by JL Rothstein
The world seemed to calm as if she were in some sort of pause as she took in the actual landscape of where she first encountered Schlosser. Not much had changed since she was here last. The grass was lush now, the trees a bit fuller, and the purple color of lavender rambled through the brush, but overall it looked mostly untouched.
She closed her eyes when she realized she could feel Gabriel. She couldn’t hear him, nor see him, but somehow, she could sense him.
It’s been so long Gabe, Gen said as she tried to focus her energy to clarify the signal. I nearly forgot what the connection felt like.
An unpleasant odor washed over her, there was only one thing that smelled that rancid.
“You should have tried a different hiding spot,” Schlosser said.
Gen’s eyes opened, standing less than ten feet away, Schlosser leered at her.
“Who says I’m hiding?” Gen scoffed.
Schlosser didn’t respond, instead he raised his arm and threw several round shaped globes toward her head. Gen assumed they were Hell Fighter venom. She thought it fortunate that the Hell Fighter did not accompany Schlosser.
Gen felt her exhaustion like a blanket tightly woven across her entire body. She hadn’t projected her shield when she arrived because she wanted to be sure her family would sense and hear her when she contacted them. As the deadly bombs neared her position she flinched and moved to duck out of the way. Her reflexes were slow, and she realized she couldn’t move as quickly as normal.
Her blood-soaked back burned from the venom that lingered on her bruised and battered body. Judging the speed and distance of his position, Gen knew the objects were coming too fast, at least two were going to make contact. She prepared herself for the pain. She knew this much venom would explode on contact. Judging by the larger than normal size of the amulets the fluid would be enough to ignite parts of her body on fire.
Gen closed her eyes and braced for impact.
Where are they? Gen’s weary mind pleaded as her eyelids lifted and the field came into view once more.
The vials had exploded in mid-air sending small flames of oozing black sludge away from her and back onto Schlosser’s face. The demon howled in frustration. Gen looked down but nothing had landed on her. She was so tired it took several seconds to register the warmth of Deb’s shield wrapped around her.
“How?” Schlosser yelled. “You had no time to project your shield.”
“Who said it was my shield?” Gen smirked.
Looking right, Gen spotted Deb, then turning to her left she heard Kelly’s voice.
“Hey stinky!” Kelly toyed. “Looks like someone kicked your ass real good!”
“Shut the Hell up,” Schlosser spit. “You can all go to Hell now.”
Gen watched Schlosser jab at Kelly, but she was too quick for him. Her sister swung her blade down on top of his arm and pulled the blade back slicing him deeply. Schlosser howled and defensively ripped his arm back toward his body. The puss and blood that sprayed out fell to the ground and burned the grass below.
Before the demon could recover, Kelly pivoted her body to stand between Schlosser and Gen. Jumping several feet in the air Kelly kicked him hard in the chest. The lumbering demon stumbled back several feet and fell at Tom’s feet.
“The only one going back to Hell tonight is you, Roamer.” Tom towered over Schlosser’s crumpled body.
Gen watched in glorious reprieve as her brothers loomed over the fallen demon. Everything became murky, like a foggy haze she was trying to see through as Kelly and Deb approached.
“Oh my,” Deb gasped. “Your back, it’s so bad, how are you standing?”
Kelly took a peak and winced at the site of Gen’s wounds. “We don’t have time to heal you, Gen.”
“We have to,” Deb pleaded. “She’s sure to pass out soon if we don’t do something.”
“Kelly’s right,” Gen said. “There’s no time, he’s sure to be sending more demons if they aren’t already enroute.”
As if on cue, Gen saw a portal open behind her brothers who were now engaged in battle with Schlosser. Even in his weakened state the powers he stole from Vermillion made him a formidable opponent.
“You were right,” Kelly observed. “The portal just opened, something else is coming.”
Kelly pointed to the portal and yelled a warning to her brothers. Deb started to speak, but Gen was slow to react as she didn’t want to take her eyes off whatever was coming through Hell’s doorway. All of Gen’s movements took effort, everything hurt. The thumping achiness rolling through her was becoming unbearable.
“What if I take her back to the house myself to heal her. It will take longer to do it alone, but—” Deb stopped mid-sentence causing Gen to glance right. Her sister’s face registered shock at whatever was behind Gen’s left shoulder.
“Holy crap, he is here!” Kelly’s hushed tone made Gen spun her head left. Pain shot through her neck at the sudden movement. Gen wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to stand upright.
Legs trembling, Gen felt warmth emanating from behind her. Turning fully around, she nearly collapsed at the site of her husband as he stood in front of her.
“You’re going to need to go help your brothers, this field is about to be overrun with demons.” Gabriel gave the warning without ever taking his eyes off Gen.
You’re here, Gen thought as she felt her eyes well up with tears. You’re finally home.
Gabriel stepped closer to Gen. “I can close the wounds, stop the bleeding, but that’s about it. You’re going to have to fight through the rest, can you do that?”
“Yes.” Gen’s one-word answer was all she could muster in her emotionally stupefied state.
Behind them, Gen heard the arrival of other demons but refused to turn away from Gabriel to see what had come. Her sisters ran off toward the milieu. She focused her eyes on her husband as he reached his arm behind her and pulled her into his arms. Gen choked down the grunt of pain that wanted to escape her lips.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Placing the palm of his hand on her forehead Gabriel sent a wave of energy through her body. The surge made her spine arch backward, but he held her firmly upright. Cool relief replaced the burning sensation as she felt her skin come together. When he was done, Gabriel leaned in and kissed her.
The desire to grab hold of her husband and leave this place was overwhelming.
“Keep the enemy in front of you as best you can. Your wounds are sealed, but still sensitive,” he told her.
The sound of clanging metal and guttural grunts snapped her back to the reality of their situation.
“I will do my best,” she answered as she turned to survey the area. Gasping she threw her hand out and grabbed hold of Gabriel’s arm. “You need to go, now.”
The field was covered in demons and more continued to pour through the portal Schlosser had opened.
“What?” Gabriel adamantly shook his head as he spoke. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You have to,” Gen pleaded. “We need Michael, please go get him and Harry.”
“Gen, I can help,” he said, his eyes pleading for her not to send him away. “You don’t understand, I’m a much different fighter now than I ever was.”
“I know, you would have to be to survive in the Pit for forty years. But this is part of my plan. Michael needs to be here, we’re stronger together. Schlosser is going to try and start a war here today. We need everyone.”
Understanding crossed his face and she knew he would agree. Gen grabbed a dagger she assumed Kelly left for her and prepared to enter the fray.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Whatever you do, stay alive.”
She turned back to him and smiled. “For you, I would do anything.”
She didn’t watch him go, but after turning to help her siblings she felt him leave.
Fully taking in the scope of the scene nearly took her breath away. The landscape was a plethora of demonic monsters. Schlosser
was toward the back of the enemy line yelling at the Hell Fighter Gen assumed was the same one from the wasteland. Schlosser was pacing back and forth as he waved his arms all around.
Something is not going his way, Gen thought.
Her siblings were engaged in fierce battle, several demons lay dead or dying throughout the field. The O’Mara’s had already done well, but the newest wave of demons through the portal were Gutter Demons.
Before she reached the nearest demon, she heard Deb speaking telepathically. We faced these demons at the Church. Michael told me not to waste movement on them. They’re fast, but they only know one technique, swarming. Go for any spot on the neck or the thigh area. If you stab in the leg, be sure and pull your weapon vertically, not horizontally.
The ones with little color will be stronger; they’re older, Tom added. The younger ones will be easier to kill, but be warned, their blood is slick like oily water. Try not to step in it.
Gen watched as three Gutter Demons surrounded Greg. She raised her blade and sliced two of them along the back and side of the neck. The Gutter Demons’ blood splattered, and Gen managed to narrowly miss getting hit by it. But swiping the blade against her jeans she felt the frigid liquid and was surprised it didn’t burn.
“Their blood doesn’t burn,” Gen said aloud almost without thinking.
“Heads up Gen,” Greg said to her. “More incoming, stay behind us as much as you can, we don’t want anyone messing with whatever mojo Gabriel did on your back.”
Gen hesitated, but then stepped back. She was already slightly winded from the brief encounter, so she was grateful for the reprieve. The field had devolved into chaos, Kelly was on one demon’s back slicing another Gutter Demon with her blade. Deb was back-to-back with Tom as the two of them faced off against four smaller Hellions. Gen hadn’t realized Hellions had even come through the portal until now.
Hellions are here. Gen spoke to her siblings. Kell, you know their Hell Fighter Masters will show up eventually.
I’m keeping an eye out, Kelly told them. So far, I only see one arguing with Schlosser on the other side of the swamp.
Gen watched the portal continue to bring forth Hell’s darkness.
Anything we can do to shut down that portal? Gen asked as two Gutter Demons spotted her standing alone slightly beyond the battle line.
Kill the being who opened it, Kelly replied.
Gen looked around for a second weapon but there was nothing on the ground. The body count was increasing but given the number of demons coming through the portal, it felt like the momentum was shifting in Hell’s favor.
The closest demon running toward her threw a vial. Fortunately, his accuracy was off, and it sailed over her head disappearing into the thick brush behind her. She countered by throwing her weapon at his neck. It landed right where she aimed. Still running, the demon grabbed at his throat and pulled the weapon free. As blood gushed from his wound he slowed and then collapsed feet from her position.
Undeterred by his fallen comrade the second demon kept coming. Gen had no other weapon, so she turned away and ran toward the closest heap of dead bodies. The Gutter Demon was fast on her heals. She slipped on a patch of oily blood as she neared the crowd and slid past her intended target. Regaining her footing she pulled a small dagger out of the chest of a dead demon and stood her ground waiting for the second demon to reach her, but he never did. Xavier had thrown a katar killing the demon instantly.
Gen ran toward his corpse and took the katar for herself. Wielding both weapons, Gen pushed further into the battle. She did her best to keep an eye on Schlosser who remained off the field. He was obviously content to let others die for his cause. The concern for Gen was how long her family could keep up against this onslaught.
The deeper she got, the harder it was to keep track of Schlosser’s movements. The chaos of the battle devastated the landscape. Small trees had been trampled, bushes were shredded, and lavender burned under the poisonous decay of the damned.
Gen spotted Frankie luring several demons up the small hillside toward the highway above. Before the Gutter Demons reached his position, Dan and Tom sprung from either side of the cluster of demons. The element of a surprise ambush combined with their expert use of their whip swords sliced most of the Gutter Demons’ heads off. The cracking sounds coming from their weapons turned heads. Her three brothers had killed more than a dozen demons, yet the field continued to fill with more.
“We may have to fall back,” Kelly yelled from deep within the center of the battle.
“No!” Gen yelled. “The Horsemen aren’t here yet.”
“Gen, are you sure they’re going to come?” Xavier asked.
“The longer he stays in one place using Vermillion’s power, the more likely they are to track him,” Gen answered.
“Gen, these numbers are ridiculous,” Tom conceded. “We can’t keep this up much longer, we’re nearly overrun now.”
Gen felt a blade scrape open her arm and screamed. She whipped around but Gutter Demons surrounded her. She continued to slice and stab. For every demon she killed another would take its place. The hostile sounds of violence drowned out her anxiety as adrenaline kicked in and she focused all her energy on staying alive. They swiped at her, their blueish gray skin stained red from her blood as they ripped small chunks of flesh from her body.
She felt the power inside of her stir and knew if she could harness it, she may be able to get the upper hand.
Don’t waste movement, Gen heard Michael’s instruction ring through her mind as if he were standing next to her.
She took a deep breath, lowered her body, and took aim at their thighs. She stabbed and yanked the weapon vertically. Working quick and methodically with her movements, she only turned when she aimed for the next leg. She felt them slicing, stabbing, and grabbing at her, but she pushed the fear back into the recesses of her mind and continued to circle and bring them down one, sometimes two, at a time.
When she finished, all six Gutter Demons that surrounded her were dead and she was standing in a thick puddle of cold blue blood. Looking up she saw her siblings all in equally precarious situations. Most of them were surrounded by Gutter Demons, except Deb, she was facing another Hellion. This one was much larger, a giant of a beast, standing on hind legs he would have been nearly twice Deb’s size. He snorted and swiped at her, but she was spry avoiding the blow. Gen ran toward her sister sensing none of them alone were any match for this demon.
The thunderclap of war reverberated through Gen’s ears as she struggled to reach Deb. The clanging of metal, grunting of conflict, and hissing of fire sounded like a freight train running through Gen’s head. She neared Deb’s position, but her vision blurred and suddenly she saw two images of her sister. Gen understood the disorientation was probably from severe blood loss, the adrenaline all but wearing off.
Gen opened her mouth to yell out to Deb but stopped short when the beast kicked back and stood on two legs letting out a series of terrifying growls. As it came down it knocked Deb to the ground, pinning her beneath him with one paw, he snarled as he hovered above her.
“No!” Gen’s knees gave out and she fell to the ground screaming.
Schlosser laughed as he locked eyes with Gen, she knew he was silently declaring victory.
The Hellion raised his giant paw and swung it down toward Deb.
No, Gen silently pleaded. Please God help her.
The cascade of light that surrounded the Hellion nearly obliterated her view of Deb.
What’s happening? Gen questioned as she struggled to get back on her feet.
Reaching her hands up in front of her face Gen shielded herself from the emanating brightness. Though it seemed like minutes it was only seconds for her eyes to adjust. Through the haze she saw a form take shape, as the light receded, she caught the glimmer of a sword just before it entered the beast’s exposed chest. The squeal from the wounded animal caused the field to momentarily standstill. The sound of war temporarily
abated as she heard the heaving of her own chest laboring to breathe through the trauma.
The beast pulled himself away, but the sword kept coming. With a precision she should have recognized, the Hellion was bludgeoned and brought down to the ground in pieces. Deb scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide with shock.
That’s when Gen saw him, the sword bearer was facing away from her, wearing no shirt, just cargo pants and combat boots. His large muscles flexed as he swiped away the Hellion’s blood from his face. The light that burst over the field had come from his mark. The entirety of his back was ablaze in the image of a Shield of Trinity. It was Michael, he had finally returned.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Gen’s world seemed to slow to a standstill. He’s really okay, Gen thought. Thank God he’s alright.
She watched her brother hold out a hand toward Deb, then Gen heard his voice.
“Are you alright, Deborah?” Michael asked.
“Yes,” she answered in barely a whisper, her voice in danger of cracking.
“Thank you,” Michael said to Deb.
“For what?” she asked perplexed.
“For projecting your shield on me at the church. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
Before Gen could rush toward him, Michael switched gears and launched into combat mode.
“Make your way toward each other,” Michael ordered sternly, he was speaking aloud but, they were all open, so his words reached them. “No one fights alone, get back-to-back quickly. You need to battle outward, don’t let them get too close, the swarming technique is most successful when they can smother and oppress. Use any leverage necessary to push them back.”
Michael moved toward the battle but continued to speak to them. “Once you’re together move counterclockwise, that will confuse them and give you an advantage.”
Gen watched him pull a Goedendag out of the heart of a dead Hellion. Weapon in each hand he plowed through the crowd toward the center. Kelly was still in the heart of the battle, though she was jumping on and off demons’ backs, she was the furthest from them.