In the following days, neither of them mentioned the kiss. Kara wasn’t sure if she should bring it up. She couldn’t shut her mind up on the subject either. Maybe David regretted doing it? Maybe it was the aftereffects of the gin and tonic, and he thought he was kissing some gorgeous voluptuous model instead of her? And now, realizing the truth, perhaps he was embarrassed and hated himself for kissing a girl whose feminine curves had been flattened by a giant spatula. She decided to wait for the perfect moment to bring it up, if he didn’t bring it up.
And so, she and David submerged themselves in their work.
After a good combat training workout, they strutted away from the great white tent at Operations with their next job. David handed Kara the file, and they made their way towards the pools.
Kara’s jaw dropped as she stared at the paper. “A drunk city bus driver is going to crash his bus into a busy Chinese restaurant—Oodles for Noodles. Ten dead mortals, including children!” She looked up at David. “This is my next assignment? Are they mad? I don’t want to be responsible for this!”
David took the file back from Kara, folded it, and hid it inside his leather jacket. “We all get tough assignments like this once in a while. It’s part of the job.” He clasped his hands on the metal railing and pulled himself up the four sets of stairs onto the pool’s platform. “We stop the accident, we stop all those people from dying,” David said, as Kara climbed up behind him.
“I’ll never get used to this new life,” said Kara. “The life I had before was so simple … I didn’t have to save anyone from dying…I just…ate ice cream and painted….” She stared down at the caustics rippling along the surface of the light blue waters as her mind flashed back to the remnants of her mortal life, the simple life. “… and demons didn’t want to suck my brains out and have them for lunch.”
David ignored her and stretched, preparing for the jump. “You have your gear?”
“Yup.” Kara slid a blue and white backpack from her shoulders and rummaged through it. “I got my map, sword, salt shakers, and my bad-ass butterfly net,” giggled Kara, as the idea of salt shakers and fish nets as gear was still a little outrageous to her.
David stepped up to the ledge of the pool. “Let’s go. On three—one…two…three…!”
Kara and David strutted up Decarie Boulevard. They zigzagged through crowds of students who were cutting class, and some elderly shoppers who dragged their feet as they went. The busy street overwhelmed Kara’s ears with loud honks and running motors. They made their way north, taking in the stink of exhaust.
“What’s the address again?” asked Kara.
“674 Decarie Boulevard, near the corner of De L’Église Street.”
Kara looked up the street. “And we have to be there for 3:45pm…what time is it now?”
“It’s 3:38pm,” said David, as he glanced at his watch. “And I can see the address from here.”
He pointed with his right arm to a one-floor stone building, where Oodles for Noodles was squished in the middle by shops on either side, like the custard from a giant mille-feuille. It was just a block away, and they reached it within two minutes.
Kara stared at the oncoming traffic. “Do we know what city bus we are looking for? The number or something?”
“204,” said David. “It should be an out-of-service bus.”
She turned her attention southwards and searched the boulevard for the bus. She felt an excitement growing in her breast. The idea of being responsible for so many mortal lives made her truly nervous.
“Uh, David?” asked Kara after a moment. “How are we going to pull this off? How can anyone pull this off?” She let her hands fall to her sides. “What’s the plan?”
David turned to face her. “Well, we know the bus loses control and crashes into the 674 building on Decarie, precisely at 3:45pm. So …we have to stop it before the crash.”
“Duh, I know. But how? What’s the super plan?” She watched David’s eyes flicker as he thought.
“I don’t think out-of-service buses stop for anyone. And the guy is drunk, right? We’ll have to force it.” David scratched the back of his neck as he surveyed the boulevard, his brain working at a million miles an hour. “We have to stop the accident from happening—so we have about five minutes to figure it out.”
At that moment, Kara felt a sharp pain starting to throb on her right ankle. She wiggled her leg, trying to shake off the pain. After a while it seemed to do the trick, and she focused on the job again. Kara searched the oncoming traffic. Her mind flashed back to the day she died and she saw the huge bus coming straight at her. She forced the thought out of her head and focused at the task at hand.
“Are you okay?” asked David, his face concerned. “You look a little upset.”
Kara met his eyes. “Yeah, I’m okay. I was just thinking about the day I died. I didn’t think seeing a city bus again would make me so nervous.”
“It’s normal. It was a pretty traumatic experience,” said David.
“I keep seeing huge headlights coming straight at me.” Kara looked at her feet. “Then I remember feeling hard metal—and then the darkness. I just…I just can’t stop thinking…why didn’t I look before crossing the street? I might be alive again, with my whole life ahead of me.”
“I can see how this assignment has you a little anxious. But you’re a guardian angel now…that is your new life.”
Kara let out a sigh. “I know. I’ll be fine in a minute…I’ll try not to think about my body splattered under a bus.”
“Oh yeah, I remember that.”
Kara frowned. “What? How did you know that?”
“Because I was there.” David turned his attention back to the street.
Kara’s eyes widened. “What? What do you mean you were there?”
She stood frozen in place, her mind working overtime, playing back the events of her death in her head. She remembered a hand reaching out and grabbing her. “That was you?”
“Your soul was my assignment—I see it!” yelled David, “Look!” He pointed southwards on the street.
Kara followed David’s gaze and spotted the bus. It swiveled left and right as it made its way north, just a few blocks away from them. “David! We have to think of something fast!” She brushed the hair out of her eyes. “What if we can’t stop the accident…what…what would happen after? Would all those dead mortals attract a whole lot of demons? David?” yelled Kara.
In a flash, David ran across Decarie Boulevard. His backpack bounced behind him. He got to the sidewalk and turned around. He watched the oncoming bus and then glanced at Kara for two seconds before looking back at the bus. “We only have one option,” he yelled from across the street.
“What’s that?” Kara struggled with her nerves.
“I’m going to jump in front of it…hopefully he’ll turn the opposite direction and hit the parked cars. That should stop it.”
“That’s your master plan?” Kara shook her head. “What if it doesn’t work?” she yelled back, as a group of people eyed her strangely. “What if it crashes into the oncoming traffic? That’s not better!”
David paced on the spot, his hands on top of his head. “Well, if you come up with something better, you better tell me in about ten seconds, kiddo, ‘cause here it comes!”
Kara turned her head. David was right. She could read the Out of Service sign at the top. The bus was almost upon them. She looked behind her at the restaurant and saw shadows of people inside, not knowing that this might be their last meal. It was packed.
Kara hit her head with her fists searching for a solution. She bit her lip and looked up the street. A red fire hydrant stood but twenty feet from her.
Without breathing a single word to David, Kara turned and bolted towards the restaurant. With her super-hero-chick M suit, Kara plowed through the glass front door, which shattered with a loud bang. Chopsticks fell onto plates as the customers stopped eating and stared wide-eyed and open mouthed at the cr
azy girl who had just interrupted their meal. Kara knew she only had seconds before the bus came crashing in, killing everyone—including the children.
There was only one thing she could do. She roared, “FIRE!!!!!!!!”
No one moved. They all just stared.
“FIRE!” screamed Kara again. “FIRE! QUICK…GET OUT! GET OUT!” She jumped up and beat the air with her arms.
But no one moved.
Kara searched the small restaurant for any kind of alarm system and spotted one on the wall near the entrance. She sprinted towards the red little box fixed to the wall and pulled the lever. Immediately, an ear piercing ring engulfed the tiny restaurant. The customers looked at each other, and then they all jumped up and started to run. Mothers cradled their babies as they hurried out the door; even the cooks at the far end of the restaurant jumped over tables and pushed their way through.
“Fifteen…fourteen…thirteen…”counted Kara. She waited until everyone was safely out of the restaurant.
“Five…four…” Kara ran out of the front door.
“Two…” The front of the bus rolled up onto the sidewalk and came straight for her.
“One!” She jumped out of the way, and the eight-ton metal monster plowed into Oodles for Noodles. Glass and bricks flew everywhere as a thundering crash exploded all around. The bus shuddered to a stop, but not before demolishing a path to the far end of the restaurant. The ground shook as walls and ceiling came crumbling down. The bus was flattened like a soda can by the weight of the structure.
Kara pushed herself up. Rubble was all that was left of the restaurant. She wiped the dust from her face and turned to look at the many stunned faces. Remarkably, no one was hurt. She even spotted the driver of the bus, staggering his way out of the restaurant. “It’ll be the twelve-step program for you, buddy,” she called out.
Kara smiled. She had accomplished her task. It felt great. She heard David’s voice over the chaos.
“Hey! You’re a genius. The fire alarm! Why didn’t I think of that?” David beamed as he ran towards her. He put his hands on his waist and cocked an eyebrow. “Gabe’s going to be very happy.” He watched the crowds of people who were now taking pictures of the wreckage with their cell phones. “Told you it was going to get better!” He patted Kara on the back, like you would a dog that had performed a task. “You did really good, kiddo.”
Kara smiled. “A good day on the job, wouldn’t you say?” she laughed. “I’m just really, really happy no one was hurt.” She looked around. “And no demons showed up…now that’s a first.”
“Yup.” David dropped his bag on the ground. “It’s times like these that make it all worth it, you know… almost as good as…thirty gin and tonics.”
Kara gave David a light shove. “You’re an idiot.” A smile reached her lips. “But an idiot—on a rare occasion—can be right sometimes.”
Kara’s attention went to a mother comforting her crying child. “This does feel awesome.”
“Told ya.”
“Ouch!” A stinging pain erupted on her right ankle. Kara bent over and pressed her hand over it.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know…I have this thing here…” she pulled up her pant leg and heard David gasp. The mark had grown. It was the size of a fist now, sprawling up and around her calve like a spidery hand. It was mad and ugly.
“You’re Marked!”
“I’m what?”
“You’re a spy!” hissed David. He pushed her roughly away from him. His wide eyes flashed with anger. “How could you? A demon spy! You’re the traitor! You’ve been the traitor this whole time, haven’t you?!”
“What? David, don’t be ridiculous…I’m not a spy.”
He was yelling now. “YOU’RE MARKED! Only demon spies are Marked!”
Kara frowned. “Stop it! You don’t know what you’re saying. I can’t be a spy… I just got here! This must be some mistake…it’s probably not even a Mark, as you say…maybe it’s something else?”
David’s expression darkened. “Don’t try to fool me again, traitor!”
His words cut through Kara’s being like a knife. What is going on? Her new angel world was crumbling down just as she had finally felt part of it.
Kara felt her soul breaking. “This can’t be happening to me.” She closed her eyes and then opened them again. “David. I…I’m not a traitor,” she croaked, her throat tightening up. “David…listen to me, please …”
“When did it happen, eh? When did you sell your soul over to the demons?” He shook his head. Disgust wrinkled into his face, as though Kara was the foulest thing he had ever laid eyes on.
“Please stop! Listen to me. I don’t how I got this. I felt some pain on my leg, and then there was this tiny mark…but it didn’t hurt, so I forgot about it. It didn’t hurt again until today.” She stepped towards David.
“Get away from me!”
Kara recoiled, she felt like she just got punched in the gut. “David, please. This is a mistake…I would never do anything to hurt you.”
David studied her face. “All this time I wondered how it was possible that the demons sensed us. Why the higher demons were up our asses all this time? You’ve been playing me this whole time, haven’t you? You were Marked, and you led them to us.”
Panic consumed her as she realized David wasn’t going to believe her. “No. Why can’t you believe me? I’m innocent! I don’t know why I have this thing. It’s not my fault!”
“Don’t play innocent with me, Kara. The Legion will take care of you. Mark my words.”
A few days ago David had kissed her, and now he looked at her with such loathing…she wanted to stop existing entirely. She closed her eyes.
“Ah…your friends have arrived!” said David.
Kara opened her eyes and looked around. “What? Who’s here?”
“Have you sent them to kill me!? To finish the job!?” He shouted behind a huge group of people as he backed away from her.
“David! Wait!” Kara took a step towards David and stopped. Two higher demons walked in her direction. They pushed and shoved through the tight crowd, their black eyes fixed on her. She felt a wave of panic wash through her as she backed away. She reached over her shoulder for her bag—but it was gone.
Kara jumped up. She looked over the many heads for David. She spotted him. He was staring at her, a frown on his face. He glanced at the demons before looking back at Kara. A shadow of confusion flashed across his face. He read her true panic. And then he was fighting his way back through the crowd, towards her. Three other higher demons broke through the mob of people and made their way towards David.
“David!” she yelled. He vanished under a wave of mortals.
Kara trembled as she backed away, her eyes on the two higher demons marching towards her. The world around her grew still. She felt helpless and stuck, like a mouse caught in a trap, as she stared at the black-eyed monsters.
One of the demons pulled out a long black blade from his jacket. It was opaque, and a black mist emitted from it, like rippling black smoke. She felt a strange prickling from the inside, as though tiny electric shocks were going off all at once inside her mortal body. The demons broke into a run.
“DAVID!” she cried desperately. She waited ten seconds. Then she ran.
Kara bolted down Decarie Boulevard. She ran without looking back, and pushed her mortal legs as much as she could. Her M suit, it turned out, was better than she could have hoped. Her powerful legs moved with incredible speed. She glanced back and nearly fell as the shock of the higher demons being so close took her by surprise. They were faster than she was.
Kara pressed on. She knew she wasn’t trained to fight these demons…not yet. She imagined demon torture. That gave her the fuel to keep running.
She had been running non-stop for so long that she felt her spirit starting to dampen. Her M suit didn’t tire, but she didn’t know how long she could keep this up. How long could she stay in her
suit? She knew they didn’t last long. What was going to happen when she outlived it? She knew she had to do something, fast. Dread overwhelmed her whenever she looked back and met those evil black eyes. And David hated her now. The unfairness of it all filled her with rage.
A bright red neon sign, Stan’s Diner, appeared in front of her. Kara saw her chance and took it. She ran into a large group of teenage girls, stole a blue jacket from one of them, pulled it on and squeezed herself in with them. She hid with the giggling girls until she was right in front of the diner. Ducking her head, she sprinted straight for the front door and nearly collapsed as she rushed in. She crashed into a few people. “Oops, so sorry! Excuse me!” Kara whirled around and looked out the front glass door.
The higher demons passed Stan’s Diner. They ran along the sidewalk, then they stopped. Their heads moved around, as if to follow a scent.
She ran towards the back. A waitress walked down a hallway. “Toilet!” yelled Kara. “I need a toilet—hurry!”
The waitress stopped and pushed up her glasses. Her white hair was pulled back in a tight bun. “Okay. Keep your pants on,” she laughed. “The washrooms are over there,” she pointed behind her, “but they’re out of order.”
Kara stared. “Are you kidding me?”
“You’ll have to try Stone Grill down the street,” the waitress told her.
“I’m not going to make it!”
The waitress blinked. “Are you sick?”
“Something like that.” Kara ran past the waitress and stopped in front of a wooden door. Two small paintings of a man and a woman with each sitting on a toilet reading the paper were nailed to the door. A paper sign taped on the front read: Out of Order. She tried to force the door open, but it wouldn’t budge. “Oh no, this can’t be happening!” cried Kara. She pulled on it again as hard as she could—and lost three fingers.
“AHHHHHH!” screamed Kara. She watched her fingers fall to the ground and bounce to a stop. Her index, middle, and ring fingers lay by her shoes, looking like a couple of merguez sausages. A flash of blinding white light radiated from her severed hand, illuminating the entire hallway as if someone had just turned on a huge spotlight.
Kara bent down and scooped up her mortal fingers with shaking hands. She squeezed them with her left hand. They felt like rubber. They were hollow, like empty shells. She dropped them in her pants front pocket. Then she shoved her glowing hand underneath her shirt and turned to check if she had been seen.
A man in his fifties with salt and pepper hair appeared in the hallway. He smiled at Kara as he passed by her. Kara put on her best fake smile and pretended to be talking on the phone. He disappeared into the kitchen where the smell of grease was as thick as tar. A metal coat rack stood against a wall, near the entrance to the kitchen. Kara dashed over to the rack and grabbed a pink silk scarf. She quickly wrapped the scarf around her glowing fingers.
Kara jogged down the hallway to the front of the restaurant. A faint clatter came from the dining area, where customers enjoyed their greasy meals. She saw a young waitress setting up a new table. Kara looked out through the tall glass windows which ran the length of the diner. A higher demon searched the grounds outside. It prowled down the block searching, like a wild animal sniffing out its prey.
She hid her pink hand under her shirt and leaned back against the wall. The waitress filled the empty salt shakers with a large bag of salt.
Kara ran to an empty table. She grabbed a salt shaker and shoved it in her pocket. She knew what a bit of salt could do to a higher demon. But this time she was alone. And there were two of them. She ran to the next empty table and grabbed another salt shaker. There were only two empty tables in the diner. But she needed salt.
The men and women in the restaurant eyed her suspiciously. Kara flashed them a smile. “I have low salt levels.”And with that, Kara rushed over to a booth with a family sitting comfortably inside.
“Hi there,” she said as she grabbed the salt shaker, “do you mind? I’m all out. Thanks a lot.” She shoved the shaker inside her other jean’s pocket. And just when she was about to turn around—her right ear fell onto the table.
“Crap!” yelled Kara as she scooped up her ear. She looked at the terrified family.
“Ah…it’s just a rubber ear,” she smiled, “nothing to worry about. Stupid little prank.”
But a beam of light had exploded from the right side of her head. A look of complete shock masked the faces of the family. Their eyes were glued to her head, at the glowing hole where her ear used to be.
Wide-eyed, Kara smacked the right side of her head. She pressed her hand against the hole. “I’m having a seriously bad day!”
She swung herself out of the booth and threw her mortal ear on the floor. She ran to another booth and scooped up three more salt shakers. Satisfied, she headed towards the back of the restaurant, but not before grabbing a knife from one of the tables.
A bell rang, and she turned to see a demon pushing the front door open. He stepped into the diner. His black eyes locked onto hers and grinned. Kara pushed open the back door and ran into an alleyway.
The other higher demon stood in the back alley. Hands in his pockets, he waited calmly outside for her. His pale face cracked in an evil grin. His black eyes watched her every move.
“I’m so not ready for this!” Kara put as much distance as she could between her and the demon. She knew running was not an option anymore. Her mortal body was shutting down. With her butter knife in one hand and a salt shaker in the other, she waited for the demon to attack.
A door slammed shut behind her. The second demon stepped into the alley with a black blade smoking in his hand. Kara blinked and backed away.
“How about playing by the rules?” said Kara. “Two against one, that’s hardly fair!”
Rotating his dagger skillfully between his fingers, the demon took a step closer. Kara watched silently as he positioned his body in anticipation.
And then he struck.
But Kara was ready. The demon lunged forward, his weapon going for her stomach. Kara side stepped and thrust her knife into his side, cutting away at his flesh. She rolled and stepped back, watching in horror as black blood oozed from the cut. The demon clasped his wound with his hand, with a stunned expression on his face. Black blood dripped between his fingers. Then he came at her swinging.
Kara went into defense mode; positioning her right foot in front of her while adjusting her weight with her left, she blocked his hit. The impact nearly forced her to her knees—but she held on. She felt the mortal body strain…she knew it wouldn’t last long. With all her strength, she pushed off and backed away, watching the demon’s corrupted face screwing up in anger, its upper lip trembling.
The demon attacked again. He swung his blade with brutal force, aiming for her head. She blocked it, but the force of the strike forced her to the ground. Her butter knife flew out of her hand. Blinking, she looked up at the demon, its black eyes filled with a mix of hatred and hunger. She felt a cold fever rushing through her. She trembled. She felt the M suit weakening beneath her, melting away. Her vision blurred. She blinked desperately, trying to see clearly. The second demon walked slowly towards her, a smile materializing on its face. It opened its mouth to speak.
“The end is near, angel,” hissed the higher demon.
Kara opened a salt shaker.
“You can already feel it. We will drink your essence, little one…and you will be no more!” Its jaw dislocated and opened abnormally long, all the way down to its chest, like a ventriloquist’s dummy’s wooden mouth. Kara could only stare. It lunged at her…
Kara threw the salt shaker in its mouth. The demon fell over and screamed. Convulsing on the ground, his mouth sizzled and popped. Black smoke rose from his body like burnt toast. He howled in pain.
Kara grabbed another salt shaker and readied herself as the other demon attacked. She threw the salt at it, but the demon brushed it aside with its blade. With light
ing speed, the demon struck and sliced off her right arm.
“Ahhh!” Agonizing pain surged through her M suit. Her body burned, the poison of the blade eating away at her soul. She stared at the hole where her right arm used to be; black mist emitted from the wound like smoke from a candle. A kind of acid surrounded the cut, eating its way around the stump, leaving it blackened. The pain was so intense that Kara shut her eyes and rolled on the ground. She was burning alive from the inside. She felt the poison of the blade spread through her M suit…and into her soul. She was dying, for a second time.
Kara . . . Kara . . .
Kara turned and looked at the demons. Their lips didn’t move.
Kara . . .be strong . . .
“Who—where are you…?” She whirled her head around.
We are here with you . . .
Kara trembled. “I can’t s…see you. H…help me. Please.”
Feel your strength, Kara. Don’t be afraid . . .
“What d…do you m…mean?” She shook uncontrollably.
“Who are you talking to, little angel?” The higher demon tossed her severed arm in the air. “No one can help you now.”
The demon stretched open its mouth and swallowed her arm. Its eyes suddenly glowed white, before going back to black. The demon grinned. It turned its attention to the remaining parts of Kara. “Your essence tastes great,” said the demon. “You will make me very powerful, little angel. You should be happy your meaningless angel soul will have served a purpose.”
Kara blinked as she forced herself to sit up. She cradled the stump of her arm. Part of her wanted to die, to stop the excruciating pain. She waited.
Kara . . . don’t let go . . . you can do this . . . hang on a little longer . . .
“M…my head,” breathed Kara, “I’m hearing voices in my head.”
A door opened with a loud creak on the opposite side of the alleyway. A man dressed in white threw some large black garbage bags on the ground, plopped a large bucket of soapy water with a wet mop beside it, and slammed the door shut.
“Hmmm,” continued the demon as it approached her, “how splendid you will taste.”
The bucket, Kara, said the voices. The water . . . run to it. Feel the strength in you, Kara, run!
Kara couldn’t explain it, but she suddenly felt stronger, as though the strength of a hundred people burst into her. The higher demon’s jaw loosened up grotesquely as he prepared to eat her, and Kara mustered the last of her energy and ran towards the bucket.
She plunged her head in the water. A sharp pain erupted in her legs—and the darkness took her.
Chapter 11
Miracles Division
Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1 Page 10
