She had to be careful not to hit Sorrow with her shots, for the large demon had scaled the walls to go and fight amongst the enemy outside. He tore apart all those around him, dispatching demons with unparalleled ease. He even seemed to be enjoying himself. Scarlett was atop the wall, firing a handgun, but her focus was only on Sorrow. It was clear that she was worried about losing her friend and protector.
There must have been a thousand demons or more attacking the walls by now. Machine-gun fire and a line of wrecked vehicles parked end to end were the only things keeping them at bay. It wouldn’t hold them back forever though.
“I didn’t think it would get this bad,” said Tosco. “I tried to call in the boats, but they aren’t recognising my authority.”
Maddy cursed. “Then let’s hope Wanstead makes good use of them.”
Tosco’s radio hissed. He frowned at Maddy and held it up so that both of them could hear.
“Maddy? Fräulein, are you there?”
“Klein? Yes, I’m here.”
“It’s good to hear your voice, ja? I understand that the other boat captains refuse to accept Commander Tosco’s orders.”
Maddy looked at Tosco, who was listening intently. “Looks like he’s going to have to wait to have his privileges reinstated.”
“Ja, vell, I vish to inform you that my vessel is ready and awaiting your orders.”
Maddy was taken aback. “You don’t accept orders from anyone, Klein.”
“Nein, but I am villing to take suggestions from a friend. What do you need, fräulein?”
“We need it to rain,” said Tosco. “Do you have plotting for the area west of the main wall?”
There was a brief crackle of static before Klein replied. “I could drop a bomb down ze toilet anywhere in the city. Hold on to your bottoms, ja?”
Tosco shouted for everyone to take cover.
Ten seconds later, a whooshing sound cut across the din. Two seconds after that the world lit up, flames rising upwards and ripping apart the dusky sky. Three huge explosions. Three seconds more and it began to rain masonry and demon body parts. A few people got struck on the shoulders and back, knocking the wind out of them, but when Maddy pulled herself back above the walls, she saw that the minor losses were worth it.
The area outside the walls had become a crater, reaching right up to the edge of the wall where they were taking cover. A few feet closer and the wall would have been blown to smithereens. Klein could not have been more accurate. Where a thousand demons had been attacking the walls, there was now only a blackened pit of char. It was impossible to make any of the corpses out.
The radio hissed again. “I can do zat only von more time and zen I have only nuclear warheads. Trust me ven I say you do not vant me to send those.”
Maddy put her mouth closer to Tosco’s radio so that the German commander could hear her over Portsmouth’s triumphant cheers. “It’s taken you long enough to get involved, Klein, but thank you.”
“And it took you long enough to handle Thomas, but all ends zat is vell, ja? Good luck, fräulein. I hope we can play poker with our friends again soon.”
“I’ll be happy to take your money. Thank you again, Klein.”
“Auf wiedersehen for now.”
Maddy looked back over the walls at the massive black crater. Maybe they had a chance.
Mass, Smithy, and Addy looked at one another in shock. The devastation beyond the walls was absolute. The massive crater had swallowed everything in its midst, a massive swath of demons.
“That was insane,” said Smithy. “The demons are all gone.”
“Wanstead must have called in the boats,” said Addy, “but I didn’t think we had anything like that.”
Mass didn’t know much about boats, but the pure destruction gobsmacked him, and he couldn’t believe that mankind had originally built such weapons to kill other humans. They’d been on a bad path, but it was certainly helpful to harness such forces against the demons now. Screw the power of Heaven, mankind had powers of its own.
But it won’t be enough.
More will come. This isn’t over.
“Yow got any more of whatever that was?” asked the small man who had arrived with Maddy through the gate.
Mass looked down at Frank and shrugged. “I have no idea. Let’s hope so.”
“I’m Frank. Pleased to meet yow.”
“Mass. Thanks for your help.”
“What kind of a name is Mass?”
“A nickname.”
Frank rolled his eyes slightly, but it was more a humorous jest than an insult. “Yow a cockney, aye? Who’d yow support?”
“Crystal Palace.”
“Ha, my condolences.”
“And who do you support?”
Frank did a little hop on the spot. “Boing, boing. West Brom all the way, mucker.”
Mass chuckled. “Then my condolences to you too.”
Smithy put a hand on Mass’s back and got his attention. “There’re more coming.”
“Lots more,” said Addy, her eyes narrowed and determined.
At the far edges of the crater, a new wave of demons began to form. The sheer destruction had caused them to hesitate, but none had turned away. In the distance, Crimolok strode through the ruins, pulling down buildings and crushing everything in its way. The barriers constructed across the main roads were brushed apart as the giant beast marched straight through them. Hordes of demons followed in its wake.
From the military docks, howitzers punted shells into the air. They hit the ground around Crimolok, obliterating demons but doing no harm to their master. The giant beast strode through the flames unimpeded.
Frank growled. “Another one of the big bastards. Quite the specimen.”
“It’s Crimolok,” said Mass. “He’s the one responsible for all of this. We kill him and this ends. Problem is, he can’t be killed.”
Frank frowned. “Yow need to close his gate. All the big ones have gates attached to ’em. It’s what makes ’em invincible.”
“Not this one. The only way to kill Crimolok is to destroy Hell itself. It’ll take something a little more powerful than what we just saw to achieve that.”
“How d’yow know that?”
“An angel told me.”
“Bugger.”
Smithy chuckled. “Yeah, mate, bugger. You could have met the guy, but he died on the bus getting here.”
“We didn’t have any angels on our team, but we do have a pet devil.” A look of horror crossed Frank’s face. “Shite! Sorrow was out there when them bombs landed. Does anybody see him?”
Everybody looked, but no one could see the big demon with the jet-black wings. He’d been right out there amongst the enemy, but there was no sign of him now.
Frank shook his head, genuine grief in his expression. “Goddamn friendly fire. We might have wiped out a thousand demons, but he was worth more than that. Damn, what are we going to do?”
Mass thought about what Rick had told him. “Crimolok came through a giant gate. If I can reach it, I can close it. Maybe it’ll change things in our favour.” He didn’t tell them that it would achieve nothing but trapping Crimolok here and pissing him off. They didn’t need to lose hope. Hope was the only thing that had kept them alive this far.
The howitzers fired again, and this time one of the shells struck Crimolok directly in the chest. It knocked the giant backwards, and he almost fell down, but then he continued his unrelenting march.
“That hurt it,” said Frank, hopping. “It almost fell.”
Mass shook his head. “It was nothing but a hard shove. Not enough.”
“We need to hit it again with the big guns on the boats,” said Addy. “Maybe it won’t be invincible if we hit it with something hard enough.”
Mass aimed his shotgun at the blackened crater, ready to take on the next wave of demons to cross the halfway point. The devastation was truly incredible. Maybe Addy was right. Maybe enough force could hurt Crimolok.
; Mass turned to Addy. “Give me your radio.”
She handed it over.
Mass put out a call on all frequencies. “Whoever just levelled the city outside the walls, I need you to do it again. The enemy’s leader is a mile out from us, right next to Buckland Park. If you have any more of those big bombs left, I need you to drop ’em right now. Anyone else with things that go boom can help too. We need to level Buckland Park right now.”
The radio hissed. “The big bombs vere mine. I have only ze one more left. Who am I speaking to?”
“Mass. Leader of the Urban Vampires.”
“Ah, you are alive. That is good. What about my good friend Tony?”
Mass sighed. “Your guess is as good as mine. Wherever he is, I hope he’s still kicking.”
Another voice came on the line. It was Maddy. “Do what he says, Klein. Drop your other bomb.”
There was a slight pause, and then Klein replied, “Affirmative.”
Several more voices came over the airwaves, various boat commanders willing to fire their guns as well. They were going to drop everything they had left on the park Crimolok was currently passing through. If they hit it fast enough, and hard enough, they might make a big enough dent. Nothing could be truly invincible – not even an angel.
The final voice on the line was Wanstead. “Everybody pray,” said the colonel. “This might be the best shot we get.”
Overhead, missiles and mortars crossed the darkening sky.
Damien stood on the walls a few dozen metres from where Maddy and Commander Tosco were standing. Harry and Steph stood with him, along with Nancy and Scarlett. Scarlett was sobbing. Sorrow was gone. Nancy, the only mother amongst them, was trying to comfort the girl. Harry and Steph held long-range rifles and were putting them to use on the first wave of demons passing through the bomb crater. Overhead, missiles whistled towards the massive demon moving through a park a mile away. Damien spoke to himself. “Die, you bastard. Please, just die.”
The first of the missiles struck the main road beside the park. It engulfed the area in flames. Another explosion tossed up mud and grass from the park itself, as well as demons. Then a line of fire tore through the entire area, consuming everything in its path. Within seconds there was nothing left of the park or anything immediately around it. The resulting fires burned out quickly, leaving behind another massive, char-blackened crater. Several hundred demons disappeared in a flash.
The giant demon was also gone.
There was a brief pause before the men and women of Portsmouth let out a triumphant roar. The wooden scaffolds and platforms shook under their stomping boots, and wolf-whistles pierced the air. Damien had never heard anything like it. “It’s gone,” he said to himself. “We killed it.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” said a stranger to his left.
Damien didn’t know who would be so negative at such a triumphant time, but he was stunned into silence when he turned to give a reply. He was staring at an image of himself – albeit a far more thuggish version.
His doppelgänger chuckled. “Don’t shit yourself, we’re on the same side. It’s nice to finally meet one of us. I think you’re probably the last. We tend to get caught up in things. Such is the life of a path walker.”
Damien recovered his wits. “You’re a path walker too? We’re connected?”
“So you know?”
Damien nodded. “There used to be a lot of us, right, acting like pegs and keeping the tapestry in place?”
The thuggish Damien nodded. “Keeping it from unravelling, I guess. Without us, and the connection between our shared souls, the different strands would drift away from each other. The only reason people make it to Heaven or Hell is because of us, and what thanks do we get for it?”
“Am I really the only one left?”
“On this world, for sure. I was the last path walker left on mine, but it got eaten up by the dead. I joined team Lucifer for a while, trying to lend a hand where I could, but he’s gone AWOL and I’m stuck here. I’ve been hoping you can help me find a way back to the tapestry. There’s nothing else to be done here. It’s over.”
“It can’t be. No, I don’t believe it.”
The thuggish Damien shook his head sadly, making the exact same expression that Damien would. “Crimolok’s power comes from Hell. There’s no way to harm him here. That’s why I want out, and you should come with me. We can head to another world and take up the fight somewhere there’s still a chance. Crimolok is close to challenging God himself. He’s going to need all the troops he can get. I can’t open portals like you can, but—”
Damien glanced at Nancy, and at Scarlett and the others. “I’m not abandoning these people. Nothing is impossible. We’ll find a way to save this world.”
“That’s what I thought about my own home. Come on, help a brother out.”
“We’re not brothers.”
“Then what are we?”
Damien huffed. “Very different people apparently. I’m not helping you run out on us. You want to survive, then fight with the rest of us.”
The other Damien scowled. “I guess you had a nicer life than I did, if you still believe in fairy tales. You can’t win this. Look!”
Damien stared off into the distance, struggling to see as clearly now that night was rapidly falling and the air was filled with dust. The charred crater began to tremble. From beneath the blackened earth, something emerged. Crimolok rose, unharmed, unhurt, and undeterred.
“Still want to stick around?” asked the other Damien.
“I’d rather die fighting than run. You can do what you want, but if you and I really are part of the same soul, then I know you will stand and fight with us. What other choice do you have?”
“Maybe I’ll go find the giant gate twenty miles from here and pass through it into Hell. It’ll beat whatever becomes of this place.”
“Then go do it.”
The other Damien huffed. “I can’t. I learned a lot of things from my old boss Lucifer, but one thing he made very clear to me is that path walkers can never pass through a gate not created by themselves or other path walkers.”
Damien frowned. “Why not?”
The other Damien shrugged. “Something about tying the tapestry in knots. I got the impression it would be bad.”
Damien looked out at the seemingly indestructible beast marching towards them. “How bad could it be?”
“Good point.”
17
Mass slumped against the wall, almost dropping his Benelli over the edge. The sight of Crimolok rising from the moonlit ashes shouldn’t have been a surprise, yet some small part of him had hoped. Now the last of that hope was gone. It really was all over.
Crimolok was covered in the charred remains of his demons. Hundreds of them had been taken out by the blasts, but thousands more emerged from the ruins of the city. There seemed no end to their number.
Mass put down his shotgun and rubbed at his grime-covered cheeks. “I need to get to the gate. I caused it to open. Now I need to close it.”
Smithy looked at him, stricken. “There’s no way we’re getting out of here, man.”
Addy turned her back on the approaching demon army and slumped against the wooden ramparts. It would be the last breather any of them would get. “This is it, isn’t it? The big goodbye.”
Smithy put a hand on her shoulder, but he kept his eyes on Mass. “Got any tricks up your sleeve, big man?”
Mass could only stare blankly.
Gunfire broke out from the docks as people realised Crimolok wasn’t dead. Their cheers turned to dismay. The howitzers resumed their ineffective bombardment, slowing Crimolok down but not stopping him. Even at the giant’s leisurely pace, it would reach the walls soon. There was only enough time for people to make peace with themselves before they were sent kicking and screaming into the next life – an afterlife that would no longer exist after Crimolok unmade the universe.
Mass closed his eyes and enjoyed the caress of a
breeze against his face. All he wanted was to find a moment’s peace before the end. One last experience of being alive. Too bad the gentle breeze became a forceful gust that forced Mass to shield his face. When he opened his eyes, he glimpsed something in the sky. At first, he thought Crimolok had thrown another car, but whatever was overhead, it was far larger than any car. A blinding searchlight lit up the docks.
A helicopter.
Addy aimed her shotgun, but she didn’t fire. Instead, she gasped. “Where did that come from?”
Smithy hopped excitedly, waving at the helicopter as if he were a kid. “It’s the army. We’re saved.”
Addy rolled her eyes. “It’s one helicopter, Smithy. Show me a hundred more and I might cream my knickers.”
Smithy grimaced. “That’s gross.”
“Yeah, well, I’m about to die.”
The helicopter came in to land. The defenders on the walls ducked, holding on as a huge downdraught assaulted them. Mass climbed down from the ramparts, desperately curious and also grateful to have something to occupy his mind before the endless hordes of demons reached the walls.
Wanstead appeared with a pair of guards at his side. He stared at Mass as if he expected answers; he clearly had none of his own.
The helicopter hovered a few feet above the ground then dropped down on its skids. It had grey and blue camouflage, reminiscent of the sea. The windows were tinted, but two people were visible in the cockpit, illuminated by the dashboard lights. A mechanical whir sounded and the beating of the propellers slowed to a rhythmic whomp whomp. The searchlight dimmed, allowing night to close in a little more.
The sliding door at the side of the helicopter slid open and a small group of people hopped out. They looked like sailors, all wearing the same blue overalls, but amongst them was a young girl, a teenager.
“ALICE!”
Mass turned to see a woman sprinting through the floodlights. She was vaguely familiar, and he thought she might have come in with the group who had appeared from the gate. The young girl saw the woman and screamed, “Mom? Mom! Oh my God, Mom!”
Hell on Earth- the Complete Series Box Set Page 164
