Post by Bene Elohim on Feb 8, 2024 14:25:39 GMT -8
In a location secure from anyone outside the Children of Nephilim, Lord Lucifer stood at the exterior room of the command center beneath the main house inside the compound known as Hell. Over the last ten days, strike teams of one or two Angels and half a dozen Demons had been dispatched to the locations that Lucifer deemed high risk or held high-value targets. These teams would intercept the black and white hooded jacket-wearing Demons of the self-proclaimed Lord Apollyon and eliminate the threat they posed by any means necessary. This included anything ranging from handing those who were wanted by law enforcement to the doorstep of the local police department bound and gagged, to returning them to Hell for debriefing and proper education, to a more...permanent solution.
There were those amongst his number that disapproved of the final option, namely those who had joined them most recently, and so he sent one of the other Angels with them at all times. Not as an escort or a chaperone, but simply as someone who could do the things Lord Lucifer wanted to be done without the fuss.
Lucifer's eyes scanned the huge screen sitting on the wall. It showed a world map on one flat screen with flashing tiny dots at various locations, each with a name. Each of the dots seemed to be clustered in groups of three or four.
The man sitting at a large desk in the corner of the room was working feverishly, the fingers of each hand clicking off the keys as he worked on security alarms and power grids in three different cities and two different states simultaneously.
Alistair: “Nani and Rami are reporting in a success. No problems.”
Lucifer: “Identities?”
Alistair: “Anni says that they were all made up of grade three's and one grade-four.”
Lucifer: “They know what to do with them.”
Alistair: “Already done and disposed of, Lord Lucifer.”
Slowly, Lucifer nodded and turned his eyes from the three dots that read “Ananiel, Ramiel, Pryce, and Aniel” in western Pennsylvania to dots labeled “West. Blank. Adachi and Kenyon.” sitting in south-western Texas.
In the van driven by the pair of Demons, the four of them got ready for their first group assignment, and in the case of Johnny and Martin, their first assignment. Ashley and Maiko shared a chaste but sweet kiss before they slipped on the clothing they would normally wear. Black long-sleeved shirts with black long cargo pants. Black socks up to where the pants ended and black boots. They loaded their long hair into the mesh of one of the white Angel masks and pulled them up to their foreheads. With the masks down and their breasts taped down tight, you wouldn’t be able to tell if the pair were male or female or what nationality they were.
Martin and Johnny did the same until all that remained of their skin were their faces shown beneath the masks on their foreheads. The only telltale sign of the pair was a thick wooden bat wrapped in Bible scriptures.
Johnny Blank: “So, our liege is the devil. Why bother with masks?”
Maiko Adachi: “Alistair is very good at what he does, but he cannot turn off neighbors or the person who happens down the street.”
Johnny Blank: “Can’t he just…”
And Johnny made some very exaggerated hand gestures. Ashley chuckled, but Maiko shook her head in anything but amusement.
Maiko Adachi: “You’ve seen too many movies.”
Johnny gave her an exaggerated wink, which even the hard-shelled Maiko couldn’t stop the smile from touching her lips. Martin turned the bat on his hand and laid the fat end in his palm.
Martin West: “I won’t kill anyone.”
Johnny Blank: “Not unless you can prove to me FOR SURE they talk during movies at the movie theater.”
Ashley Kenyon: “You just worry about disarming and detainment…”
There was an audible ‘click’ as what sounded like an ammunition clip slid snugly into a handheld weapon from somewhere in Ashley’s direction.
Ashley Kenyon: “...leave the rest to me.”
Johnny Blank: “Hot.”
Everyone gives Johnny an odd look.
Johnny Blank: “What? I stand by it.”
Demon #1: “Three minutes.”
Ashley Kenyon: “Are they on-site?”
Demon #2: “Alistair says the alarms of the house went silent thirty seconds ago.”
Maiko Adachi: “His doing?”
Demon #2: “Negative, Mother.”
Johnny Blank: “Why do they call her ‘mother’? What do you think, Marty?”
Martin West: “Don’t call me Marty... and I have no idea.”
Johnny Blank: “Think it’s a kinky thing?”
Martin West: “I wouldn’t recommend asking her. Not if you want to keep all of your parts.
Johnny Blank: “Is THAT a kinky thing?”
Martin West: “Do you ever stop talking?”
Johnny Blank: “Like, literally almost never.”
Martin answered with an eye roll before pulling his mask down. Ashley gave Johnny a firm, hard look before pulling her own down. Maiko flashed her a quick bright smile at how protective she was now and did the same. Johnny shrugged.
Johnny Blank: “What’s life without a little danger?!”
Demon #1: “One minute.”
Ashley and Johnny shared a long stare at one another before Johnny blew her a kiss through the mask and Ashley looked away, shaking her head. The muffled sound of Maiko’s giggling was heard while Martin just stared at the van doors, focused.
Demon #1: “Street’s clear. Go!”
The doors of the van slammed open and the four of them exited the back as one collective unit from the pair. The house in front of them was a sleepy little two-story ranch with the lights out and those inside unaware of the black and white figures swarming around the house.
The figures wore black and white hoodies with black and white track pants with a twisted variation of the black Demon mask. The four split up instantly and went after the Demons without making a sound.
A loud CRACK echoed from around the side of the house as the scripture bat connected with the side of a masked head. Johnny took another two down with beautiful MMA style takes downs and hard repeated right hands to the head.
Ashley walked right to the front door as one was preparing to breach and planted her hand into the back of his, or her, head and drove their face hard into the wood beside the door. She turned, arching a kick that took their partner in the face, spinning them into the side of the house by the door.
Along near the parking lot, Maiko took the final two down with a beautiful leg trip as she slid between them. The pair went down and Maiko grabbed the black masks, pulling them off. Her body was frozen, her features paling when she found the faces of Henry Ruvik and Michael Taylor staring up at her.
Maiko Adachi: “No…”
She squeaked in horror, clawing at her mask, the blue hair tumbling down over her shoulders as it came free. When her face was revealed, the true pain and fear were shown in every line.
Maiko Adachi: “...Please…no more…”
Henry Ruvik: “Why…hello, Mother…”
There was a sadistic purring in his voice as he pushed himself up slowly, staring down at the woman who dropped to her butt beside the car. Around the corner, Ashley came around the house and she found herself staring at the Demon standing on the other side of the car.
She could hear Maiko crying and felt her blood run cold when it registered who she was seeing. Henry Ruvik, one of the men who had done horrible things to Maiko, whom Sathanas had taken from them.
Ashley Kenyon: “Ruvik!”
She snarled and took off at a run, hitting the hood of the car and sliding over it, driving both feet into the man’s chest. The force of the kick was enough to lift him off the ground. Her feet hit the ground beside Maiko and she reached to the thigh of her black tactical outfit and pulled the glock. However, when she leveled it at Ruvik’s face, a black clad hand grabbed her wrist and forced it into the air before she could pull the trigger. She looked over into the masked face of Martin West who shook his head.
Ashley Kenyon: “Let me go, God dammit!”
Martin West: “You fire that thing right now and this entire neighborhood will see us loading these Demons!”
Ruvik and Taylor had scrambled to their feet and disappeared behind the house. Ashley struggled against Martin, but by the time she freed herself, they were gone. When it looked like she was going to pursue them, Martin laid a hand on her shoulder.
Martin West: “Maiko needs you, Ashley… and you know this.”
Ashley looked at the cowering Maiko and let out a deep sigh. She slipped an arm around Maiko’s waist and the blue-haired woman clung to her. Ashley whispered reassuring things to her before turning to Martin and locking her eyes through the masks on his own.
Ashley Kenyon: “We’re gonna finish this discussion, West. Those men don’t deserve to live.”
Martin West: “The mission is more important than your personal vendetta. My daughter's life is at stake.”
Martin wasn’t loyal to Lucifer or his mission. He was loyal to Penny. He excused himself to work with Johnny and the pair of Demons to load Valdemar’s forces into the van, tied, gagged and bagged while Ashley loaded the shaking Maiko into the back as well.
In five minutes, the neighborhood was quiet.
Like they weren’t even there.
Lucifer watched the dots labeled Maiko Adachi, Ashley Kenyon, Martin West, and Johnny Blank begin to move away from the assigned location and shifted his eyes to Alistair. He was typing away furiously as he spoke to the team through the specialized phones he had designed them. Without looking up, he spoke to Lucifer.
Alistair: “Second team reports in. All Demons grade-one. Bagged and returning.”
Lord Lucifer: “Good… That just leaves…”
Alistair: “There’s more, Sire. Ruvik and Taylor were with them.”
Lucifer’s head snapped around, and for the first time since the teams got into position, he moved away from the board and to the huge station filled with computer screens and keyboards that Alistair called home. He leaned over the edge of the chair with one hand on the chair’s back, looking down at the screen as the messages came in.
Alistair: “Mother froze when she saw them.”
Lord Lucifer: “Of course she did. She’s not nearly as recovered from the incident as she claims to be. I never would have sent her along had I known.”
Alistair: “West stopped Ashley from ventilating Ruvik, but in the commotion, he and Taylor got away. They bagged the rest.”
Lucifer’s grip on the back of the chair tightened so badly it began to squeak just before he turned and marched back to the board. His eyes fall on the final group: Zachary Sears, Sariel, Maricela Reyes, and Aerynn Maguire…
The whole drive up the dusty dirt road leading to the out of the way house gave all of them the wrong impression. All of them had on their tactical gear with the masks upon their foreheads while the van shook and rocked as it eased down the dirt road.
When they pulled up to the small single-story house at the end of the driveway and opened the doors of the van to pile out, they immediately noticed that something was amiss. There were no Demons anywhere and the light in the living room was flickering on and off.
The four of them slowly approached the house and split up. Each of them headed in a different direction when they reached the house properly. Zachary gently pressed his hand on the ajar door and eased it open with a faint creak.
The inside of the house was a mess with furniture overturned. The flickering was a lamp that was lying on its side with the bulb flashing on and off. The room beyond the doorway was a living area with the couch turned over onto its back and one of the cushions missing. A wicker chair in the far corner was completely destroyed, as though someone had been hit with it.
Zachary Sears: “Zhe inside is demolished.”
He said aloud into the two-ways built into the masks. He was met with silence as he walked cautiously through the house until a faint crackle was heard and a Latina’s voice whispered into his ear.
Maricela Reyes: “Do you think we’re too late?”
Another crackle answered her. It was another female voice, thick with an Irish accent.
Aerynn Maguire: “Nay, th’ food still bae warm…”
Maricela Reyes: “I don’t understand.”
Sariel: “Demons didn’t do this…”
Aerynn Maguire: “HE’S HE--”
The transmission never finished as the sudden sound of fighting outside the backdoor rang out. Suddenly, the window leading into the main living room shattered inward. Aerynn came flying through it, landing on the couch’s seats and flipping the couch right side up. The force of the impact sent Aerynn rolling off the couch and into the wreckage of the coffee table.
Anthony Crawford himself appeared at the window, staring in at Zachary. He grabbed the window frame and went to jump in when a black figure hit him around the stomach and the two disappeared from view. Zach looked down at Aerynn who was holding her ribs and coughing. She shook her head and motioned with a hand toward the window.
Aerynn Maguire: “Go. GO! They bae naedin’ yer help! Go!”
Zach gave a curt nod and turned heading for the window. When he reached it and vaulted over into the backyard, he found a slender figure in all black standing in the middle of the backyard with Sathanas.
The two were trading kicks and blocks. With every time Sathanas would try for a knockout blow, the tiny figure would either evade it or block the kick with a shin before rocking him with a right hand. It was at that moment that Zach had to freeze and marvel at the skill of the tiny Asian woman everyone called Sister Sara.
She was standing toe-to-toe with Sathanas and wasn’t giving him an inch as they went blow-for-blow.
Sariel blocked one of his kicks with her shin and jumped, bringing the other leg up into a kick aimed at his chest and ribs. Unfortunately for her, Sathanas caught her leg and lashed out, grabbing her by the throat. Throwing his head forward, his forehead blasted her in the mouth of the mask, the white stained red from the inside as blood exploded from her lips.
He turned and whipped her with all the force he could muster into the wall of the house beside the door. She crashed into the wall and literally disappeared clean through it. She ended up inside the kitchen area where she hit the linoleum floor and rolled across it.
He turned to go after her when Zachary slugged him in the mouth with a huge left cross. Anthony’s head snapped to the side before slowly turning and leveling his eyes on the young German man. A faint little smirk crossed the man’s lips as he lifted his hands and motioned for Zach to ‘come on’.
The Demon Knight ran in with rights and lefts that Sathanas slapped away and uppercuts that he shifted to the side so they sailed just to the side of his head. After the third uppercut of the flurry, Anthony shoved Zachary hard by the arm, spinning him around and locked his arms around the man’s neck.
With a twist, Zach’s legs came out from under him and he was lifted into the air, coming down hard on the picnic table where the food sat. The food splashed all over Zach and the table as he hit it. Before he could respond, Sathanas blasted him in the forehead with a right hand.
The force of the blow snapped Zachary’s head back. It didn’t kill him, but it was enough to stun him and knock the white mask off. Anthony reached out to the table and grabbed one of the knives used to cut meat and brought the blade down on Zach’s forehead.
The blonde had enough mental acuity to grab Anthony’s wrists before it reached his head and the two fought for control of the knife, hovering inches from Zach’s face. Even with all of his strength, Zachary couldn’t stop it and the knife’s tip pierced the flesh just above the eyebrow. Zach let out a scream of pain but was able to stop it from going any deeper.
Anthony, realizing he couldn’t get it any deeper, decided to drag the blade to the side. The blade began to rip into his forehead, dragging toward the temple while blood started to run down Zach’s face.
In his mind, Zachary saw flashes of his loved ones. His fiancé Gael, his older half-sister Everalda, her son Klaus, and her unborn son Alexander, his younger sister Jessica and her baby, his brothers-in-law Adrien and Dean. All of them ran through his frantic mind. Aerynn was injured, Sariel appeared to be out cold...
Then, like a spider monkey, Maricela leaped onto Anthony’s back and grabbed both of his wrists. She pulled the blade away from Zachary’s bloody face.
The blade was finally free of the blonde's flesh and he rolled to the side, hitting the seat of the bench and panting hard. Anthony reached back with one hand and grabbed Maricela by the head. A single shoulder throw was all it took and the tiny Latina crashed into the table where Zachary had just been. With enough force, the table splintered in half as she fell through it.
Anthony glared down at the dark-haired woman lying in the wreckage of the table. He raised a leg to bring his combat boot down on her face when two things happened simultaneously. Sariel came charging out of the kitchen and jumped, landing on Anthony’s shoulders with her legs around his head and twisted, sending him flying away from the table and the pair lying in its wreckage.
At that moment, a gunshot resonated and Aerynn was seen standing at the window, leaning on the windowsill. The shot missed, hitting a tree, while Anthony was thrown to the side by Sariel. Aerynn turned and squeezed off two more rounds as he rolled across the ground. The first one hit the pavement and bounced off. The other ripped into Anthony’s cheek.
Pushing himself back and rolling toward the house, he moved out of the line of fire from the pissed off Irish woman. Slowly, he pushed himself up, blood running down his left cheek and jaw. Aerynn limped around the living room and into the kitchen, trying to make it outside, while Sariel knelt next to Zachary with a hand on his back.
Aerynn finally came around the doorway just as Anthony locked eyes with her. There was a murderous look in those brown eyes as Aerynn tensed to lift her arm.
Anthony: “You’re dead, Maguire.”
He warned and twisted around, disappearing around the edge of the house. Aerynn took a step forward to follow him, but Sariel shouted in Japanese, freezing her in place. She let out a deep sigh and turned, heading to the table where she and Sariel began to work on Zachary, who was bleeding all over the place.
Sariel: “Rynn. Get the blood. Mari. Can you move?”
Maricela Reyes: “...I think so. What the hell was THAT?”
Zachary Sears: “Zhat... vas Sathanas…”
Sariel: “Hits like a freight train, doesn’t he?”
Maricela Reyes: “...Si…”
Aerynn would work to clean the blood, while Maricela and Sariel helped Zachary get the towel over his head and get back into the van. The house’s homeowner was simply gone, no doubt taken by the Demons, while Sathanas stayed behind to do any follow-up.
All of them realized one thing. Things were starting to get more and more personal and bloody. And they were coming to a head.
There were those amongst his number that disapproved of the final option, namely those who had joined them most recently, and so he sent one of the other Angels with them at all times. Not as an escort or a chaperone, but simply as someone who could do the things Lord Lucifer wanted to be done without the fuss.
Lucifer's eyes scanned the huge screen sitting on the wall. It showed a world map on one flat screen with flashing tiny dots at various locations, each with a name. Each of the dots seemed to be clustered in groups of three or four.
The man sitting at a large desk in the corner of the room was working feverishly, the fingers of each hand clicking off the keys as he worked on security alarms and power grids in three different cities and two different states simultaneously.
Alistair: “Nani and Rami are reporting in a success. No problems.”
Lucifer: “Identities?”
Alistair: “Anni says that they were all made up of grade three's and one grade-four.”
Lucifer: “They know what to do with them.”
Alistair: “Already done and disposed of, Lord Lucifer.”
Slowly, Lucifer nodded and turned his eyes from the three dots that read “Ananiel, Ramiel, Pryce, and Aniel” in western Pennsylvania to dots labeled “West. Blank. Adachi and Kenyon.” sitting in south-western Texas.
~{
Martin West, Johnny Blank, Maiko Adachi, and Ashley Kenyon
El Paso, Texas
12:56: AM
}~
Martin West, Johnny Blank, Maiko Adachi, and Ashley Kenyon
El Paso, Texas
12:56: AM
}~
In the van driven by the pair of Demons, the four of them got ready for their first group assignment, and in the case of Johnny and Martin, their first assignment. Ashley and Maiko shared a chaste but sweet kiss before they slipped on the clothing they would normally wear. Black long-sleeved shirts with black long cargo pants. Black socks up to where the pants ended and black boots. They loaded their long hair into the mesh of one of the white Angel masks and pulled them up to their foreheads. With the masks down and their breasts taped down tight, you wouldn’t be able to tell if the pair were male or female or what nationality they were.
Martin and Johnny did the same until all that remained of their skin were their faces shown beneath the masks on their foreheads. The only telltale sign of the pair was a thick wooden bat wrapped in Bible scriptures.
Johnny Blank: “So, our liege is the devil. Why bother with masks?”
Maiko Adachi: “Alistair is very good at what he does, but he cannot turn off neighbors or the person who happens down the street.”
Johnny Blank: “Can’t he just…”
And Johnny made some very exaggerated hand gestures. Ashley chuckled, but Maiko shook her head in anything but amusement.
Maiko Adachi: “You’ve seen too many movies.”
Johnny gave her an exaggerated wink, which even the hard-shelled Maiko couldn’t stop the smile from touching her lips. Martin turned the bat on his hand and laid the fat end in his palm.
Martin West: “I won’t kill anyone.”
Johnny Blank: “Not unless you can prove to me FOR SURE they talk during movies at the movie theater.”
Ashley Kenyon: “You just worry about disarming and detainment…”
There was an audible ‘click’ as what sounded like an ammunition clip slid snugly into a handheld weapon from somewhere in Ashley’s direction.
Ashley Kenyon: “...leave the rest to me.”
Johnny Blank: “Hot.”
Everyone gives Johnny an odd look.
Johnny Blank: “What? I stand by it.”
Demon #1: “Three minutes.”
Ashley Kenyon: “Are they on-site?”
Demon #2: “Alistair says the alarms of the house went silent thirty seconds ago.”
Maiko Adachi: “His doing?”
Demon #2: “Negative, Mother.”
Johnny Blank: “Why do they call her ‘mother’? What do you think, Marty?”
Martin West: “Don’t call me Marty... and I have no idea.”
Johnny Blank: “Think it’s a kinky thing?”
Martin West: “I wouldn’t recommend asking her. Not if you want to keep all of your parts.
Johnny Blank: “Is THAT a kinky thing?”
Martin West: “Do you ever stop talking?”
Johnny Blank: “Like, literally almost never.”
Martin answered with an eye roll before pulling his mask down. Ashley gave Johnny a firm, hard look before pulling her own down. Maiko flashed her a quick bright smile at how protective she was now and did the same. Johnny shrugged.
Johnny Blank: “What’s life without a little danger?!”
Demon #1: “One minute.”
Ashley and Johnny shared a long stare at one another before Johnny blew her a kiss through the mask and Ashley looked away, shaking her head. The muffled sound of Maiko’s giggling was heard while Martin just stared at the van doors, focused.
Demon #1: “Street’s clear. Go!”
The doors of the van slammed open and the four of them exited the back as one collective unit from the pair. The house in front of them was a sleepy little two-story ranch with the lights out and those inside unaware of the black and white figures swarming around the house.
The figures wore black and white hoodies with black and white track pants with a twisted variation of the black Demon mask. The four split up instantly and went after the Demons without making a sound.
A loud CRACK echoed from around the side of the house as the scripture bat connected with the side of a masked head. Johnny took another two down with beautiful MMA style takes downs and hard repeated right hands to the head.
Ashley walked right to the front door as one was preparing to breach and planted her hand into the back of his, or her, head and drove their face hard into the wood beside the door. She turned, arching a kick that took their partner in the face, spinning them into the side of the house by the door.
Along near the parking lot, Maiko took the final two down with a beautiful leg trip as she slid between them. The pair went down and Maiko grabbed the black masks, pulling them off. Her body was frozen, her features paling when she found the faces of Henry Ruvik and Michael Taylor staring up at her.
Maiko Adachi: “No…”
She squeaked in horror, clawing at her mask, the blue hair tumbling down over her shoulders as it came free. When her face was revealed, the true pain and fear were shown in every line.
Maiko Adachi: “...Please…no more…”
Henry Ruvik: “Why…hello, Mother…”
There was a sadistic purring in his voice as he pushed himself up slowly, staring down at the woman who dropped to her butt beside the car. Around the corner, Ashley came around the house and she found herself staring at the Demon standing on the other side of the car.
She could hear Maiko crying and felt her blood run cold when it registered who she was seeing. Henry Ruvik, one of the men who had done horrible things to Maiko, whom Sathanas had taken from them.
Ashley Kenyon: “Ruvik!”
She snarled and took off at a run, hitting the hood of the car and sliding over it, driving both feet into the man’s chest. The force of the kick was enough to lift him off the ground. Her feet hit the ground beside Maiko and she reached to the thigh of her black tactical outfit and pulled the glock. However, when she leveled it at Ruvik’s face, a black clad hand grabbed her wrist and forced it into the air before she could pull the trigger. She looked over into the masked face of Martin West who shook his head.
Ashley Kenyon: “Let me go, God dammit!”
Martin West: “You fire that thing right now and this entire neighborhood will see us loading these Demons!”
Ruvik and Taylor had scrambled to their feet and disappeared behind the house. Ashley struggled against Martin, but by the time she freed herself, they were gone. When it looked like she was going to pursue them, Martin laid a hand on her shoulder.
Martin West: “Maiko needs you, Ashley… and you know this.”
Ashley looked at the cowering Maiko and let out a deep sigh. She slipped an arm around Maiko’s waist and the blue-haired woman clung to her. Ashley whispered reassuring things to her before turning to Martin and locking her eyes through the masks on his own.
Ashley Kenyon: “We’re gonna finish this discussion, West. Those men don’t deserve to live.”
Martin West: “The mission is more important than your personal vendetta. My daughter's life is at stake.”
Martin wasn’t loyal to Lucifer or his mission. He was loyal to Penny. He excused himself to work with Johnny and the pair of Demons to load Valdemar’s forces into the van, tied, gagged and bagged while Ashley loaded the shaking Maiko into the back as well.
In five minutes, the neighborhood was quiet.
Like they weren’t even there.
~{
Hell
Location: Unknown
1:09 AM
}~
Hell
Location: Unknown
1:09 AM
}~
Lucifer watched the dots labeled Maiko Adachi, Ashley Kenyon, Martin West, and Johnny Blank begin to move away from the assigned location and shifted his eyes to Alistair. He was typing away furiously as he spoke to the team through the specialized phones he had designed them. Without looking up, he spoke to Lucifer.
Alistair: “Second team reports in. All Demons grade-one. Bagged and returning.”
Lord Lucifer: “Good… That just leaves…”
Alistair: “There’s more, Sire. Ruvik and Taylor were with them.”
Lucifer’s head snapped around, and for the first time since the teams got into position, he moved away from the board and to the huge station filled with computer screens and keyboards that Alistair called home. He leaned over the edge of the chair with one hand on the chair’s back, looking down at the screen as the messages came in.
Alistair: “Mother froze when she saw them.”
Lord Lucifer: “Of course she did. She’s not nearly as recovered from the incident as she claims to be. I never would have sent her along had I known.”
Alistair: “West stopped Ashley from ventilating Ruvik, but in the commotion, he and Taylor got away. They bagged the rest.”
Lucifer’s grip on the back of the chair tightened so badly it began to squeak just before he turned and marched back to the board. His eyes fall on the final group: Zachary Sears, Sariel, Maricela Reyes, and Aerynn Maguire…
~{
Aerynn Maguire, Maricela Reyes, Sariel, and Zachary Sears
Glenrock, Wyoming
1:10 AM
}~
Aerynn Maguire, Maricela Reyes, Sariel, and Zachary Sears
Glenrock, Wyoming
1:10 AM
}~
The whole drive up the dusty dirt road leading to the out of the way house gave all of them the wrong impression. All of them had on their tactical gear with the masks upon their foreheads while the van shook and rocked as it eased down the dirt road.
When they pulled up to the small single-story house at the end of the driveway and opened the doors of the van to pile out, they immediately noticed that something was amiss. There were no Demons anywhere and the light in the living room was flickering on and off.
The four of them slowly approached the house and split up. Each of them headed in a different direction when they reached the house properly. Zachary gently pressed his hand on the ajar door and eased it open with a faint creak.
The inside of the house was a mess with furniture overturned. The flickering was a lamp that was lying on its side with the bulb flashing on and off. The room beyond the doorway was a living area with the couch turned over onto its back and one of the cushions missing. A wicker chair in the far corner was completely destroyed, as though someone had been hit with it.
Zachary Sears: “Zhe inside is demolished.”
He said aloud into the two-ways built into the masks. He was met with silence as he walked cautiously through the house until a faint crackle was heard and a Latina’s voice whispered into his ear.
Maricela Reyes: “Do you think we’re too late?”
Another crackle answered her. It was another female voice, thick with an Irish accent.
Aerynn Maguire: “Nay, th’ food still bae warm…”
Maricela Reyes: “I don’t understand.”
Sariel: “Demons didn’t do this…”
Aerynn Maguire: “HE’S HE--”
The transmission never finished as the sudden sound of fighting outside the backdoor rang out. Suddenly, the window leading into the main living room shattered inward. Aerynn came flying through it, landing on the couch’s seats and flipping the couch right side up. The force of the impact sent Aerynn rolling off the couch and into the wreckage of the coffee table.
Anthony Crawford himself appeared at the window, staring in at Zachary. He grabbed the window frame and went to jump in when a black figure hit him around the stomach and the two disappeared from view. Zach looked down at Aerynn who was holding her ribs and coughing. She shook her head and motioned with a hand toward the window.
Aerynn Maguire: “Go. GO! They bae naedin’ yer help! Go!”
Zach gave a curt nod and turned heading for the window. When he reached it and vaulted over into the backyard, he found a slender figure in all black standing in the middle of the backyard with Sathanas.
The two were trading kicks and blocks. With every time Sathanas would try for a knockout blow, the tiny figure would either evade it or block the kick with a shin before rocking him with a right hand. It was at that moment that Zach had to freeze and marvel at the skill of the tiny Asian woman everyone called Sister Sara.
She was standing toe-to-toe with Sathanas and wasn’t giving him an inch as they went blow-for-blow.
Sariel blocked one of his kicks with her shin and jumped, bringing the other leg up into a kick aimed at his chest and ribs. Unfortunately for her, Sathanas caught her leg and lashed out, grabbing her by the throat. Throwing his head forward, his forehead blasted her in the mouth of the mask, the white stained red from the inside as blood exploded from her lips.
He turned and whipped her with all the force he could muster into the wall of the house beside the door. She crashed into the wall and literally disappeared clean through it. She ended up inside the kitchen area where she hit the linoleum floor and rolled across it.
He turned to go after her when Zachary slugged him in the mouth with a huge left cross. Anthony’s head snapped to the side before slowly turning and leveling his eyes on the young German man. A faint little smirk crossed the man’s lips as he lifted his hands and motioned for Zach to ‘come on’.
The Demon Knight ran in with rights and lefts that Sathanas slapped away and uppercuts that he shifted to the side so they sailed just to the side of his head. After the third uppercut of the flurry, Anthony shoved Zachary hard by the arm, spinning him around and locked his arms around the man’s neck.
With a twist, Zach’s legs came out from under him and he was lifted into the air, coming down hard on the picnic table where the food sat. The food splashed all over Zach and the table as he hit it. Before he could respond, Sathanas blasted him in the forehead with a right hand.
The force of the blow snapped Zachary’s head back. It didn’t kill him, but it was enough to stun him and knock the white mask off. Anthony reached out to the table and grabbed one of the knives used to cut meat and brought the blade down on Zach’s forehead.
The blonde had enough mental acuity to grab Anthony’s wrists before it reached his head and the two fought for control of the knife, hovering inches from Zach’s face. Even with all of his strength, Zachary couldn’t stop it and the knife’s tip pierced the flesh just above the eyebrow. Zach let out a scream of pain but was able to stop it from going any deeper.
Anthony, realizing he couldn’t get it any deeper, decided to drag the blade to the side. The blade began to rip into his forehead, dragging toward the temple while blood started to run down Zach’s face.
In his mind, Zachary saw flashes of his loved ones. His fiancé Gael, his older half-sister Everalda, her son Klaus, and her unborn son Alexander, his younger sister Jessica and her baby, his brothers-in-law Adrien and Dean. All of them ran through his frantic mind. Aerynn was injured, Sariel appeared to be out cold...
‘Oh Gott… I’m going to die…’
Then, like a spider monkey, Maricela leaped onto Anthony’s back and grabbed both of his wrists. She pulled the blade away from Zachary’s bloody face.
The blade was finally free of the blonde's flesh and he rolled to the side, hitting the seat of the bench and panting hard. Anthony reached back with one hand and grabbed Maricela by the head. A single shoulder throw was all it took and the tiny Latina crashed into the table where Zachary had just been. With enough force, the table splintered in half as she fell through it.
Anthony glared down at the dark-haired woman lying in the wreckage of the table. He raised a leg to bring his combat boot down on her face when two things happened simultaneously. Sariel came charging out of the kitchen and jumped, landing on Anthony’s shoulders with her legs around his head and twisted, sending him flying away from the table and the pair lying in its wreckage.
At that moment, a gunshot resonated and Aerynn was seen standing at the window, leaning on the windowsill. The shot missed, hitting a tree, while Anthony was thrown to the side by Sariel. Aerynn turned and squeezed off two more rounds as he rolled across the ground. The first one hit the pavement and bounced off. The other ripped into Anthony’s cheek.
Pushing himself back and rolling toward the house, he moved out of the line of fire from the pissed off Irish woman. Slowly, he pushed himself up, blood running down his left cheek and jaw. Aerynn limped around the living room and into the kitchen, trying to make it outside, while Sariel knelt next to Zachary with a hand on his back.
Aerynn finally came around the doorway just as Anthony locked eyes with her. There was a murderous look in those brown eyes as Aerynn tensed to lift her arm.
Anthony: “You’re dead, Maguire.”
He warned and twisted around, disappearing around the edge of the house. Aerynn took a step forward to follow him, but Sariel shouted in Japanese, freezing her in place. She let out a deep sigh and turned, heading to the table where she and Sariel began to work on Zachary, who was bleeding all over the place.
Sariel: “Rynn. Get the blood. Mari. Can you move?”
Maricela Reyes: “...I think so. What the hell was THAT?”
Zachary Sears: “Zhat... vas Sathanas…”
Sariel: “Hits like a freight train, doesn’t he?”
Maricela Reyes: “...Si…”
Aerynn would work to clean the blood, while Maricela and Sariel helped Zachary get the towel over his head and get back into the van. The house’s homeowner was simply gone, no doubt taken by the Demons, while Sathanas stayed behind to do any follow-up.
All of them realized one thing. Things were starting to get more and more personal and bloody. And they were coming to a head.
