by Michael Todd
Pandora leapt up and hovered for a moment before landing again. “Hey, watch your wizard shit.”
Katie took off, opening her wings wide and flying around the band members. “Sorry. Hey, come up here. You can see everything and get to them a lot easier.”
Pandora swiped her sword, cutting an infected Christmas ornament in half. She shook her head. “I haven’t quite mastered the art of flying yet. I’ll keep my feet on the ground for this one.”
Katie swung her sword, decapitating several band members. “I thought you would have this down. You used to be an angel, then you were a demon, and now you are an angel again. I figured wings would be like legs to you.”
Pandora scoffed. “I’ve been a demon for a few thousand years. I’m not used to wings anymore, Okay? Cut me some fucking slack, angel bitch.”
Katie chuckled. “Well, you better get used to those suckers because from the way it looks, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Once you get it back, you will wonder why you waited so long.”
Pandora giggled. “So, what you’re saying is once I go angel, I’ll never go back.”
Katie rolled her eyes, swooping down and using her sword on the few remaining infected who were charging. When she was done, she landed hard on the concrete. “I need to get that landing thing down. I’m going to break my fucking neck.”
Pandora laughed, grabbing one last infected by the shoulder and stabbing it through the heart. Both Katie and Pandora stopped, sheathing their swords and looking at the bodies all around them. Barely any of them had turned to dust, and she couldn’t be sure who they’d exorcised and who they hadn’t, unless of course they were missing their heads. It was a sad scene, and it pissed Katie off, knowing she’d had to kill that many innocent people. Someone was forcing her hand.
Pandora clicked her tongue to her teeth. “Here comes the cavalry.”
Katie looked up to find tanks and soldiers marching toward the scene. She grumbled and rolled her eyes. “Oh, now they fucking show up. I could have saved a ton of lives if they had been here to help. Whatever. I knew being on my own was the best thing. You better get back inside.”
Pandora nodded, sending her angel gear back to wherever it appeared from. She gave Katie a friendly pat and jumped back into her chest. The tanks stopped and their anti-aircraft weaponry shifted, pointing at the portal that was still shrouding the streets in extreme heat. Katie covered her ears as they shot half a dozen missiles at the rift, forcing it to slam shut. The heat quickly dissipated and Katie let out a deep breath.
She put her sword in its sheath as the tanks pulled to the side and a Hummer drove through the center toward her. It stopped before the bodies and a lieutenant stepped out of the vehicle, putting on his hat. Katie walked toward him, folding her wings on her back. As he approached, she stopped and stared at him for a moment. “Not all of them are dead. I exorcised whoever I could.”
He opened his mouth to say something else, but she nodded and took off. She didn’t want to disrespect him, but she didn’t feel like having a conversation with the military at that point. In her mind, if they had wanted to know the details, they should have been there backing her up. She soared over St. Louis and toward the snow-covered farmland in the distance. She was putting space between her and them so she could figure out how to get home.
Pandora yawned. That lieutenant didn’t look too pleased.
Katie shrugged. My job is to stop the incursion, not clean it up. I’ve always been helpful, but right now we’ve got bigger concerns on our hands. Like what the hell is happening to you.
“Have a seat, bro,” one of the heads of the E-sport convention suggested, putting out his hand.
Juntto looked around the room, where several of the hipster heads of the convention were standing around staring at him. He cleared his throat and took a seat, remembering that to them he looked like a teenage kid. The guy in front of him had a meticulously combed bushy beard and was wearing a Superman t-shirt and a pair of slim khaki pants rolled at the ankles. His black-rimmed glasses fit perfectly on his nose, and the rest of his hair was slicked back.
Juntto folded his hands in his lap. “What can I do for you?”
The guy clicked a remote and Juntto looked up at a screen playing footage from his game. The guy paused the video as he was celebrating, zooming in on his hands. “We know there are a lot of things happening on Earth right now, so we are going to refrain from asking you exactly how you did this. But it is obvious that you grew extra fingers. Look right there on the screen, if I play it in slow motion, we can see you attempting to hide them until they disappear.”
Juntto looked at them with a nervous smile. “Technically there isn’t anything in the rules about me using extra appendages. What if I had been born that way?”
Another one of the hipsters approached, looking down at him, his fingers clutching his suspenders. “But you weren’t born with them, were you? It’s the equivalent to you taking performance-enhancing drugs during a baseball game. You gave yourself an unfair advantage.”
Juntto groaned. “I won.”
The head guy shook his head. “No, in fact you did not. When we caught wind of the footage, we took your win away.”
The other guy put his finger on the table. “And we could easily ban you from the games for the rest of eternity. If we see you doing anything else like this, we will have no choice but to do so. We can’t have things like this interrupting the sanctity of this competition. Do you understand?”
Juntto quickly nodded. “I understand, and it won’t happen again.”
The head guys smiled calmly. “We know. We will be watching you at each competition you sign up for. We have the right to kick you to the curb if you try anything even remotely suspicious. Now, Mr.….Juntto, we thank you for participating in the competition. We hope you enjoy the rest of your day.”
Juntto quickly jumped up from the chair and made a beeline for the door. One of the other guys opened it for him, and Juntto didn’t look back. He wasn’t mad. He’d guessed it wasn’t really along the rulebook lines, which was why he’d tried to hide it. Still, he was determined to play in the games and not be watched like a hawk. They already had it out for him, he could tell.
Juntto hurried around the corner and paused, seeing several security people ahead. They were all standing and talking to each other, and he couldn’t change form in front of them. Katie had warned him about doing that in public; it could start a whole different kind of problem. He looked to his right and ducked into the men’s bathroom, walking casually past a couple of teenagers washing their hands. No one even noticed him, so he slipped into one of the bathroom stalls and locked it.
He looked down at his clothes and formed a mental picture in his head of several people he remembered seeing online. His body quickly morphed, growing taller and thicker. When he was done, he stepped out and stared at himself in the mirror. He looked like a cross between Bill Gates and Stan Lee. His glasses were wide like Lee’s and his frame and his hair like Gates’. He pulled his corduroy jacket closed over his Thor T-shirt and looked down at his jeans and Chuck Taylors. Shrugging, he pulled a badge from his pocket and put it around his neck. It had a new name and picture on it.
Juntto whistled as he exited the bathroom, nodding at the security folks. He worked his way through the crowds back to the sign-up tables. “Hello. I would like to sign up for the one-on-one competition.”
The guy at the table eyed him for a moment and then turned his iPad around. “Register here.”
Juntto went to work, guessing his age to be late sixties. He filled out the form and turned it back to the guy, smiling broadly. “All done.”
The guy went over the form and glanced up at Juntto. “Well, Mr. Stan...Gates. We unfortunately have not had anyone in your age group sign up for that competition, and the random pairing has already ended. We can keep you on standby, and if anyone else enters that category, we will let you know.”
Juntto sighed and nodded, then heade
d straight back to the bathroom. He pushed open the door and slammed the stall shut. He tapped his foot, trying to decide what would be right. He snapped his fingers and pulled out his phone, typing in different movie titles. Finally, he came across a picture for the new Spiderman movie. “Perfect.”
He morphed himself into Tom Holland, then changed the color and look of his hair and a few features so people wouldn’t think he was the actor. After the mugging, he had realized it was hard to keep a low profile walking around looking like a megastar.
When he was done, he stood in front of the mirror and smoothed his red hair back. He practiced smiling in the mirror and pulled out the new tag he’d created when he morphed. He put it around his neck and nodded. “This should do it. If not, fuck it…I’ll be Channing Tatum.”
7
Katie’s wings extended wide and she slowly lowered herself onto a snowy field. She was still able to see the city’s skyline from where she was. She looked down as her armor disappeared and the sword evaporated from her back. Her wings stayed put, though, just in case she had to take off again. She didn’t put it past the military to track her.
Pandora grumbled. This was an interesting fucking day. Now the demons can make fucking zombies, although they are relatively easier to kill than infected. I mean, they move at a glacial pace and drool on themselves.
Katie sighed. It’s not the fact that there was a reanimated body, it’s the fact that they are evolving here on Earth. They are figuring out what they can do to get one up on us. It’s frustrating, to say the least.
Pandora agreed. Look, there’s nothing we can do about it out here in a snow hell. We need to just get back to the base and tell the others what we saw. We can start doing research when we get back.
Katie looked up at the sun, which was hanging low in the sky. You’re right. No one can get hold of us, and we are out here without a plane or anything. Can you open a portal again?
Pandora was weary. I don’t know, but the best way to figure it out is by trying, right? I just hope we don’t get stuck in between.
Katie shook her head. Yeah, let’s avoid that.
Pandora, still inside Katie, concentrated. She pushed her hands through Katie’s stomach and attempted to pull open a rift, but this time nothing at all happened. Katie lifted an eyebrow as she tried again, growling in Katie’s mind. After a second and third failed attempt, Pandora yelled in frustration. Come on, you fucking useless demon power, work! Fuck this, I’m climbing out. I need room to work.
Katie didn’t protest. Pandora stepped out dressed in her battle gear but with fur added to her boots. She looked disgustedly at the sparkling white snow and squared her feet. She pulled her arms apart with all her might, and a rift slowly opened about an inch and then slammed shut again. She tried again, this time using her mind more than her hands. The air wavered around her as she struggled to rip open the rift. After several more tries, she let her arms fall to her sides, exhausted.
Pandora turned to Katie and shrugged. “I think it’s obvious that my demonic powers are fading and my body is accepting the angelic powers to take their place.”
Katie shook her head. “And you have no control over that?”
Pandora put her hands up. “Apparently not. And if I did, I still have no way of knowing how I would go about changing it or what the repercussions would be. Angels, even fallen angels, rarely had the power to open up a portal on their own. At least not a very stable one. It’s one of those things—it’s not your home, so stay out.”
Katie thought about it for a second as she paced back and forth. “You know, I closed one before, although I didn’t mean to—I don’t think.”
Pandora wrinkled her forehead and stared at Katie for a moment. “There is one thing I didn’t think about.”
Katie looked up hopefully. “What?”
Pandora tapped her finger to her lips. “Higher-level demons, like I was, can open portals to hell. But some angels, the really powerful ones, can open portals to any dimension.”
Katie’s shoulders fell. “But why?”
Pandora put her hand out, catching a snowflake. “They are creatures of the Lord of all creation, right? So, it would only make sense that at least some of them could travel through that creation, even to other dimensions.”
Katie lifted an eyebrow. “God created other dimensions?”
Pandora was lost in her thoughts. “Yeah. No one knows why this one is his baby. Some speculate the other dimensions were a cosmic mishap, while those who believe God is infallible think they were like extra time dimensions. You know, when you are sitting around bored and you doodle a box or a cartoon character on paper? They would basically be his doodles.”
Katie just stared at Pandora. “That’s interesting. Maybe they were practice, or maybe we just think we are the favorite because humans have a tendency to believe they are the best ever and nothing could be better.”
Pandora shook her head. “That could very well be it. You are righteous creatures, not that demons aren’t.”
Katie stopped and turned back to Pandora. “Wait, so if we can travel between dimensions, why can’t we just open a portal to the base? Isn’t going through dimensions the long way around?”
Pandora scoffed. “I don’t make the angel rules. Ask Gabriel. That is, when he’s done fucking with you.”
Katie put her hands on her hips. “No, it makes sense in a weird way. On Earth, pilots use the Great Circle Route. Planes don’t fly in a straight line. Traveling along the equator where the Earth is fattest would take a long time, right? Pilots fly north, then circle the globe up there where the distance is shorter, then drop down to their location.”
Pandora smiled. “You are a smart one. All right, grasshopper, time to test your new abilities...if you have them, of course. If not... Well, that doesn’t matter.”
Katie decided to let that one go. If she was going to end up stuck in limbo, she didn’t want to know about it. She took Pandora’s hand, and the two of them used their combined strength to open a portal and keep it open and steady.
Katie stepped back and narrowed her eyes. “Where does it go?”
Pandora stayed beside her. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Katie let out a deep breath. “Fuck it. Why not?”
They stepped through, the portal closing behind them.
Wilson groaned, rolling over in the bed and face-planting in Red’s hair, which was splayed wildly on the pillow beside him. He smiled, looking down her naked back to the top of the sheet. The phone beside him began to ring, and he growled before picking it up. The number was unknown, but so were all the other numbers that came in on that cell.
He put the phone to his ear but didn’t say a word. The voice on the other end was familiar. “Wilson, it’s Belly.”
Wilson sat up, glancing down at Red, who was still fast asleep. “I was wondering when I would hear from you. We were all packed and ready, but hadn’t gotten our next orders.”
Mr. Belly groaned. “I know. There was a hangup. No matter. There is a group in Missouri that has ties to the Damned. They could be a Damned terrorist organization, for all we know. I think it would be best if you took them out. No loose ends and no one to sneak up on us. Gather your team, and I’ll send you the information. And good job on the last mission. You are getting people to take notice.”
Mr. Belly hung up, and Wilson immediately woke Red. She grumbled and turned over, staring up at him. “Again? We just went to sleep.”
Wilson chuckled. “No. I just got a call. Time to get the team ready. We leave here in ten. We got a whole new gig.”
Katie and Pandora looked down at the asphalt under their feet, then Katie began to slowly take in the space around them. It looked like a normal city they would find on Earth in their own dimension. Katie walked over to the street sign and banged her fist on the metal. “This is another dimension? I was expecting...you know, something more, I guess.”
Pandora shrugged. “They’re not all hell d
imensions or whatever. Some are just normal alternate realities.”
The two of them hopped onto the sidewalk and began to walk down the street. Katie looked in the windows curiously. “They must love cats here because every one of these shops has something for a cat in it. Like shampoo, toys, and clothes, but they are big. Like fit-a-lion big.”
When they turned the corner, they stopped, spotting a female figure approaching. She wasn’t human, though. Instead, she looked like a five-foot-tall cat-person with auburn fur, pointy ears, and a tail. She was dressed in a neat cocktail dress and carried a small clutch in her paw.
Katie and Pandora both jumped, yelping loudly. The cat-lady jumped and yelped as well, and let out a low, rumbling hiss. The three were frozen in fear, staring at each other. Katie leaned toward Pandora. “Looks like we traveled to some weird cat-dimension.”
Pandora took Katie’s hand. “Leave it to you to try to be an old cat lady before your time. Let’s bolt.”
They quickly opened another portal, hoping the next would be a little better.
Katie and Pandora ran through the portal and let it close behind them. They watched as the cat-person bent forward, looking at them from the other side. Katie put up her hand in an awkward wave, hearing a comforting purr as the rift slammed shut. She let out a deep breath and turned around, hearing the familiar honking of horns and congestion of traffic. It was snowing outside, and there were people skating at Rockefeller Center, which was right next to them. Sparkling lights cascaded down the streets, the holiday decorations in full glory.
A couple of people walked past them, not really paying them any attention. Katie leaned over to Pandora. “Are you sure this is the right dimension? It’s kind of startling that they all look the same.”
