by Michael Todd
“Yes, boss,’ Derek said, seeing the stress and pain in Korbin’s eyes.
Korbin walked in front of the bus and laid the boy next to the other two. His heart and soul hurt, and in that moment he didn’t feel like a bad-ass demon hunter.
He felt like one of those children who were still alive in that bus, wondering why them and not him. He felt like he had failed them, failed their families, failed their friends.
Korbin leaned against the bus and crossed his arms in front of him, trying to catch his breath, but as he stared down at the three children he heard the whimpers and cries of those still alive.
Slowly he walked around the side, where Derek, even after everything he had just witnessed and done, carefully, caringly, and gently, helped each child off the bus and out the door.
He couldn’t help but think that maybe somewhere in there—somewhere in the innocence of a child, the heart of a warrior, and the tragedy of a lost life—there was hope.
That maybe all that, all the pain and sorrow, all the struggle and grit, weren’t for nothing. Maybe it was his only mission, his life’s work. It had been deep and dark and exhausting, but in the end he’d saved fifteen souls, not just from death but from possession as well.
Derek walked back in and nodded at Korbin. “What now?”
“You should head over to help one of the other teams,” Korbin answered. “I am going to have to work with the police department on this one. You can’t have children killed and human bodies on the ground and walk out clean.”
“Right,” Derek said. “I can stay here with you, at least until they come.”
“I’ll be all right.” Korbin looked around. “Besides, I need you to take Sebastian back to the base so that we can alert his team and get him a proper burial.”
Derek glanced over to the wall where Sebastian’s body lay. “He saved my life.” He looked down before gazing at Korbin. “He didn’t even know me, and he saved my life.”
“That’s what we do.” Korbin put a hand on Derek’s shoulder. “You gonna be okay?”
“I don’t know,” Derek admitted. “Long term, I don’t know. But right now I have no choice. I am going to go help my team. Call us when you need a lift. We’ll come get you.”
“All right,” he said, watching Derek pick up and cradle Sebastian.
“And Korbin?” Derek said before walking out.
“Yeah?” Korbin asked.
“You are one hell of a leader,” he told the man. “Inside the team and outside of the team. I’m proud to know you.”
Korbin nodded. “I’m proud to know you too, Derek.” He said it again under his breath.
Derek lifted the body up a little more, getting better hold, then turned right and started walking through the building to the front.
He didn’t want the kids to see the body, so he went the long way and circled back around to the SUV. He opened the back and gently laid Sebastian inside, staring at him for a moment before putting him in a body bag and zipping him up. He closed the back of the truck and gritted his teeth, feeling almost sick to his stomach.
It had been one hell of a fight, and he still had no idea what shape either of the other teams was in.
To Derek it was a victory—fifteen little lives saved because of one man and his ability to see between the black and white. He inspired trust and caring in his team, and they followed him into the depths of hell and back.
Derek wasn’t sure what recovery would be like, but he sure was ready for a damn nap.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Katie stood in the doorway and looked at the bodies in the room.
They had been too late. They’d only been able to save the few elderly ladies; no one else in the entire church.
Even the priest had died in his own blood. The only thing they had done successfully was kill quite a few demons, including one rather large and nasty one. Luckily no one on her team had been killed, but she and Damian were pretty torn up.
She looked down at her arm and cringed at the blood trickling down to her elbow. She’d gotten a bloody lip as well, but that had already healed, though the dried blood was still on her chin.
Damian was sitting in a chair to the side, looking at the bodies strewn across the floor. There was sadness in his eyes, and his mind was so far removed that he didn’t even flinch as Eric sewed him up, one stitch at a time. When Eric was done with Damian Katie limped over and sat down, watching as Eric cleaned her wound and shook his head.
“What?” Katie smiled.
“I don’t know if I can stitch this up before it heals on its own.” He smiled, his tiredness evident. “I’ll give it a couple stitches for good luck.”
Eric went to work, stitching up Katie’s arm in silence, the obvious effects of the scene starting to get to him. Katie took a deep breath and looked at Damian, who raised an eyebrow at her.
She smirked at Damian and nodded her head in thanks to the medic as Eric finished up and put his tools back in his bag.
“I was thinking,” Katie said, turning toward Damian. “How about a Level-Four Nightmare?”
“Good choice,” Damian said with a nod. “Very good choice.”
Eric closed his bag and turned back to Katie and Damian, who were by that point staring right at him. Eric scrunched his forehead and looked at Katie in confusion.
She chuckled and turned around, straddling the chair. She had a little present for him, courtesy of Pandora.
“Uh, what’s a Level-Four Nightmare?” he asked. “Is that some kind of fancy name for a high-level bad dream?”
“Dream?” She snorted. “Uh no, but not a bad guess.”
“Okay,” he said, grabbing a piece of gauze and wiping the blood from her elbow. “Then what is it?” he asked as he cleaned the last of the blood off.
Katie reached down and tilted his head toward hers. He gazed into her eyes for a moment in silence.
“Welcome to the infected,” she told him, parting her lips.
Slowly Katie breathed out, releasing the last of the demons who was gibbering in fear of Pandora deep inside Katie. The beast flew as fast as it could out of her body and straight into Eric. He shut his mouth quickly, hiccupped once, looked at Katie, and fell over, unconscious.
You’re welcome, Eric, Pandora said. She’d really gotten this demon-snagging shit down cold.
Damian shook his head and laughed. “Gets ‘em every time.”
Korbin sat down in the chair at the police station and leaned back, taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a moment and crossed his arms over his chest.
He could see every little face from that day in his mind, including the ones who hadn’t made it. The door to the room he was in opened, which jolted him back to reality.
The DEA agent from that region walked in with a couple of coffees.
“You look like you need a nap.” She smiled. “Thank you for coming down here for this. I know it’s been a hard case for you and everyone involved. They said you lost a man in the ordeal as well.”
“Turns out I lost two.” Korbin ran a hand through his hair. “One on my other team in the city too.”
“I’m sorry.” She held up her cup. “To the lost.”
“To the lost,” he agreed, returning the toast with his coffee.
Most of the children in his group had been saved but three were dead, one killed before he arrived and two dying just as he’d entered.
He fought with himself over it, wondering if they would have survived if he had stopped to help them, but he knew it was a useless battle.
The fact was they were gone, and now all he could do was help the LAPD as much as possible.
The day was long and hard but that evening Damian sent a helicopter to pick him up and fly him back to base. He had never been so happy to get back to his team, no matter how battered and bruised they were.
He took the elevator up to the main floor and walked off to find Katie sitting at the table and staring out the window. She looked at Korbin and s
tood up, then came over and wrapped her arms around him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know you feel the rage.”
“I do,” he said, pulling back from her.
“It’s okay to feel that way.” She looked up at him. “I understand.”
He pursed his lips, then nodded as if he’d had an internal conversation. “I’ve got something for you.”
“What?” she asked, pulling her brows together.
“Five million dollars for you to use,” he said. “It’s a gift to the company.”
“Korbin!” she exclaimed, stepping back. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Just make sure that Joshua has every damned thing he needs,” he said, turning away as the anger of the day began to build again.
He took a few steps away, leaving Katie speechless in the dining area. He stopped for a moment and glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes bright red.
“Anything that is needed,” he said before walking down the hall to his room.
A week had passed since what had been dubbed “the Los Angeles Massacre.” The team was still shell-shocked, and Damian, through his own grief, was trying to pick up the pieces of everyone who had been involved.
That night was the ceremony that took place after an event like that, just like it had when Armani had died and Garrett had been exorcised.
It was a rite of passage, and a goodbye ceremony. There was a confusing atmosphere in the restaurant. There was cause to celebrate, since all the demons from that night had been killed. At the same time though, the mood was solemn in honor of the those who had been killed in action.
Katie had been designated the speaker again, and was happy to oblige.
She knew her teammates weren’t up to it, and Pandora had given her the strength to continue leading in the house’s time of sorrow.
Still, she couldn’t believe she was giving another speech for two more fallen brothers in such a short span of time. She couldn’t believe that things had gotten so bad, so much worse than when she had first gotten there.
It was like the demons were getting stronger and the demon hunters were struggling to keep up.
Damian leaned over and whispered in her ear, “It’s time.”
Katie nodded. They had decided the speech was better before dinner, to allow the rest of the evening to be joyful and reflective.
She stood up and straightened her black dress, smiling in the knowledge that she had actually bought the one Pandora wanted the most. Slowly she made her way through the crowd and took the mic, making sure it was on before she started speaking.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming here tonight, both in celebration and remembrance.
“The LA Massacre left many things unanswered, and we lost several beautiful lives in the process, including three tiny souls. Among the dead were two of our finest, Rob Taylor and Sebastian Alexander. They were assigned to LA at the most crucial juncture, and gave their freedom, glory, and ultimately their final tribute for our cause,” Katie said, pausing to take a breath as she looked over those in the restaurant, which was closed to the public for this event. “Sebastian Alexander was said to have been one of the kindest souls around, even with a demon lingering inside. He made people smile, and cared for those around him. He will be greatly missed. Rob Taylor was a virgin hunter, but one hell of a medic. In his last battle, his teammates Calvin and Jeremy described him as the hero of the fight, healing and slaying at the same time. Sadly, in order to finish the job, he too had to leave us. He will be greatly missed as well.”
Katie stopped for a moment and looked at her team, smiling sweetly at them. She pulled the wrinkled piece of paper from the pocket of her dress and unfolded it, looking solemnly down at the words.
“I won’t make this last all night,” she told them, “but this needs to be read once again.”
She cleared her throat and stood up just a little straighter before she looked out over the audience, surprised that she heard a couple of voices speak along with her as she read the words.
We are the ones who did not make it home.
We are the chosen.
The infected,
battling our demons night and day.
Protecting the uninformed from reality.
We fight where the stupid meet the clueless to perform
the asinine for our teammates every day.
We are cops, military, special forces, and SWAT,
medical techs, priests, and clergy.
We are the dimensional derelicts,
the legion, the host, the forgotten.
The feared.
The sheep can sleep at night because we don’t.
We fight for humanity—yours—and for our own.
We are the Damned, and death is our enemy,
our escape,
and our tribute.”
She looked around before leaving the stage. “Thank you.”
After everyone had made it back to the base that night Katie stayed up, looking out of the kitchen window at the lights of the city. They were beautiful, and they kept shining no matter what they had lost, who they had lost, or what had happened in the world that day. She always knew she could go there and see them twinkling in the distance.
Pandora interrupted her thoughts. There’s something I need to tell you.
Okay, Katie replied, bringing her focus back. Tea, or something harder?
Make it harder, Pandora told her.
Katie smiled and grabbed the bottle of bourbon out of the cupboard, along with a rocks glass. She took the elevator up to the roof, where she knew she could get some privacy. She went over to the edge and sat down, looking out at the desert, the moon bright and high in the sky.
This is nice, she exclaimed. There is furniture and nice stonework up here. Who knew?
I was part of this, Pandora admitted.
The furniture? Katie asked.
No. Pandora sighed. I was part of a group that was planning on attacking, but my brother T’Chezz backstabbed me and sent me into that circle to be pulled over to Earth.
Oh, Katie said, lifting her eyebrows.
Don’t take it personally, Pandora said. I’m a demon; I did demon things. What other choice did I have? Knitting?
I’m sure it is warm enough where you come from to do pottery or even cooking. Katie shrugged. I don’t think the only choice was to plan a mass slaughter on all humans on Earth including the elderly and children. I mean, that’s how I figured choices worked. But your brother…he sounds like a real douchebag.
You have no fucking clue, Pandora answered. He figured that since he couldn’t kill me in Hell, if he placed me into a vessel on Earth I could easily be killed here.
I thought when you died you just went back to where you came from? Katie asked.
No, she said. Not one of the Seventy-Two like me. I get sent farther down. Fire, brimstone, scary crazy writhing pain, and all the things Christians imagine hell being like and a bit more. The deeper I go, the less chance I have of escaping. One way to get me way down in there is to kill me in human form.
That sounds painful. Katie grimaced.
Yeah, well, unfortunately for him, you didn’t turn out to be a useless meat bag and easily killed, she replied. You are strong and intelligent, and you have a modicum of natural power in you. You were able to connect with me instead of fighting me like everyone else has tried since the war began. The others could never figure out that balance. It was always one took over or the other did. There was never middle ground until your human shell came waltzing into that coven’s spell.
Thanks, I think, Katie said, scrunching her nose.
Katie put the glass down on the short wall and poured herself a shot of bourbon. She picked it up and smelled, wondering when she suddenly started liking alcohol right out of the bottle like that. She shrugged and took a long sip.
He’s eventually going to want to make sure that I’m dead, Pandora said.
Ohh, Katie said, following the logic. I
get it. So he’s coming for me, huh?
Katie flinched slightly at the thought and tilted the glass back, finishing her drink.
She turned her glass upside down with not a single drop left in it. She tipped the glass back upright and held it in front of her face, directly in front of the lights in the distance. The colors whirled and flickered through the glass, cascading over each other and changing with every motion of Katie’s hand. She found it amusing—not the demon thing, but the glass thing. She could make the colors collide in any way that she wanted. She took a deep breath and set the glass down, then leaned back on her hands. If she could make the lights move the way she wanted, she could surely make her own fate.
How hard could it really be? You made a decision, you stuck with it, and you moved forward.
Katie smiled at the thought of creating her own destiny. If Pandora’s brother coming after her was part of her destiny, then she needed to have control over that. She couldn’t be caught off-guard. She reached over and grabbed the bourbon, twirling off the cap and setting it aside before taking a swig right from the bottle.
Well, fuck, Katie said with a sniffle. Fuck him, then.
Pandora was quiet, waiting for whatever Katie’s full reaction was going to be. She took another long sip from the bottle, smacking her lips as she swallowed. After a few moments she pointed at nothing.
I guess it’s time I try a bit harder, too.
Katie sat there on the rooftop, both she and Pandora maintaining complete silence but connected in other ways. They stared at the bright moon above the desert floor, the lights of the city to one side and nothing but open desert to the other.
Katie realized she never wanted to become that. She never wanted to have one part of herself be dead and alone. She took a deep breath and another swig from the bottle, knowing the answer to that was not letting Pandora’s brother get to her…or to Pandora, for that matter.
Pandora cleared her throat and waited for a minute, obviously wanting to say something.
Psst, Pandora hissed with a snicker.
