happening for centuries, but it’s only recently that we have seen an influx of demons, unlike anything we’ve seen in the past. Our job is to let them know we can take them, and that they are better off staying right where they are.”

  The soldiers were beginning to understand that things were much worse than they had ever thought, and facing these beasts would be no easy task.

  The general started the video again, showing the battle to its conclusion. The soldiers gripped their pens tightly as they watched their brothers and sisters die in combat.

  In the background of the last clip, a woman leapt over a demon and tore its head off.

  The murmurs grew into rumbles. “Who is that?”

  “Her eyes are glowing!”

  “She’s killing the demons. Is she on our side?”

  The general let a small smile slip at the admiration he heard in their whisperings. “The woman you see is Damned. She is a member of a civilian mercenary group that, after decades of miscommunication, we are now working closely with to win this war. They have demons in them, but they are able to harness that power and use it to fight back. They are the greatest hope we have to win this. They are experienced professionals, and working with them both minimizes our casualties and maximizes the kill count.

  “You will even find that on occasion you are running back up for a team of no more than four mercenaries. Those four will take down every demon they find. This particular mercenary is named Katie, and she is the reason you now have the special bullets to use. She and her team have cooperated with the Army at every step, and you are hereby ordered never to cause one of them harm under threat of dire consequences—not that I see that as a possibility.”

  The general snickered to himself as he pictured one of the soldiers in a fistfight with a woman like Katie. It would last all of two seconds before they were unconscious on the ground.

  The colonel walked up to the general and whispered something into his ear. The soldiers watched as the two conversed, and the general’s face became bleak. When they were finished the general sighed and turned to the group.

  “I was hoping we would have some training time before something like this occurred, but there is an ongoing incursion, much bigger than a few hostages in a hotel. There is an entire town under attack. People, it’s time to get your game faces on. Report immediately to your squad leaders, who will update you on the latest intel. And troops?” Many in the seats leaned forward. “Be careful out there, and give those bastards hell. I’ll see you on the battlefield.”

  The troops left the training room and scattered to make preparations to board the C17s being prepped for takeoff.

  They were going on their first mission untrained, but the general knew there was no such thing as fully prepared when facing those creatures.

  They were deadly, ever-changing, unbelievably strong, and had powers only one group of people on the planet had—the Damned themselves.

  The general stared at the face of the dead woman on the paused screen.

  “Get me the merc teams,” he ordered, still gazing at the screen.

  The colonel asked, “Which ones, sir?”

  “All of them!”

  Korbin and the rest of the team had been in the air for quite a while before they received the call to arms from the general.

  Korbin called into the conference and listened to the details of the incursion, receiving no more information than they already had. Their intel game had gotten that much stronger since they had brought Timothy on board; Korbin could have called the incursion in before the military recognized it.

  He would have to have some discussions with the general when the fight was over, try to figure out what exactly they needed to do to hook the intel teams together.

  Before Korbin could relay what he had learned to the team he received a call, which he forwarded to his headset.

  “This is Korbin.”

  “It’s Brushwood. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Our new recruits are here, and they’re getting ready to take off for the incursion.”

  “Good. We are almost there; maybe thirty minutes from landing.”

  “Korbin, an update just came across my desk. There has been another portal opened, and they are calling this one ‘the gate to hell.’ From the information flooding in from multiple sources there are hundreds, perhaps as many as a thousand, demons running toward the town. They are wild, carrying weapons, and bloodthirsty.”

  Korbin sighed. “They need to be contained in that town or we risk an attack on a larger city.”

  The general’s tone softened a touch. “Agreed. You will be the first ones there, son. You do what you can, make your lives count.”

  Korbin grunted. “You act like we ain’t got a chance, General. We are Korbin’s Killers, not Korbin’s Kinky Kids.”

  Timothy’s head shot up when Korbin said that. He shook his head and grinned at Katie.

  “Wish we were...” he whispered, and Katie smirked.

  The general laughed. “Just hold them until we can surround them. The Army is wheels-up and on our way.”

  Korbin nodded and goosed the chopper. “This we’ll defend, General.”

  He clicked the button on the side of his headset, ending the call, then took Stephanie’s hand and looked out the front as they sped toward the town.

  This was going to be the hardest fight they’d ever faced, and they might not all make it back.

  Timothy looked down at his laptop, his eyes growing wide. “Uh, Korbin, this tiny little town is about to get crushed. The whole infrared just lit up, like there’s a giant red blob rushing the city.”

  Korbin nodded. “That’s what the general just said. A second portal—a gate to hell—was opened and they are looking at upwards of a thousand demons heading toward that town. We have to contain and eliminate them and get as many civilians as we can out of harm’s way. We are going to be the first boots on the ground, so it’s on us to hold them back until the Army can form a perimeter. We have no idea what level or size these demons are, but some of them will have weapons and others… Well, their weapons are built in. I need you guys to stay alert, keep your eyes on each other, and kick ass. I need you all to come out of this in one piece. Do you understand?”

  “Oorah!” Katie yelled, which made Korbin chuckle.

  “That’s the Marines, Katie!” he called back.

  “It’s borrowed.” She grinned at him, “I’ll come up with one for us later!”

  The rest of the team gave an Army-style salute.

  Katie stared out the window of the chopper as it raced toward the town, thinking about her tactics and how they could possibly hold back that many demons while they waited for backup to arrive. It seemed like these days they were always the first on the scene, which she liked in some way, but when it came to the safety of her family it wasn’t what she wanted.

  Take a deep breath, woman. You are making me nervous, Pandora snipped.

  This is huge! That’s a lot of demons.

  Yeah, and you have a lot of demons right here in this helicopter. Look, I’m not saying this is going to be easy, but given how well you guys are trained and with me at your back, you have a real shot of blowing these sonsabitches back to hell. You just have to be tactical about it.

  How can we be tactical with demon mercs and demons running amok through the town?

  You go in strong and show our powers. You do not back down, and you take out every single fucking demon you can in the process. Let me just say, you cannot bring enough weapons to this fight, so I hope your military friends are bringing the big guns. You are gonna need them to contain this mess.

  Maybe you shou
ld take over.

  Don’t go losing your nerve on me now, sister. I am your big gun, and you need to hold me back for when it’s really needed. Remember what it does to both of us. We can’t go expending that kind of energy right off the bat.

  Oh, trust me, I’m not losing my nerve. Just trying to figure out the best approach to save as many lives as possible—including ours.

  Korbin will protect Stephanie—you know that—and the rest of this crew is solid, even Timothy. I can feel the rage surging through him from here, and you know that will definitely get some adrenaline going. His demon may be an incubus, and a lazy one, but he won’t let Timothy go down without a fight and neither will the rest of their demons. You need to keep your head on straight and not worry about the strong, not unless they are your opponent. Use your staff, use your guns, use your damn teeth if you have to. Get creative, because they aren’t going to just leisurely come after you one at a time. They are going to try to mob you. That’s how the little ones win—numbers.

  Hopefully when they see us fighting they will be slightly distracted by fear.

  That’s exactly what I was thinking, which is why I’m taking down my blocks and letting any demon who gets close know exactly who I am. That will distract them enough for you to get the upper hand.

  Thanks, and I’m looking forward to shoving these knives on my staff straight through some demon scum...no offense.

  I’m gonna need some serious donut therapy when all this is over with. Like seriously—we need to find that place in LA that sells donuts as big as your head.

  I didn’t even know that was a thing.

  Oh, hell yeah, it is, and if we ever tie the knot, they make wedding cakes too.

  That’s so romantic. Katie chuckled.

  She looked back out the window and in the distance was the small town they were headed toward. Plumes of smoke came from the center, forcing Katie to squint to see the droves of demons pile in. A dull burning rose in her chest, letting her know that the majority of the demons were low-level.

  Still, there were nearly a thousand of them, and it didn’t look like anyone in the town had figured out how to take them down yet.

  Pandora growled, Low-level, just like I thought. These puny little bastards are gonna piss their fucking panties when they feel my presence. The queen is back, bitches, and no one wants to fuck with the queen!

  At least not in hell, but shit—pick up a history book and you’ll see how ridiculous humans can be, Katie countered.

  That does not surprise me in the least. Of course, your queens can’t kill you with a look.

  You can do that?

  Not yet, although I was working on it back in hell. Not all my powers transfer up here, but I have more than most you will face.

  Lucky me. Katie chuckled. No, I mean that…I am damn lucky, or I would have been dead eons ago and your donut habit would have been squashed, finito, done for. I doubt you have delicious pastries on every corner in hell.

  No, but it’s damn well hot enough to bake some. Now, get your mind right, bitch, because we are about to have some fun.

  13

  “The plane’s already loaded,” the soldier said with frustration in his voice.

  “Yeah, with a standard load,” another responded. “Obviously this isn’t just some standard operation.”

  “We can’t change the loadout until we are ordered to do so.”

  “Fine, then we’ll just sit here and waste time. The incursion started an hour ago, and here we are still sitting here on the ground staring at the rear end of a C-17 with a standard loadout which will do absolutely jack-all for us down there.”

  “You boys need to stop arguing!” Colonel Jehovivich yelled as she walked up behind them. She handed them a couple of packets. “Here is your briefing and your list for your new loadout. You are going to be facing upwards of a thousand demons; maybe more, maybe less. I want all the special ammo we have loaded in, along with the new tear gas canisters and grenades. Be careful with this stuff; it’s precious. I also want the Stryker—the one with the mounted autocannons and anti-tank weapons—loaded into a separate C-17. It will land a bit behind us and the guys on that plane will drive it over when it’s time. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the soldiers replied, peering at her.

  “Don’t just stand there staring at me, move your asses!”

  The colonel rolled her eyes and turned to see four men standing off to the side, unsure where they were supposed to be helping. She recognized the lead, Master Sergeant Morris, from his file. He was a badass, hell-bent on justice, no problem pulling the trigger. His men were the same—all the best of the best. Wilson was probably the most capable medic in the Army and would have to crawl around if he actually wore all his medals on his dress uniform. The colonel walked over to the four of them, and they stopped talking and stood to attention.

  “At ease. I know your faces and names from the files. The four of you were the first chosen for this assignment. Do you have any questions?”

  Morris cleared his throat and looked at the others. “No, ma’am. We are just eager to get out there and start kicking demon ass...ma’am.”

  The colonel smiled. “That’s good to hear, because most likely you will be working alongside me.”

  Morris glanced at the others but didn’t say a word. The colonel smirked.

  “That’s right…a woman on the front lines, getting down in the dirt with you. You have a problem with that, gentleman?”

  “No, ma’am,” they replied in unison.

  “Good. Now go help those guys with the new loadout. There are Strykers to load, ammo to get moved, and weapons to stock. I want us out of here in thirty minutes. Do you understand?”

  All four nodded and took off toward the plane. Morris stopped and looked at Wilson, who was watching the colonel walk away.

  “She’s got some brass ones.” Morris laughed and shook his head. “Not at all worried about fighting alongside her.”

  “Not in the least,” Wilson agreed.

  The colonel returned to the general’s post, where she found him looking over maps of the town. He circled three main areas in marker, then joined them to put a horseshoe around the whole town. Jehovivich approached and looked down at his work.

  “They are loading the planes with the new equipment and ammo.”

  “Excellent.” The general stood up and exhaled slowly. “This is a big one, Colonel. Too big for the troops we currently have. I’ve called in some backup and they will probably get there before we do. These three areas are where I’ll focus our initial efforts; we’ll create a horseshoe around the town with the armored Humvees and Strykers. Of course, all this is theoretical since we don’t know what impact the mercs will have on the situation before we get there. Damn it all, I wish we could move faster! So much red tape.”

  “Hurry up and wait, sir,” Jehovivich remarked with a smirk. “Besides, there is a time and place for go, go, go, like with the mercs, and one for slow and steady. We win the races, sir.”

  “Sometimes, but in these circumstances so do the mercs. We will work with what we’ve got. This town may be small compared to others, but there are houses and farms beyond the marked perimeter. We have to focus our efforts on the most populated section, which is the center of town. God be with the rest of them.”

  “No one expects to come out of this with zero civilian casualties, we just need to minimize them. Hell, there were casualties before we even heard the news. The NSA has picked up dozens of unfinished 911 calls from men, women, and children, all of them are presumed gravely injured or dead. We are going to get those demons, sir, and we are going to make them pay.”

  “Damn right we are!”

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived,” Calvin belted out, looking down. The demons swarmed the streets below, some carrying bodies and others dragging live people across the pavement.

  Katie gritted her teeth and stood up, then pulled out her staff and twisted to split it into
two. She looked at Timothy, who was staring at her strangely, and a devious smile moved over her face as she opened the door. Calvin reached up and flipped the switch to the music, blaring it from speakers he had installed on the chopper.

  Katie took in a deep breath and looked back at the group, her eyes shining bright red.

  “I’ve got some dirty deeds to do!”

  Timothy gasped as Katie winked at him and dropped backward out of the chopper. He looked out his window just in time to see her turn in the air. She clicked the button to open the blades on her poles as she brought her arms out to the sides, and Timothy’s eyes grew huge and he gripped the edge of his chair. He was freaking out by this point, just having watched Katie drop out of the chopper two hundred feet off the ground. He had no idea how she made falling look like an art form.

  You might look like a Jackson Pollock when you land, his incubus offered.

  Timothy gulped. “I’m not supposed to do that, am I?”

  Korbin chuckled and caught Timothy’s eye in the mirror. “None of us are supposed to do that! That’s a Katie thing. Don’t worry, you’ll get to step safely off the chopper onto the ground before you start taking down any beasts.”

  Timothy let out a relieved breath and resumed looking out his window. He spotted a group of demons with something in their hands standing in a row on top of one of the buildings. Timothy pressed his face against the window to get a better look.

  “Uh, boss, I think we might have a problem...”

  Korbin looked out the side window just as the demons began throwing boulders at the chopper. He swerved, forcing everyone to grab their seats as it rolled away from the demons. They flew into range of another row of demons on another building, who also sent boulders toward them. Korbin danced his hands over the controls and the chopper dodged and moved through the flying stones, Korbin doing his best to keep the team in the air until he could find a vacant open area to land.