Post by Bene Elohim on Feb 8, 2024 14:48:04 GMT -8
The scenery was beautiful. In the shades of time between the evening coolness and the coldness of the night, it gave the environment a balmy simplicity. This only served to further create the atmosphere for what was on the horizon of the black van.
Tents of every style and color had been erected within an out-of-the-way plot of land between two farms. Around the tents were large metallic rides that took up a vast amount of the empty spaces. Some of them, like the quintessential Ferris Wheel, rose high into the evening sky. Their bright and colorful lights lit up the night sky for miles.
Besides the Ferris Wheel, the grounds were littered with other rides like the Carousel, a beautiful red and purple roller coaster, the iconic Starship 2000, and many more. In between the rides, usually in groups of three-to-four, were tents of various hues and colors. Each of them held one of the midway games or souvenir booths.
When the van pulled to a stop and the doors flew open, the group exited. The children with happy screams of glee, the fathers shortly behind them, and Chelsea and Maricela right after.
Ramiel and Sariel did as Lucifer commanded and also as they promised.
They stayed fifteen paces behind the group, each wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood up and a loose-fitting pair of blue jeans. Their boots barely made a sound as they walked from so many years of experience moving without making noise.
As the oldest children, Christian and Jacques Linette were studying the big kid rides. They both looked back to their father when he began to speak up.
Johnny Blank: “Now remember… if you eat enough of one color of cotton candy, your barf will eventually BE that color. That’s my goal at the very least. I’m going with blue. How about you, Jacques? Christian? Any takers for pink? Come on, three helpings of cotton candy, then we hop on the tilt-a-whirl and make barf magic happen.”
Martin West: “You know, as far as being a dad goes, it helps that Johnny has the same sense of humor as most little boys.”
Penny giggled at this. She was happily perched on her father’s shoulders, her long blonde hair cutely styled with twin pigtails. To keep warm, she wore a pair of pink pants with her frilly white dress, matching with her pink Vans.
Penny Linette: “Daddy, I wanna go on the roller coaster.”
Cole Pryce: “What’s that?!”
The words sparked the curiosity of the three-year-old son of Chelsea Pryce. She looked down at him, holding his hand in hers, and sighed.
Chelsea Pryce: “You can’t go on the coaster, little cowboy. What about the merry-go-round?”
Cole Pryce: “But I wanna go on the coaster!”
Chelsea Pryce: “When you’re a little bigger, I promise you can go on that ride as many times as you want.”
The little boy let out a pout.
Cole Pryce: “Otay…”
Meanwhile, the twin boys looked at each other.
Jacques Linette: “You can have the pink cotton candy.”
Christian Linette: “No! You take the pink cotton candy!”
Jacques Linette: “No, you!”
Johnny squatted down so he was on Christian and Jacques’ level like they were huddling up.
Johnny Blank: “Easy boys. We can all get blue. No need to argue. I think it’d make for a more spectacular show that way, anyway. To be honest, it might be a waste to eat only cotton candy… especially with the delightful scent of churros now hitting my nose. I need a churro. We need churros. Don’t tell your mom I got you so much junk food, but...churros. Churros have to happen. Then the merry-go-round with Chelsea and Cole then after that we’ll go win a carnival game or two so everyone here knows how awesome we are. Sound like a plan?”
Johnny put a fist out for a three-way fist bump with the twins. Christian was eager, raising his right fist to match Johnny’s. Jacques was a little more contemplative, then he decided to take a whiff of the air and smell the churros. He easily recognized the delicious aroma and grinned, raising his left fist and completing the triple fist bump.
Christian & Jacques Linette: “Yeah!”
Chelsea found herself chuckling at the boys. Cole’s eyes found the ride his mother was talking about, his eyes lighting up.
Martin West: “Tell you what, Penny… let’s start out slow and ride the Carousel with our friends before we hit the coaster, huh?”
The four-year-old girl looked down at her dad and she smiled brightly.
Penny Linette: “Okay! Let’s go on every ride I can!”
Even though she was walking alongside them, Maricela Reyes seemed to be out of sorts. She had a faraway look in her eyes, shimmering beyond her glasses. On occasion, she’d glance behind her, noticing Ramiel and Sariel moving within a certain distance of them. It wasn’t that she was uncomfortable with their presence. She’s come to like them. Something else was on her mind.
Johnny and his sons continued onward to the desserts of the carnival. Chelsea and Cole made their way towards the Carousel as she pointed out the various horses. The little cowboy was excited to get on the ride. Meanwhile, Martin helped his daughter down from his shoulders and walked over to Mari, extending Pènèlope to her.
Martin West: “Penny for your thoughts?”
Penny herself was giggling from how silly that was. The Latina Artist was lost for words. She was literally hit with an adorable pun, drawing a sweet smile across her face.
Maricela Reyes: “It’s impossible to say ‘no’ to that, Padre.”
Extending her arms, she gladly received Penny and allowed her to climb onto her shoulders. Penny adjusted herself comfortably, while Maricela took a deep breath.
Maricela Reyes: “You probably saw it by now, my conversation with Danni. I tried to stop her personal investigation, but she wouldn’t listen to reason. If it wasn’t for Johnny’s intervention…”
Martin West: “Danni is tenacious. We both know that. It takes a heck of a lot to keep her focused on something, but once she is? There’s no one more stubborn.”
Martin placed a hand on Mari’s cheek.
Martin West: “But we can save those thoughts for another time. There’s plenty of time to consider the bad. Look around you. This ain’t the time.”
There was a light tap on the top of the dark-haired lady’s head. Maricela’s eyes looked up, avoiding the movement of her head.
Penny Linette: “Don’t worry! Be happy!”
There was a little sing-song in her young voice. This alone drew a smile on Maricela’s face.
Maricela Reyes: “Don’t worry… Be happy.”
Her singer’s voice softly resonated.
Martin, Maricela, and Penny joined Chelsea and Cole in line for the Carousel. Johnny, Christian, and Jacques made their way over to the group with a bag of freshly-made churros. Once they were able to board the ride, Chelsea helped Cole onto a white horse, while Maricela placed Penny on a rainbow unicorn. For the fun of it, Maricela and Martin climbed onto different Carousel animals. Chelsea stayed close to Cole because he was too small to be alone. Penny was tall enough to ride on her own. Johnny and his sons looked on, enjoying their first carnival snack while the ride started up.
The whole time the group walked and walked, the pair walked along behind them, their attention on one another in their own conversation. That all stopped when the first one came into view. The sweatshirts were made of black and white fabric in a half-and-half pattern with the same on the pants they wore and wearing one black boot and one white boot. The hoods of the sweatshirts were drawn up, shadowing faces.
No masks this time.
The first one came out of the shadows to the left, then a second to his immediate right, and two more from the far right through a crowd. All of them locked in with a laser focus on the ride Johnny and his sons were about to enjoy.
One of them spoke quickly to another before he reached into his pocket and withdrew a thick brick-like object before folding a thick antenna down. Sariel’s hand slammed into Rami’s chest and motioned with her head to the man making the call.
Sariel: “Is that?!”
Ramiel: “Demon.”
The big Samoan hissed.
Ramiel: “How?!”
Sariel: “It has to be a patrol. There’s no way Apollyon knows where Hell is. He’d have stormed it by now.”
Sariel took a step forward, her hand reaching into the folds of her sweatshirt, but Ramiel placed his big hand on her forearm.
Ramiel: “Sara…”
Sariel: “Rami, the first call is to gather the other Demons. The other will be to Apollyon, and if he finds out where they are now? That the kids are here without a whole horde AND Lucifer to personally ensure their safety? He’ll know Hell is near.”
Ramiel took his lower lip between his teeth, his eyes darting around the fairgrounds. He saw more and more of the figures slipping through the crowds, each of them holding a small brick-like military satellite phone to their ears.
Sariel: “We don’t have time, Rami!”
Ramiel: “Quietly, Sara… children…”
Sariel gave little more than a curt nod. She disappeared into the crowd, hoping beyond hope that they still used the same protocols that Lucifer installed. The Children’s protocols said that only the member in the lead on a mission has the ability to find Lucifer’s number. It prevented a stolen phone from finding him, and if, just if, they acted the same way? All she needed to do was take out the leader’s phone.
Sariel moved with cat-like grace and elegance through the crowd, moving her shoulders only as she weaved this way and that, never taking her eyes off the crowd around her. Whenever one of the Demons coming to join the group neared, she’d spin away behind another group of civilians. Chelsea happened to catch sight of this and she was in awe of how this woman moved.
Finally, when she neared the leader, he was looking down into his phone, no doubt trying to pinpoint the number to reach Valdemar Johansen. Sariel knew she only had moments or everyone she cared about would fall under the sheer numbers Apollyon had amassed.
Her salvation came in the form of a bulky farmer who was walking past with a large cup of soda in his hand. The drink was without a lid. She kicked a foot out, catching his heel, and caused one foot to hit the other, forcing the man to stumble.
He fell to the side, slamming into the Demon, and the liquid exploded from the cup, covering the electronic in the sugary liquid. Sariel slipped away as the man stammered for an apology as she melted back into the crowd, trying to work her way back around to Ramiel.
The big Samoan had left the spot, watching her the entire time, and approached the still-moving Carousel. Stepping up onto it while it was moving, surprising the ride operator, he calmly walked through the parents until he came to where the two women stood with the children.
Ramiel: “Come…now...danger...no questions...”
Maricela glanced over from her position on a dark horse, a bit confused. However, Chelsea had noticed what was going on. From Sariel’s graceful movements to her subtle trip of the farmer to spill the soda onto the military-styled phone.
Chelsea Pryce: “Shit…”
With Maricela’s attention still on Chelsea and Ramiel, she considered the quiet exchange of words and pressed her lips together. Looking over to Martin on Penny’s other side, she nodded. The little girl was still so distracted by the ride to figure out what was going on.
By the time the group exited the carousel, the ride had all but finished and Johnny was stepping off with his sons. The instant he saw the group and realized that Sariel and Ramiel were no longer trailing behind but standing dead-center of the group, he knew something was wrong.
After joining them, the group began to walk deeper into the fairgrounds, the children now kept in the middle. Of course, they were being distracted by happy banter from the adults. While Johnny took his turn talking to them, he gave the pair a pointed look.
Sariel: “Company.”
It was Martin who nodded when he spotted one coming around the corner of a tent ahead of them.
Martin West: “There they are.”
Maricela easily steered the group away by pointing at one of the dart-throwing games and exclaiming happily before angling toward it.
Chelsea Pryce: “What are we going to do? The children are…”
She looked down, noticing the curiosity of the twin boys, and then back up at Sariel.
Chelsea Pryce: “...eager for more fun! Is there a ride somewhere we missed?”
Sariel: “I doubt it.”
Johnny Blank: “Can we separate? Maybe try different rides?”
Ramiel: “Too many… Dozens…”
Maricela Reyes: “Tengo una idea.”
Maricela picked up Penny, put her on her shoulders, and made a beeline for the little tractor pulling a wagon behind it. It was leading into a corn maze set up for Halloween. Once they were all loaded into the first wagon, none of them had to look back to know that the second wagon behind them was filled with the Demons.
Johnny Blank: “I’m all for haunted houses, Mari, but...”
Maricela Reyes: “Señora Chelsea and I will walk the kids through it!”
She cackled with glee, all for the effect on the kids. Then under her breath, she added a few words only the adults could hear.
Maricela Reyes: “The four of you will trail behind and pick them off.”
The group fell into silence then. It was the best plan they had on such short notice. When the wagon finally slowed to a stop, Chelsea and Maricela helped the kids off of the wagon, making spooky noises. The little ones giggled and laughed, even mimicked them.
As soon as they passed the entrance of the haunted house, Sariel, Martin, Johnny, and Ramiel peeled off. Each of them bled into the darkness and waited for the figures to enter the mass. When they did, there were seven Demons in total, all heading a different direction and each of them wearing their own variation of the stun gloves the Children used.
Johnny was the first to spot one of the hooded figures. He stepped around the corner and found himself standing behind one.
Johnny Blank: “Excuse me, can you tell me the way to Burger King? I’m terribly lost.”
Demon: “Burger King?!”
The voice was male, and as he turned, Johnny swung hard, his fist connecting with the side of the man’s head. A left and a right followed the first right until the man collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Female Voice: “Hey!”
Johnny turned and found another of the Demons standing twenty feet behind him at another turn. It was a woman in her early twenties. She came for him, but before he had to defend himself, she crossed the little opening he had originally stepped out of. It was then a slender black-clad leg came arching around the corner and connected with the woman’s face. The foot hit with a bone-crunching thud and she collapsed.
Johnny looked up to find Sariel in mid-pose for a roundhouse kick. She slowly lowered her foot back to the damp ground and Johnny lifted a brow.
Sariel: “Got one around the corner.”
Johnny Blank: “What’s a place like this doing in a girl like you?”
With a steel-singing WOOSH, the tip of a Wakizashi was hovering inches from his nose. Johnny gently pushed the blade to the side and walked past the two unconscious bodies and Sariel.
Johnny Blank: “Don’t flirt with the crazy hot Asian lady. Check.”
Sariel: “I’m just protecting you, Johnny-San.”
Johnny Blank: “You wouldn’t really have hurt me.”
Sariel: “No, but Rami would have.”
Across the maze, Martin had another one of the Demons in a chokehold and held it tight until the man stopped kicking and threw him to the ground. Across from him, Ramiel had another one actually stuffed into the maze’s corn-made wall with what appeared to be blood leaking down. The Pastor was not pleased.
Martin West: “Did you have to kill him?!”
Ramiel: “Yes.”
Martin West: “Why!?”
Ramiel: “...Threatened...children. Everyone...deserve to...”
Ramiel didn’t have to finish it for Martin to understand. The Children of Nephilim were devoted to the protection of the innocent with a single-minded solution that scared a lot of people. A frightened scream from one of the kids brought both men spinning around and bolting into the darkness.
They came around the corner and found two Demons lying unconscious on the ground. Penny was standing over one of them and sticking out her tongue at them.
Penny Linette: “Nyahhh! What you get for scaring me!”
Chelsea breathed out a sigh of relief and lowered her hands to her sides. Johnny came running around another corner and slid to a stop, staring at the two men.
Johnny Blank: “What happened?”
Maricela Reyes: “The workers jumped out and tried to scare the kids. They… also scared Chelsea before she hit them.”
The Ice Queen scoffed at Maricela’s last comment.
Chelsea Pryce: “I wasn’t afraid… They just surprised me, that’s all.”
Penny Linette: “Big meanies!”
Chelsea Pryce: “That’s right.”
Sariel: “Come on. We can try and make a break for it.”
The group finished the maze, came out on the other side in the parking lot, and made a beeline for the van. However, when they rounded the edges of a large pickup truck, they found another dozen Demons standing at the van.
Chelsea Pryce: “...Dammit.”
Jacques was young at age seven, but he was very smart. He started to pick up on this oddity.
Jacques Linette: “What’s up with the black and white clowns?”
The Latina Artist was a bit surprised. To keep him from serious concern, she waved it off.
Maricela Reyes: “They’re a part of the Halloween carnival, that’s all.”
The boy was still curious, but her answer would suffice. The Pastor began to speak softly.
Martin West: “We can take…”
Ramiel: “...Won’t endanger…”
He was right. They couldn’t endanger the children. Martin cursed and looked around, spotting a large building near the edges of the fairgrounds. The funhouse.
Martin West: “Come on.”
The group then turned and walked toward the funhouse. When they neared the fairgrounds proper, the Demons spotted them and bolted in their direction. The group entered the funhouse with the Demons hot on their trail.
The first two who entered were snatched by Johnny and Martin and pulled through the canvas around the different areas of the structure while they were choked out. The next two each got a palm to the face and volts of pure electricity from Ramiel as he shoved them hard into the canvas, causing them to disappear.
The final eight Demons rushed in at the same time and saw the group heading up the stairs. They could hear the thundering of heavy boots on the stairs just behind them as they entered into the hall of mirrors.
Even though they split up, they could all see the other. Chelsea and Maricela did their best to shield the fact that Martin, Johnny, Ramiel, and Sariel were all engaged in combat with two hooded figures, all except Martin who only tangled with one.
They made quick work of seven, but one was missing from combat. Just then, the final Demon, a hulking behemoth of a man, came around a corner and slammed into Maricela and Chelsea. The kids all let out collective screams, with Penny screaming…
Penny Linette: “You’re supposed to stay in the haunted house! MEANIE MAN!”
He was too close to the kids. It was a split-second decision, but Maricela yelled at Chelsea.
Maricela Reyes: “¡Sácalos de aquí! ¡Ahora!”
The modelesque Latina tackled the man around the waist, causing him to fall to the ground. Chelsea softly cursed under her breath. Between the two of them, she was better able to defend the kids if something happened. She began to cattle drive the children away through the maze of mirrors.
Chelsea Pryce: “Don’t look back, okay…?”
The rest of the group could only watch, unsure of where Maricela even was as she and the behemoth of a man slowly got to their feet. Maricela let out a weary chuckle and spread her arms out to her sides. She knew she was no match for this man.
Maricela Reyes: “You’re not laying a finger on the kids, so why don’t you go back to Hell?”
The man let out a croaking laugh before suddenly exploding toward her. She tried to scream when her back hit the mirror, but the air was knocked out of her. While she tried to breathe again, turning on her side and leaning chest first on the mirror, the Demon grabbed her by the hair and brutally drove her face into the glass. Everyone witnessed this heinous attack.
Martin West: “NO! MARI!”
Sariel: “LET HER GO, DIEGO!”
The giant addressed as Diego ignored her completely and drove Mari’s face into the glass again, this time causing it to crack and break. He then pressed her face into the mirror and began to slowly drag her face across it. Somewhere in the maze, Martin let out another screaming wail and frantically tried to find a way to the two.
Maricela let out a piercing scream of agony as her face was dragged across the once smooth glass. The broken mirror acted like a cheese grater to her flesh. Her arms flailed around, trying to find some way out. Unfortunately, when they pressed into the glass, the pieces began to slice into her palms and forearms.
Blood was everywhere on the panel now as the inhuman man continued to drag her face back and forth. Her arms began to go limp when out of nowhere, a body hit him square in the side.
Johnny Blank: “MOTHERFUCKER!”
There was something feral about the Psychic Warrior as he reacted to Maricela being tortured the way she had been. He threw the huge figure first one way and the glass shattered, the shards slicing into the behemoth as he rolled.
Johnny wasn’t done, however, as he pulled him up by the sweatshirt and turned, launching him into another section of the glass. Like the first, this one shattered under the force and weight.
As Johnny mounted and began to pummel the Demon, Martin finally arrived, using the broken panels to his advantage, and pulled Maricela up into his arms. Her face was completely covered in blood, the extent of the damage unknown beneath the blood. Her arms and hands were in the same condition.
Sariel: “We can’t let the children see her like this!”
Ceasing his assault, Johnny returned and helped Martin wrap Maricela in the now motionless Demon’s huge sweatshirt. While Martin carried Maricela, everyone joined Chelsea outside. They loaded back in, telling the kids Maricela was sleeping and didn’t want to be bothered.
Somewhere inside, Martin prayed they were wrong.
Mari hadn’t moved since Martin had picked her up.
Valdemar Johansen sat behind the desk in his office on the top floor of the office building. It was designed and disguised to look like anything but what it truly was. He sat with his hands folded over one another and stared at the clock on the wall. The fingers of one of his hands gently drummed on the desk.
The soft 'ding' of an elevator brought his dark brown eyes around. They fell on a figure dressed in the black and white hooded sweatshirt with the black faceless mask over their face. The way the figure moved, however, told him all he needed to know about their gender. There was a certain femininity to the movements.
Feminine Voice: “Lord Apollyon, we have something that I feel should be brought to your attention.”
Lord Apollyon: “Has Sathanas returned?”
Demon: “Yes, Sir. He’s in the fields.”
Lord Apollyon: “Inform him that I want to see him.”
Demon: “Yes, Sir. And this thing…?”
Slight impatience began to surface on his features.
Lord Apollyon: “...Ugh… What is it?!”
The Demon withdrew from her pocket a rolled up file and gently laid it on the table. Lord Apollyon looked down at it and then back up at the woman.
Lord Apollyon: “What is this?”
Demon: “It’s the file on a target taken from central Texas, Sir.”
He narrowed his eyes.
Lord Apollyon: “I can see that!”
Demon: “...The wrong person was taken.”
Apollyon lifted an eyebrow and flipped the folder open. His eyes shot up suddenly and he focused on the mask.
Lord Apollyon: “Sathanas tagged this one personally.”
Demon: “Yes, Sir.”
Lord Apollyon: “Are you saying Sathanas made a mistake?”
Demon: “Why do you think I brought this to your attention and not his?”
He didn't have to contemplate this for long. Anthony's temper was far shorter than his.
Lord Apollyon: “Yes, I can see your point…”
Valdemar slid his fingers through the pages, his eyes scanning for some sort of mistake.
Lord Apollyon: “And what makes you believe there’s been a mistake?”
Demon: “This man is not six-foot-four. The information also says he should be in his forties, but the man in the cell can’t be more than twenty-five.”
Valdemar pursed his lips and closed the folder, tapping his fingers on the folder before glancing at the clock. It would be starting very soon, if it had not already begun.
Lord Apollyon: “Very well. Have Sathanas and the man from the cell brought to me.”
Demon: “Yes, Sire.”
Tents of every style and color had been erected within an out-of-the-way plot of land between two farms. Around the tents were large metallic rides that took up a vast amount of the empty spaces. Some of them, like the quintessential Ferris Wheel, rose high into the evening sky. Their bright and colorful lights lit up the night sky for miles.
Besides the Ferris Wheel, the grounds were littered with other rides like the Carousel, a beautiful red and purple roller coaster, the iconic Starship 2000, and many more. In between the rides, usually in groups of three-to-four, were tents of various hues and colors. Each of them held one of the midway games or souvenir booths.
When the van pulled to a stop and the doors flew open, the group exited. The children with happy screams of glee, the fathers shortly behind them, and Chelsea and Maricela right after.
Ramiel and Sariel did as Lucifer commanded and also as they promised.
They stayed fifteen paces behind the group, each wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood up and a loose-fitting pair of blue jeans. Their boots barely made a sound as they walked from so many years of experience moving without making noise.
As the oldest children, Christian and Jacques Linette were studying the big kid rides. They both looked back to their father when he began to speak up.
Johnny Blank: “Now remember… if you eat enough of one color of cotton candy, your barf will eventually BE that color. That’s my goal at the very least. I’m going with blue. How about you, Jacques? Christian? Any takers for pink? Come on, three helpings of cotton candy, then we hop on the tilt-a-whirl and make barf magic happen.”
Martin West: “You know, as far as being a dad goes, it helps that Johnny has the same sense of humor as most little boys.”
Penny giggled at this. She was happily perched on her father’s shoulders, her long blonde hair cutely styled with twin pigtails. To keep warm, she wore a pair of pink pants with her frilly white dress, matching with her pink Vans.
Penny Linette: “Daddy, I wanna go on the roller coaster.”
Cole Pryce: “What’s that?!”
The words sparked the curiosity of the three-year-old son of Chelsea Pryce. She looked down at him, holding his hand in hers, and sighed.
Chelsea Pryce: “You can’t go on the coaster, little cowboy. What about the merry-go-round?”
Cole Pryce: “But I wanna go on the coaster!”
Chelsea Pryce: “When you’re a little bigger, I promise you can go on that ride as many times as you want.”
The little boy let out a pout.
Cole Pryce: “Otay…”
Meanwhile, the twin boys looked at each other.
Jacques Linette: “You can have the pink cotton candy.”
Christian Linette: “No! You take the pink cotton candy!”
Jacques Linette: “No, you!”
Johnny squatted down so he was on Christian and Jacques’ level like they were huddling up.
Johnny Blank: “Easy boys. We can all get blue. No need to argue. I think it’d make for a more spectacular show that way, anyway. To be honest, it might be a waste to eat only cotton candy… especially with the delightful scent of churros now hitting my nose. I need a churro. We need churros. Don’t tell your mom I got you so much junk food, but...churros. Churros have to happen. Then the merry-go-round with Chelsea and Cole then after that we’ll go win a carnival game or two so everyone here knows how awesome we are. Sound like a plan?”
Johnny put a fist out for a three-way fist bump with the twins. Christian was eager, raising his right fist to match Johnny’s. Jacques was a little more contemplative, then he decided to take a whiff of the air and smell the churros. He easily recognized the delicious aroma and grinned, raising his left fist and completing the triple fist bump.
Christian & Jacques Linette: “Yeah!”
Chelsea found herself chuckling at the boys. Cole’s eyes found the ride his mother was talking about, his eyes lighting up.
Martin West: “Tell you what, Penny… let’s start out slow and ride the Carousel with our friends before we hit the coaster, huh?”
The four-year-old girl looked down at her dad and she smiled brightly.
Penny Linette: “Okay! Let’s go on every ride I can!”
Even though she was walking alongside them, Maricela Reyes seemed to be out of sorts. She had a faraway look in her eyes, shimmering beyond her glasses. On occasion, she’d glance behind her, noticing Ramiel and Sariel moving within a certain distance of them. It wasn’t that she was uncomfortable with their presence. She’s come to like them. Something else was on her mind.
Johnny and his sons continued onward to the desserts of the carnival. Chelsea and Cole made their way towards the Carousel as she pointed out the various horses. The little cowboy was excited to get on the ride. Meanwhile, Martin helped his daughter down from his shoulders and walked over to Mari, extending Pènèlope to her.
Martin West: “Penny for your thoughts?”
Penny herself was giggling from how silly that was. The Latina Artist was lost for words. She was literally hit with an adorable pun, drawing a sweet smile across her face.
Maricela Reyes: “It’s impossible to say ‘no’ to that, Padre.”
Extending her arms, she gladly received Penny and allowed her to climb onto her shoulders. Penny adjusted herself comfortably, while Maricela took a deep breath.
Maricela Reyes: “You probably saw it by now, my conversation with Danni. I tried to stop her personal investigation, but she wouldn’t listen to reason. If it wasn’t for Johnny’s intervention…”
Martin West: “Danni is tenacious. We both know that. It takes a heck of a lot to keep her focused on something, but once she is? There’s no one more stubborn.”
Martin placed a hand on Mari’s cheek.
Martin West: “But we can save those thoughts for another time. There’s plenty of time to consider the bad. Look around you. This ain’t the time.”
There was a light tap on the top of the dark-haired lady’s head. Maricela’s eyes looked up, avoiding the movement of her head.
Penny Linette: “Don’t worry! Be happy!”
There was a little sing-song in her young voice. This alone drew a smile on Maricela’s face.
Maricela Reyes: “Don’t worry… Be happy.”
Her singer’s voice softly resonated.
Martin, Maricela, and Penny joined Chelsea and Cole in line for the Carousel. Johnny, Christian, and Jacques made their way over to the group with a bag of freshly-made churros. Once they were able to board the ride, Chelsea helped Cole onto a white horse, while Maricela placed Penny on a rainbow unicorn. For the fun of it, Maricela and Martin climbed onto different Carousel animals. Chelsea stayed close to Cole because he was too small to be alone. Penny was tall enough to ride on her own. Johnny and his sons looked on, enjoying their first carnival snack while the ride started up.
The whole time the group walked and walked, the pair walked along behind them, their attention on one another in their own conversation. That all stopped when the first one came into view. The sweatshirts were made of black and white fabric in a half-and-half pattern with the same on the pants they wore and wearing one black boot and one white boot. The hoods of the sweatshirts were drawn up, shadowing faces.
No masks this time.
The first one came out of the shadows to the left, then a second to his immediate right, and two more from the far right through a crowd. All of them locked in with a laser focus on the ride Johnny and his sons were about to enjoy.
One of them spoke quickly to another before he reached into his pocket and withdrew a thick brick-like object before folding a thick antenna down. Sariel’s hand slammed into Rami’s chest and motioned with her head to the man making the call.
Sariel: “Is that?!”
Ramiel: “Demon.”
The big Samoan hissed.
Ramiel: “How?!”
Sariel: “It has to be a patrol. There’s no way Apollyon knows where Hell is. He’d have stormed it by now.”
Sariel took a step forward, her hand reaching into the folds of her sweatshirt, but Ramiel placed his big hand on her forearm.
Ramiel: “Sara…”
Sariel: “Rami, the first call is to gather the other Demons. The other will be to Apollyon, and if he finds out where they are now? That the kids are here without a whole horde AND Lucifer to personally ensure their safety? He’ll know Hell is near.”
Ramiel took his lower lip between his teeth, his eyes darting around the fairgrounds. He saw more and more of the figures slipping through the crowds, each of them holding a small brick-like military satellite phone to their ears.
Sariel: “We don’t have time, Rami!”
Ramiel: “Quietly, Sara… children…”
Sariel gave little more than a curt nod. She disappeared into the crowd, hoping beyond hope that they still used the same protocols that Lucifer installed. The Children’s protocols said that only the member in the lead on a mission has the ability to find Lucifer’s number. It prevented a stolen phone from finding him, and if, just if, they acted the same way? All she needed to do was take out the leader’s phone.
Sariel moved with cat-like grace and elegance through the crowd, moving her shoulders only as she weaved this way and that, never taking her eyes off the crowd around her. Whenever one of the Demons coming to join the group neared, she’d spin away behind another group of civilians. Chelsea happened to catch sight of this and she was in awe of how this woman moved.
Finally, when she neared the leader, he was looking down into his phone, no doubt trying to pinpoint the number to reach Valdemar Johansen. Sariel knew she only had moments or everyone she cared about would fall under the sheer numbers Apollyon had amassed.
Her salvation came in the form of a bulky farmer who was walking past with a large cup of soda in his hand. The drink was without a lid. She kicked a foot out, catching his heel, and caused one foot to hit the other, forcing the man to stumble.
He fell to the side, slamming into the Demon, and the liquid exploded from the cup, covering the electronic in the sugary liquid. Sariel slipped away as the man stammered for an apology as she melted back into the crowd, trying to work her way back around to Ramiel.
The big Samoan had left the spot, watching her the entire time, and approached the still-moving Carousel. Stepping up onto it while it was moving, surprising the ride operator, he calmly walked through the parents until he came to where the two women stood with the children.
Ramiel: “Come…now...danger...no questions...”
Maricela glanced over from her position on a dark horse, a bit confused. However, Chelsea had noticed what was going on. From Sariel’s graceful movements to her subtle trip of the farmer to spill the soda onto the military-styled phone.
Chelsea Pryce: “Shit…”
With Maricela’s attention still on Chelsea and Ramiel, she considered the quiet exchange of words and pressed her lips together. Looking over to Martin on Penny’s other side, she nodded. The little girl was still so distracted by the ride to figure out what was going on.
By the time the group exited the carousel, the ride had all but finished and Johnny was stepping off with his sons. The instant he saw the group and realized that Sariel and Ramiel were no longer trailing behind but standing dead-center of the group, he knew something was wrong.
After joining them, the group began to walk deeper into the fairgrounds, the children now kept in the middle. Of course, they were being distracted by happy banter from the adults. While Johnny took his turn talking to them, he gave the pair a pointed look.
Sariel: “Company.”
It was Martin who nodded when he spotted one coming around the corner of a tent ahead of them.
Martin West: “There they are.”
Maricela easily steered the group away by pointing at one of the dart-throwing games and exclaiming happily before angling toward it.
Chelsea Pryce: “What are we going to do? The children are…”
She looked down, noticing the curiosity of the twin boys, and then back up at Sariel.
Chelsea Pryce: “...eager for more fun! Is there a ride somewhere we missed?”
Sariel: “I doubt it.”
Johnny Blank: “Can we separate? Maybe try different rides?”
Ramiel: “Too many… Dozens…”
Maricela Reyes: “Tengo una idea.”
Maricela picked up Penny, put her on her shoulders, and made a beeline for the little tractor pulling a wagon behind it. It was leading into a corn maze set up for Halloween. Once they were all loaded into the first wagon, none of them had to look back to know that the second wagon behind them was filled with the Demons.
Johnny Blank: “I’m all for haunted houses, Mari, but...”
Maricela Reyes: “Señora Chelsea and I will walk the kids through it!”
She cackled with glee, all for the effect on the kids. Then under her breath, she added a few words only the adults could hear.
Maricela Reyes: “The four of you will trail behind and pick them off.”
The group fell into silence then. It was the best plan they had on such short notice. When the wagon finally slowed to a stop, Chelsea and Maricela helped the kids off of the wagon, making spooky noises. The little ones giggled and laughed, even mimicked them.
As soon as they passed the entrance of the haunted house, Sariel, Martin, Johnny, and Ramiel peeled off. Each of them bled into the darkness and waited for the figures to enter the mass. When they did, there were seven Demons in total, all heading a different direction and each of them wearing their own variation of the stun gloves the Children used.
Johnny was the first to spot one of the hooded figures. He stepped around the corner and found himself standing behind one.
Johnny Blank: “Excuse me, can you tell me the way to Burger King? I’m terribly lost.”
Demon: “Burger King?!”
The voice was male, and as he turned, Johnny swung hard, his fist connecting with the side of the man’s head. A left and a right followed the first right until the man collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Female Voice: “Hey!”
Johnny turned and found another of the Demons standing twenty feet behind him at another turn. It was a woman in her early twenties. She came for him, but before he had to defend himself, she crossed the little opening he had originally stepped out of. It was then a slender black-clad leg came arching around the corner and connected with the woman’s face. The foot hit with a bone-crunching thud and she collapsed.
Johnny looked up to find Sariel in mid-pose for a roundhouse kick. She slowly lowered her foot back to the damp ground and Johnny lifted a brow.
Sariel: “Got one around the corner.”
Johnny Blank: “What’s a place like this doing in a girl like you?”
With a steel-singing WOOSH, the tip of a Wakizashi was hovering inches from his nose. Johnny gently pushed the blade to the side and walked past the two unconscious bodies and Sariel.
Johnny Blank: “Don’t flirt with the crazy hot Asian lady. Check.”
Sariel: “I’m just protecting you, Johnny-San.”
Johnny Blank: “You wouldn’t really have hurt me.”
Sariel: “No, but Rami would have.”
Across the maze, Martin had another one of the Demons in a chokehold and held it tight until the man stopped kicking and threw him to the ground. Across from him, Ramiel had another one actually stuffed into the maze’s corn-made wall with what appeared to be blood leaking down. The Pastor was not pleased.
Martin West: “Did you have to kill him?!”
Ramiel: “Yes.”
Martin West: “Why!?”
Ramiel: “...Threatened...children. Everyone...deserve to...”
Ramiel didn’t have to finish it for Martin to understand. The Children of Nephilim were devoted to the protection of the innocent with a single-minded solution that scared a lot of people. A frightened scream from one of the kids brought both men spinning around and bolting into the darkness.
They came around the corner and found two Demons lying unconscious on the ground. Penny was standing over one of them and sticking out her tongue at them.
Penny Linette: “Nyahhh! What you get for scaring me!”
Chelsea breathed out a sigh of relief and lowered her hands to her sides. Johnny came running around another corner and slid to a stop, staring at the two men.
Johnny Blank: “What happened?”
Maricela Reyes: “The workers jumped out and tried to scare the kids. They… also scared Chelsea before she hit them.”
The Ice Queen scoffed at Maricela’s last comment.
Chelsea Pryce: “I wasn’t afraid… They just surprised me, that’s all.”
Penny Linette: “Big meanies!”
Chelsea Pryce: “That’s right.”
Sariel: “Come on. We can try and make a break for it.”
The group finished the maze, came out on the other side in the parking lot, and made a beeline for the van. However, when they rounded the edges of a large pickup truck, they found another dozen Demons standing at the van.
Chelsea Pryce: “...Dammit.”
Jacques was young at age seven, but he was very smart. He started to pick up on this oddity.
Jacques Linette: “What’s up with the black and white clowns?”
The Latina Artist was a bit surprised. To keep him from serious concern, she waved it off.
Maricela Reyes: “They’re a part of the Halloween carnival, that’s all.”
The boy was still curious, but her answer would suffice. The Pastor began to speak softly.
Martin West: “We can take…”
Ramiel: “...Won’t endanger…”
He was right. They couldn’t endanger the children. Martin cursed and looked around, spotting a large building near the edges of the fairgrounds. The funhouse.
Martin West: “Come on.”
The group then turned and walked toward the funhouse. When they neared the fairgrounds proper, the Demons spotted them and bolted in their direction. The group entered the funhouse with the Demons hot on their trail.
The first two who entered were snatched by Johnny and Martin and pulled through the canvas around the different areas of the structure while they were choked out. The next two each got a palm to the face and volts of pure electricity from Ramiel as he shoved them hard into the canvas, causing them to disappear.
The final eight Demons rushed in at the same time and saw the group heading up the stairs. They could hear the thundering of heavy boots on the stairs just behind them as they entered into the hall of mirrors.
Even though they split up, they could all see the other. Chelsea and Maricela did their best to shield the fact that Martin, Johnny, Ramiel, and Sariel were all engaged in combat with two hooded figures, all except Martin who only tangled with one.
They made quick work of seven, but one was missing from combat. Just then, the final Demon, a hulking behemoth of a man, came around a corner and slammed into Maricela and Chelsea. The kids all let out collective screams, with Penny screaming…
Penny Linette: “You’re supposed to stay in the haunted house! MEANIE MAN!”
He was too close to the kids. It was a split-second decision, but Maricela yelled at Chelsea.
Maricela Reyes: “¡Sácalos de aquí! ¡Ahora!”
The modelesque Latina tackled the man around the waist, causing him to fall to the ground. Chelsea softly cursed under her breath. Between the two of them, she was better able to defend the kids if something happened. She began to cattle drive the children away through the maze of mirrors.
Chelsea Pryce: “Don’t look back, okay…?”
The rest of the group could only watch, unsure of where Maricela even was as she and the behemoth of a man slowly got to their feet. Maricela let out a weary chuckle and spread her arms out to her sides. She knew she was no match for this man.
Maricela Reyes: “You’re not laying a finger on the kids, so why don’t you go back to Hell?”
The man let out a croaking laugh before suddenly exploding toward her. She tried to scream when her back hit the mirror, but the air was knocked out of her. While she tried to breathe again, turning on her side and leaning chest first on the mirror, the Demon grabbed her by the hair and brutally drove her face into the glass. Everyone witnessed this heinous attack.
Martin West: “NO! MARI!”
Sariel: “LET HER GO, DIEGO!”
The giant addressed as Diego ignored her completely and drove Mari’s face into the glass again, this time causing it to crack and break. He then pressed her face into the mirror and began to slowly drag her face across it. Somewhere in the maze, Martin let out another screaming wail and frantically tried to find a way to the two.
Maricela let out a piercing scream of agony as her face was dragged across the once smooth glass. The broken mirror acted like a cheese grater to her flesh. Her arms flailed around, trying to find some way out. Unfortunately, when they pressed into the glass, the pieces began to slice into her palms and forearms.
Blood was everywhere on the panel now as the inhuman man continued to drag her face back and forth. Her arms began to go limp when out of nowhere, a body hit him square in the side.
Johnny Blank: “MOTHERFUCKER!”
There was something feral about the Psychic Warrior as he reacted to Maricela being tortured the way she had been. He threw the huge figure first one way and the glass shattered, the shards slicing into the behemoth as he rolled.
Johnny wasn’t done, however, as he pulled him up by the sweatshirt and turned, launching him into another section of the glass. Like the first, this one shattered under the force and weight.
As Johnny mounted and began to pummel the Demon, Martin finally arrived, using the broken panels to his advantage, and pulled Maricela up into his arms. Her face was completely covered in blood, the extent of the damage unknown beneath the blood. Her arms and hands were in the same condition.
Sariel: “We can’t let the children see her like this!”
Ceasing his assault, Johnny returned and helped Martin wrap Maricela in the now motionless Demon’s huge sweatshirt. While Martin carried Maricela, everyone joined Chelsea outside. They loaded back in, telling the kids Maricela was sleeping and didn’t want to be bothered.
Somewhere inside, Martin prayed they were wrong.
Mari hadn’t moved since Martin had picked her up.
~{
Philadelphia
Hell
}
~
Philadelphia
Hell
}
~
Valdemar Johansen sat behind the desk in his office on the top floor of the office building. It was designed and disguised to look like anything but what it truly was. He sat with his hands folded over one another and stared at the clock on the wall. The fingers of one of his hands gently drummed on the desk.
The soft 'ding' of an elevator brought his dark brown eyes around. They fell on a figure dressed in the black and white hooded sweatshirt with the black faceless mask over their face. The way the figure moved, however, told him all he needed to know about their gender. There was a certain femininity to the movements.
Feminine Voice: “Lord Apollyon, we have something that I feel should be brought to your attention.”
Lord Apollyon: “Has Sathanas returned?”
Demon: “Yes, Sir. He’s in the fields.”
Lord Apollyon: “Inform him that I want to see him.”
Demon: “Yes, Sir. And this thing…?”
Slight impatience began to surface on his features.
Lord Apollyon: “...Ugh… What is it?!”
The Demon withdrew from her pocket a rolled up file and gently laid it on the table. Lord Apollyon looked down at it and then back up at the woman.
Lord Apollyon: “What is this?”
Demon: “It’s the file on a target taken from central Texas, Sir.”
He narrowed his eyes.
Lord Apollyon: “I can see that!”
Demon: “...The wrong person was taken.”
Apollyon lifted an eyebrow and flipped the folder open. His eyes shot up suddenly and he focused on the mask.
Lord Apollyon: “Sathanas tagged this one personally.”
Demon: “Yes, Sir.”
Lord Apollyon: “Are you saying Sathanas made a mistake?”
Demon: “Why do you think I brought this to your attention and not his?”
He didn't have to contemplate this for long. Anthony's temper was far shorter than his.
Lord Apollyon: “Yes, I can see your point…”
Valdemar slid his fingers through the pages, his eyes scanning for some sort of mistake.
Lord Apollyon: “And what makes you believe there’s been a mistake?”
Demon: “This man is not six-foot-four. The information also says he should be in his forties, but the man in the cell can’t be more than twenty-five.”
Valdemar pursed his lips and closed the folder, tapping his fingers on the folder before glancing at the clock. It would be starting very soon, if it had not already begun.
Lord Apollyon: “Very well. Have Sathanas and the man from the cell brought to me.”
Demon: “Yes, Sire.”
