by Michael Todd
Katie stepped back and let her wings unfold behind her, and Korbin’s eyes grew wide. “That is very impressive. They look exactly the way I always imagined they would. I have to say, you make a stunning angel.”
Katie smiled. “Thank you, but don’t say that too loud. Pandora might drop you.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Drop me?”
Katie laughed and flapped her wings, scooping Korbin into her arms. He gripped her tightly as she took off across the base. She tipped her head at the guards as they passed them. Her wings beat furiously behind her as they propelled her into the sky. She could tell Korbin was nervous by the way he was white-knuckling her shoulder, but he slowly began to unwind.
He took in the desert stretching out as far as the eye could see. “Wow, this is the view you get whenever you fly?”
“Usually. Sometimes it’s buildings, but either way, it’s pretty cool.”
Korbin guffawed. “You’re telling me. I don’t know why you don’t fly all the time.”
Katie wondered the same internally. “It takes a lot of energy for me to fly, so I use it sparingly.”
They flew fast and straight until they were high enough to avoid getting attention from anyone below but low enough to stay clear of any planes flying by, then she zigzagged through the air, making her way to the airport. She was showing off a little bit, but Korbin was grinning.
When they reached the airport, she slowly flapped her wings, lowering them to the ground. She set Korbin down and stepped back, and her wings folded behind her and disappeared. Korbin just stared at her in wonder. “I have to admit, that was not something I ever imagined seeing from you. I am definitely not disappointed, though.”
Katie put her arm around his shoulder and walked him toward the plane. “They are pretty awesome. And trust me, when you first brought me back to the base, I didn’t think I would last a day, much less be part angel and lead a team. A lot of the way I handle things is because of you and the team. The ones still here and the ones gone.”
“I feel the same way about all of you.”
Katie walked up to the stairs of the plane, leaving Korbin on the ground. She ran inside and grabbed a package neatly wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with a piece of string off one of the seats. She came back outside and handed it to Korbin. “Here, put that on.”
Korbin opened the package to find a protective suit inside. He looked at it.
“Trust me.”
Korbin put the suit on over his clothes. Katie fixed the headpiece snugly and snapped the oxygen on to make things easier for him. “You ready?”
He gave her a thumbs-up, and she relaxed. Pandora took over, giving Katie dark, jagged claws. She used the claws to tear open a portal the size of a door. She took Korbin’s hand in hers and pulled him through to the other side. The hot air hit them both hard and they stood there for a second, letting their vision clear. Korbin slowly walked to the edge of a cliff, looking around at the terrible landscape.
“This is hell?”
“Yes.”
“This is where they come from?”
“Yes.”
“I can see why they want to leave.”
In the distance, he could see several volcanoes, ash blowing from the tops and lava flowing down over the sides. Below were rivers of lava laid neatly within the black stone and lava rock. There were no demons. Katie made sure to bring him far enough out. He leaned down and picked up a rock, rolling it in his fingers.
Katie coughed a bit. She had gotten used to the scenery and was no longer stunned by it. “We can’t stay long; we don’t have much support. But it’s something I can’t really explain. It’s a sight you really have to see for yourself. This is the outer ring of hell. There’s not much action here, and everything is pretty stable. As you get closer to the inner ring, the air gets hotter and denser. It’s full of nitrogen-based acids and ammonia. Pandora allows me to travel without a suit, but I should wear one if I want to stay longer. For you and the others, not to mention those that aren’t damned, we have developed these suits. We have been fixing them to make them more maneuverable and easier to fight in, but we’re still working on them. They were impossible before.”
“I can imagine. So, you’ve been here before?” Korbin asked, still holding the rock.
“Yeah, we came here once to scope out the place and get readings, and then a second time to send out our drones. They are in hell somewhere, flying around sending information back to a lab.”
Korbin couldn’t believe it. “That’s crazy. So, the signal can get through the space between worlds?”
Katie wasn’t sure how it all worked; she just knew that it did. “Apparently. It’s been working so far. We have a serious research and development team working around the clock studying hell. They have been vital to the cause, and we’re hoping to be able to use the information they have to bring the fight here.”
“So that’s why you’re asking.”
“Kind of. This isn’t going to be the final battle. We have to show them, though, that they can’t fuck with us. They can’t attack us and get away with it. We want the people to know that we aren’t sitting back and letting it happen.”
Korbin bent slightly and started to cough.
That’s our cue, baby girl.
Okay, Pandora. Take us home.
Katie waved her hand, and Pandora’s clawed hand created a portal straight back to the base. She took Korbin under the arm and led him through. The portal shrank and snapped shut behind them.
Korbin collapsed to the ground, took off the helmet, and took a deep breath in of the cool desert air.
“Sorry, I forget how hard it is on the others. That suit wasn’t prepared for a full walk-in.”
“I feel like I’ve been to hell and back.” Korbin grinned up at her.
Katie was about to respond when her phone rang.
She pulled it out and saw the general was calling. She grimaced. “Shit. The general.”
Korbin laughed. “Uh-oh.”
Katie turned on the phone. “Hey, General.”
“Katie, we detected two small portals, one at the airport and then one at the base location. What’s going on?” the general asked, worried.
Katie wrinkled her nose. “That was me. I’m sorry, I should have told you ahead of time. I wanted to show Korbin hell so that he could help us with a strategy for the mission we’ve been discussing.”
The general let out a deep breath. “Katie, I appreciate that you needed to give him intel, but you could have given the location of the base away. A demon could have followed you back, or someone could have seen you. You have to be more careful.”
Katie slapped her forehead. “I’m such a dumbass. I didn’t even think about that. I did make sure that no one saw or followed us, though. I’m sorry I didn’t think about a risk to the new location. I just jumped without thought.”
Pandora snickered. There you go, jumping without thinking again. I wish you would do that when it came to men. All the pleasure you could be acquiring could cancel out the reprimands you get from Papa Brushwood.
Katie didn’t need Pandora’s smart remarks. No, he’s right. I could have compromised the whole thing.
Pandora sighed. You humans worry too much. Did he forget that I was there? I would have sensed a demon coming three miles away. He and you need to calm your tits.
I really don’t want to think about the general’s tits.
Pandora giggled. I bet he thinks about yours.
Ew. Dude, stop.
The general cleared his throat. “All right, I’ll let you go. Just try to be more careful.”
Katie saluted the air. “Yep. On it, General.”
Korbin handed Katie the suit and showed her the rock in his hand. “Let’s get inside so I can do some testing on this rock.”
Katie walked next to him as they headed toward the main building. “Awesome. I didn’t know you had the science gene.”
Korbin laughed. “I’m the jack-
of-all-trades now. So, you want something dramatic without risking our people, right?”
“Yep, that’s exactly right.”
Korbin opened the door to the barracks and held it for her. “Okay, I’ll have something for you in a day or two.”
Angie hummed as she turned a burner to high. She poured oil into a cast-iron pan and scraped the garlic into the oil. Juntto was happily playing his games and she had done everything on her list for the day, so she decided to turn on some classical piano, crack open some wine, and prepare herself a delicious meal. She rarely cooked for herself anymore. She was always taking care of everyone else.
The garlic sizzled in the pan as she chopped up the better part of an onion. She walked back over and dropped it in the pan and moved the pan around, shaking it back and forth and flipping the garlic and onion slightly in the air. She sprinkled in some salt and pepper and turned the heat down.
Angie picked up her glass of wine and took a sip, and as she tried to remember if she needed rosemary for this dish her phone began to buzz. She tried to ignore it but saw Timothy’s name.
She wrinkled her nose, hoping for the best, and answered. “Hey, darling. What’s up?”
“What’s that sizzling sound?”
Angie looked at the pan and took it off the burner. “Was about to fix dinner. What’s up?”
Timothy sighed. “Sorry to ruin that, but we’ve got a portal opening right there in New York.”
Angie grabbed a towel, wiped her hands and turned off the burner with a heavy heart. “Okay, send me the location. I’ll raise the wolf, and we’ll head out.”
Timothy paused. “I’m not really sure what the hell that’s supposed to mean, but I am on it, girl.”
Angie hung up the phone and took her apron off, then burst into Juntto’s room. “Hey, time to put down the controller. We have work to do.”
Juntto pressed the button again, killing another alien. “Come bursting in here like that and I could be naked or something. Then you would get all huffy, asking me why I’m naked in my own damn apartment. Can’t win with you women.”
Angie put her hands on her hips and stood in front of the television. “Like you would care if I walked in on you naked. In fact, you’ve done that to me before. Doesn’t matter, we got a hit. Get ready to fight.”
Juntto put the microphone to his lips. “Alien Lord has to go save New York. Have a good night and suck my meat, punks.”
“Juntto, they’re children.”
“I said ‘good night.’”
He dropped his controller and began to gear up. He wore his purple suit, including the jacket. He pulled out his pistols and holstered them. He stared at two daggers made of special metal, unsure where to put them. Finally, he grew a sheath on either hip and stuck the daggers in.
Angie just shook her head, wishing things were that easy for her when she got dressed every day.
“We need to look into getting me a spear.” Juntto looked her up and down. “You got a weapon?”
Angie patted her hips, where she wore two guns like an old-fashioned gunfighter. “Locked and loaded.”
They ran to the elevator side by side. The doorman was already on the floor, and he rushed to hold the door for them. Angie smiled at him as they raced out and stopped on the corner. Juntto took two steps back as a cop car came screeching around the corner, its siren on and its lights flashing brightly. The car stopped right in front of them.
Juntto looked at it suspiciously.
Angie flung open the back door. “It’s our version of a cab. Get in.”
“Ooh, girl, I am so excited about this.” Timothy walked into the family room wearing a set of pajamas with pink bunnies and clouds all over them.
Stephanie plopped down on the couch with a bowl of popcorn. She was wearing matching pjs. “Me too. Oh, my God. You know trying to get Korbin to watch chick flicks is like pulling teeth.”
Timothy rolled his eyes. “Fine with me. More girl time.”
Stephanie laughed. “Okay, what are we watching first?”
Timothy pulled the DVD case out from behind his back. “P.S. I Love You, followed by The Holiday.”
Stephanie squealed. “Oh, those are two of my very favorites. Come on, come sit down.”
Timothy giggled and ran to sit next to her. They both put their feet on the ottoman, moving their pink bunny slippers back and forth as the movie began.
By the time it ended, the popcorn was gone and they were both sniffling back tears, wrapped in each other’s arms.
Timothy grabbed a tissue and blotted his eyes. “Girl, that would be me. I would have his ashes, singing show tunes alone in my damn apartment. Stepping on pizza, too. That bitch is right on cue.”
Stephanie nodded. “That would be my nosy-ass family too. They would let themselves right in. My sister would have been giving me a standing ovation. I can’t even. This would be my life if anything happened.”
Stephanie’s face went dark.
Timothy shook his head and started fanning her. “Hmm, no. Nuh-uh. Don’t even let those little thoughts come into that beautiful brain of yours. Korbin and you are life, sister. You will not be taking yourself into any deep depression. Besides, that’s rocky-road territory, and I got mint chocolate chunk.”
Stephanie laughed. “Mint? Okay, you’re right. No bad thoughts.”
“Besides, in the end, she gets that hunky new Irish guy who pretty much looks like his friend. Personally, I think it’s kind of creepy, but what the hell what do I know? I just want a man with an accent like that.”
“That does make the stomach dance,” Stephanie pointed out.
Timothy gave her a dainty high five. “Yasss, girl. Yasss.”
They finished the movie and took a break to get some snacks. Timothy looked like his mind was off somewhere else. Stephanie stopped and narrowed her eyes at him. “What are you thinking about?”
Timothy groaned. “My job. Sent Angie to an opening portal this evening, and I guess I was worried.”
“You’ve got coverage and she has that Leviathan, so I think it’s all good. We have The Holiday to watch.” Stephanie handed him a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream, and they went back to the living room.
They sat down and started the movie. “Girl, I don’t mean to bust your happily-ever-after bubble, but I have to be honest. I am so glad Katie and Calvin woke you and Korbin the fuck up. I have missed you like hell, and this whole base-jumping thing has been…ugh, so sad without you. I felt lost in my own world, and no one wanted to come and play.”
Stephanie leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Well, I’m here now, and I ain’t going nowhere.”
16
Screams and snarls mixed together and echoed through the narrow alleyways and streets of New York City. A portal had opened at the corner of New York Avenue and Kingston in Brooklyn. The portal had blown a hole in the side of an apartment building, and people were scattered everywhere. Demons were pouring out, the fiends grabbing and tearing at anything they could get their claws on. A group of people had started a small resistance, but others panicked and ran for it. Most of them didn’t make it.
The cops had been the first on the scene, cordoning off an area. Unfortunately, like so many of the hit-and-runs, the portal hadn’t been discovered in time. It was only seconds after the cops arrived that the thing blew open, sending blasts of heat down the streets. The police put their cars on every corner, but the demons didn’t abide by Earthly laws. They just plowed into the cars, jumping on top of them and ripping the lights off. Among the demons pouring out of the portal were infected men and women who had heard the call. They had come to help their demon counterparts.
There were red eyes everywhere.
Among the rubble and overturned cars, groups of people huddled together. It was like a merry-go-round of people with guns or sharp objects fending off the demons, only to be swallowed by them. The next man or woman would stand, grabbing anything they could get their hands on. On one corner a ma
n snatched a freshly severed arm, unable to pry the gun out of the hand. He grimaced as he wrapped his live finger around the cold dead one and began pulling the trigger. He managed to strike two of the demons in the head before a snarling beast tore open his stomach with a long sharp claw.
Travers pulled up with Angie and Juntto in the back seat. All three of them jumped out of the car, pulling their guns and running for the fight in the center of the street.
Angie immediately started blasting away, firing on either side of her, striking one demon and missing another. Adrenaline was flowing through her. It took her a moment to realize where she was. In the middle of an incursion, surrounded by demons.
Without warning, fear filled her belly. “Oh, fuck. What the fuck am I doing?”
Juntto ran up beside her. “Don’t think, just shoot. Pretend you have my strength and Katie’s balls. You will be unstoppable.”
Angie nodded and Juntto took off across the pavement, heading for a group of demons gathering in the corner. He fired his weapons until the bullets were gone, then he pulled his daggers. Demons rushed at the newcomer, but he was ready. He slashed through necks and cut off heads so fast that everyone stopped and watched him. Angie continued choosing her shots and firing. She had already seen the show.
Behind them, Travers and Schultz looked at each other in amazement. “Holy shit, that dude is amazing. That’s Katie’s new sidekick?”
Schultz shrugged. “I’m assuming so.”
A huge demon crashed into Juntto, knocking the blades from his hands. Juntto didn’t have time to waste. He held up his fists, and they began to grow larger. They looked like huge mallets coming out of his purple coat. He swung them from side to side, knocking the heads off three different demons.
A large demon crawled out of the portal and immediately turned away from Juntto. He had easier prey, a group cowering in the half-demolished corner of the building. When the beast tilted his head back and roared, windows burst and glass showered the frightened humans.
