by Michael Todd
When he was just outside the blast radius, the rest of the plane exploded. It was an impressive show of fire and smoke, a ball of flames rolling into the sky and setting fire to the roof of the hangar. Calvin reached Sofia, who put her hands on his smoky face and shook her head. “Are you all right?”
Calvin nodded, breathing heavily. “I killed her.”
Sofia’s father put his hands on his hips, gazing at the fire. “So I guess we aren’t going to Las Vegas?”
The sun was setting in the desert and on the fence, apples, oranges, and one watermelon were lined up in a row. Eddie dropped to his knees, propping his sniper rifle on the edge of the roof’s ledge. He looked through the scope, focusing and breathing steadily. Taking a deep breath through his nose, he slowly let it out his mouth, pulling the trigger. In the distance an apple exploded, blowing chunks all over the place.
Both Eddie and Sean cheered, putting their arms in the air. Sean chuckled and rolled forward, picking the gun up off his lap. Eddie moved back, determined to let Sean handle it on his own. He put the brakes on his chair and scooted forward holding the gun with its butt against his shoulder. He focused and cleared his mind, breathing methodically through his nose and mouth, then pulled the trigger, lifting his head immediately to see the watermelon burst, showering seeds and flesh on the sand.
Eddie laughed, clapping Sean on the shoulder. He took the rifle as Sean scooted back in his seat and relaxed, gazing at the sunset.
Sean smiled. “Nothing like a little low-fi target practice to get me back in the swing of things, right?”
Eddie nodded, grinning. “Damn right. And you nailed that shot.”
Sean shrugged. “You didn’t think my legs would keep me from that, did you?”
Eddie chuckled. “Not a chance.”
They sat quietly for several minutes, each pondering his own thoughts. Eddie looked down at the roof, kicking pebbles with his boots before looking back up at Sean curiously. “You know, man, I have to admit, every day I miss being a Damned just a little more. I know that sounds nuts. I mean, who in their right mind would choose to live infected with a demon, right?”
Sean smiled, listening contentedly. “A lot of people, apparently.”
Eddie nodded, looking over his shoulder at the sunset. “I don’t know. I mean, it wasn’t power or anything narcissistic like that. It was the speed, the strength, and the ability to go and go and go and not crash until the danger was over. It was knowing that if I got a scratch, it wouldn’t matter, and if I got a non-fatal wound, my demon would handle it. I never felt invincible, but I felt like a hero. Like I could tackle just about anything that came my way.”
Sean put his hands in his lap. “I get it, brother. It was knowing that your fight would be a little easier and that you could press a little harder.”
Sean chuckled to himself, slapping his legs. “Knowing there wouldn’t be a time when you had to sit down to piss.”
Eddie shrugged. “Don’t lie, you did that when you were Damned, too.”
Sean laughed, shaking his head. “It’s a funny thing, life. We are given these things that make us who we should be, and we don’t think that one day they may be gone, just like that.”
Eddie put the rifles on the roof and stretched his arms over his head. “I just can’t help but think about all the good I did while I was Damned.”
Sean smiled. “You still do good, man. You’ve been in battles since then.”
Eddie picked up a rock off the wall and rolled it in his fingers. “I know, but before I could run right into the thick of it. Pull people out of danger and kill the demon that just might have walked around the corner and eaten a kid. Have no fear—like Brock. Just grab my weapon or use my fucking bare hands and rush right at the thousands of demons charging at me. And in the end, look around and know that I made the world just a tiny bit safer, at least for one night.”
Sean shook his head, staring at the sky. “You know, I thought when all of this happened, when they put me in this wheelchair and said maybe you’ll walk, maybe you won’t, I would miss all that too much. I was ready to just run back into being infected, but then I started being forced to live. And then I saw that I really had started living, you know? Taking in every moment. Now? Every day, I am becoming more and more okay with being just a regular dude. Just regular old Sean, no magic powers.”
Eddie lifted an eyebrow at him and threw the pebble in his lap. “I hate to break it to you, bro, but you aren’t, and you never have been, exactly regular.”
Sean wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know, man. I’m just a dude in a wheelchair now.”
Eddie threw his head back and laughed. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Sean stared at him. “What?”
Eddie leaned forward, looking him in the eyes. “Just the other day we are training, working and putting in time, when these two booters, two cocky ones at that, come stumbling out of the main building with blood on their faces, broken noses, and black eyes—the whole nine yards. Of course, we are immediately on guard, asking what happened. Those motherfuckers look me in the eye and tell me this kid in a wheelchair beat their asses in the dining room.”
Sean just smiled, looking down. Eddie shook his head. “No, seriously, dude. You beat the shit out of those two guys for making fun of Timothy. You’re still a Special Forces demon-destroying badass, even if you don’t think so.”
Sean laughed. “They weren’t infected.”
Eddie sat back. “Not with a demon, no. But they had some serious demons of their own if they got up in yours and Timothy’s faces, making fun of him for being gay. That shit’s even more psychologically fucked then having a demon leap into your body and take up residence. They were hating on their own species while taking a lunch break from training to fight demons to save those very lives. And there you were, all Captain America-style, to set their asses straight.”
Sean scratched his head with an abashed grin. “I guess I just can’t take that shit. We are all supposed to be a unit, and Timothy is one of the most important parts. Without him, we would sleep right through our own slaughter. Don’t disrespect.”
Eddie clapped his hands and pointed at Sean. “And that is why I still consider you a fucking Special Forces demon-destroying badass. That right there, my friend.”
Sean nodded his head, looking up at Eddie with a serious face. “Only now, I can reset your Wi-Fi router too.”
Coco scurried across the street and stopped on the curb, scratching the back of his head with his leg. He was very glad he had jumped out of Esther’s car before she went completely crazy.
He stomped his foot down on a spider crawling across the sidewalk in front of him and popped it into his mouth, crunching and slurping the legs in before he swallowed. He took off through the parking lot of the McDonald’s, rolling under a car pulling up to the drive-thru. Leaping high, he grabbed the restaurant door and swung it open, dropping himself inside.
He looked around, seeing a group of girls talking and giggling loudly. He winced at the pitch of their voices but paid attention when one of the girls on the end got up to use the bathroom. He hurried over, staying just under the table as he reached his claw up. He patted the table above, finding the phone and pulling it down.
Coco held the cell phone to him as he ran along the edges of the restaurant and out the door into the play area. There were no little kids out there at that moment, so he ran up the tube slide and perched on one of the platforms. He looked down at the phone and used both hands to dial a number, clicking the speaker button and waiting for an answer.
There was a click and then a deep breath. “Yes?”
Coco scratched his scales. “Yeah. Esther failed. Boom, big explosion. She’s dead.”
The voice stayed flat. “Are you out of orders?”
Coco twitched. “No. We have contact with the Big Guy downstairs. There are still orders. They are still the targets.”
A tall, thin man with sunken cheeks and glowing red eyes sat
in a dimly lit room, the receiver of an old rotary phone to his ear. His hair was parted perfectly to the left and his collar was well-pressed, sticking just a couple of inches out of the neck of his blue wool sweater. He strummed his long skinny fingers on an old mahogany desk, listening to the voice on the other end.
“Are you out of orders?” he asked, barely batting an eyelash.
He nodded at the response from the twitchy little demon and removed the receiver from his ear, carefully replacing it on the cradle. He wound a sheet of paper into his typewriter, typing out the orders in detail. Calvin had to be heading for the supposed safety of the base now, and the only way he could get there was to drive.
When he was done, he pulled the paper out and looked at the table next to him, where three large men in leather jackets were playing cards, smoking cigarettes, and drinking bourbon. One of them looked up, nodding to the others. They pushed out their chairs and walked over to take the orders. He pulled it back for a moment and stared up at them, letting them know without words the punishment if they failed.
All three nodded in understanding, their boots clicking on the cement floor as they walked out of the room into the bright sunlight outside. The man leaned back in his chair, putting his slim, crooked fingers together and pressing them to his chin. He could hear the roaring of their motorcycles as they sped out of the gravel lot and disappeared down the road on their way toward the base.
15
The sun was shining brightly, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The temperature was a cool sixty-five, a beautiful day to drive from California to Nevada. Calvin gripped the steering wheel tightly, just starting to relax from watching the plane explode and nearly losing his wife and his family. Sofia sat in the passenger seat, staring out at the desert as her parents leaned against each other in the back, watching the cactus fly by the window. The Jeep was still in one piece, but there were a couple of scratches and at least one bullet hole in it. He was pretty glad he’d gotten the full insurance package when he rented it from the airport.
Calvin put his finger against the GPS screen and swiped over, looking at the next turn. There were only three hours left until they reached the base, give or take twenty minutes since the location didn’t exactly come up on the GPS. However, with Sofia having to stop and pee every five minutes, it was going to take a bit more time than that, which was to be expected.
Calvin glanced down at his speed and hit cruise control, rolling his shoulders. Nate was working on his sore shoulders, but sitting in the driver’s seat of the car didn’t really help. Sofia glanced at him and reached across, squeezing his forearm. Calvin smiled and asked, “You okay?”
Sofia took a deep breath and rubbed her belly. “Honestly?”
Calvin smirked. “You have to pee?”
Sofia nodded with a giggle. “And I could use some snacks. I’m getting pretty hungry, but I haven’t seen a single place to stop.”
Calvin shook his head. “Yeah, this route is pretty barren. That’s fine. There is a gas station in just a quarter of a mile. We’ll stop there and gas up.”
Sofia smiled and excitedly turned back to the window. Calvin chuckled, finding it adorable that she got so excited over snacks. They pulled into the gas station and Calvin parked at the pump, Sofia hopping out and scurrying across to the store.
Sofia’s father reached forward before Calvin could get out and put his hand on his shoulder. “I was wondering, are we going to face any legal backlash for that fire and explosion?”
Calvin smiled and turned in his seat. “No. Because of my job, I get special treatment in San Diego. They know me since I’ve done work there for them before. That’s why we’re driving out of state instead of being questioned by law enforcement about an exploding plane for the next two weeks. I figured that might put a damper on our road trip plans.”
Calvin chuckled but Sofia’s parents just nodded, both of them finally realizing how big a deal Calvin was in the world of fighting demons. He had been in a battle that resulted in a huge explosion and the destruction of a plane, but he had been able to walk away without a word to the cops. Calvin tapped the seat and climbed out, putting his card into the gas pump. He entered his code and opened the tank, putting the spout inside.
As he reached for the button, the loud roar of three motorcycles rattled his eardrums. He glanced at the three large, bearded bikers who had just pulled into the gas station. Inside the Jeep Sofia’s mom scooted forward, looking out the window as the bikers parked and removed their helmets, glaring around suspiciously.
She bit the inside of her lip and elbowed her husband. “Did you see those bikers?”
Sofia’s father looked over at them. “Oh, yeah. From what I hear, that’s a normal thing out here. Lots of good weather, dry land, and long stretches of highway. They can roll out without having to worry about anything. I think Vegas has a bike celebration at some point, too.”
Sofia’s mom nodded, peering at them again. They were just standing there talking to each other, glancing around every few seconds. She pushed open the back passenger door and stepped out, staring at them. She was suspicious, but she didn’t know whether it was her intuition or the fact that they had just had a demon hunt them down to try to kill them.
One of the bikers walked up to the store’s window, cupped his hands, and looked through before going back to the other guys, covering his mouth as he talked. All three of them went inside. Sofia’s mother let out a deep breath, shaking her head. She was uneasy; she couldn’t help but be.
Her attention was drawn back to the front when Sofia pushed the store’s door open and came out, smiling broadly as she got into the Jeep with her arms full of snacks she had bought—chips, ice cream, drinks, candy bars, you name it. It was like her own secret stash, and she couldn’t have been more excited.
Sofia’s mom smiled at her and waved, her hand slowing as the door to the store began to open again. For a moment, no one came out, and she let out a nervous breath. Sofia furrowed her brow on seeing her mom’s facial expression, but then a horn blared right by her and she froze, looking at a car that had almost run into her. The car went around and Sofia chuckled.
Her mom had just gotten back into the Jeep when the door to the shop opened and the three bikers came out. They obviously hadn’t purchased anything, and all three now zeroed in on Sofia. One of them tilted his glasses down a bit, flashing his red eyes before pushing them back up his nose.
Immediately Sofia’s mom panicked, jumping out of the Jeep and putting her hands up. “Watch out, Sofia!” She whirled back around, grabbing one of Calvin’s guns from between the seats. She clicked the safety off and spun toward Sofia and the men, her hand shaking a bit.
Calvin heard the shouting and pulled a gun from the back of his pants. He slowly peeked around the side of the Jeep, but the spare tire obstructed his view. He ran around to the front, crouching so he could find out what was going on before he was seen.
Sofia looked at her mother wildly, not understanding what she was doing. Her mother waved her arm to the side, trying to get Sofia to move. Sofia followed her eyes, turning her head to see three bikers stomping straight for her across the parking lot, anger on their faces. She turned back with wide eyes and looked at her mom in panic before dropping her snacks.
She dove to the ground and covered her head, cringing. Her mother’s hand stopped shaking and she aimed the gun directly at the one in the front. “Leave my daughter alone, you demon scum!”
She pulled the trigger twice and watched as the special metal bullets flew through the air, striking the man in the chest and the throat. He stumbled back, the other two catching him by the arms. The man tilted his head back and opened his mouth, ungodly screeching echoing out like a bullhorn. Black blood began to pump from the holes and the others held him upright, not sure what had happened.
Sofia uncovered her head and looked back at the bikers and then forward at her mother. Her mom waved her arm and ran toward her. “Run, mija. Run!”
All of this had taken only a moment. Calvin jumped onto the hood, pointing his gun at the bikers. He motioned to Sofia to move, and she limped as fast as she could into her mother’s arms. The screeching biker twisted and snarled before bursting into ash. The other two looked up at Calvin angrily but he was faster, sending two shots into another biker’s head. His eyes went wide, and his mouth fell open as he tumbled forward and hit the ground, exploding into dust. The last demon’s eyes flashed bright red.
Looking at Sofia, Calvin pointed at the Jeep. “Get in and lock the doors. If you have to leave without me, do it. Don’t you hesitate!”
She shook her head but her mother ushered her inside, locking the doors immediately. Calvin wiped the sweat from his forehead so it didn’t run into his eyes and jumped off the hood, dust flying up around his boots when he landed. He spat on the ground and raised his weapon, ready to take the last one out. He heard the wind whistle and leaned back, a dagger from the demon’s hands skimming the skin on his cheek.
Calvin felt the radiating sting of special metal, and Nate groaned inside of him. His gun fell from his hand and he stumbled forward, kicking it under a car. He grabbed his cheek and looked at the blood on his hand. His eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth, lunging for the demon. They collided, wrestling each other back and forth. Calvin swung with his right hand, clocking the biker across the face. The demon shook his head and roared, his human body’s muscles bulging.
