“This little guy right here is Ghost.” Lazarus said as he patted the smaller man on the shoulders. “Stealth and Recon.” Ghost glanced up at Lazarus before stepping away back to the SUV. “And you’ve already met me, so that pretty much sums things up. Welcome to Team Gemini.” Lazarus said with a smile as he slapped John on the shoulder.
“Thanks for having me.” John said.
“Well, we’re glad to have you.” Lazarus glanced back at the SUV. “Looks like they’re just about finished, let’s get a move on then.”
Diamond hopped into the driver’s seat as Hatchet slammed the trunk closed. Ghost opened one of the rear passenger door and both he and Hatchet climbed into the back row, leaving space for John and Aerin to climb into the middle. When everyone was inside Lazarus climbed into the shotgun seat and ordered Diamond out onto the street. The engine beneath the hood rumbled to life as the panels along the console lit up with their different displays. Diamond dropped the vehicle down into gear and pulled out of the parking deck slowly. Traffic in the city seemed to be much less congested than the day before. John watched through the window as Diamond navigated the large vehicle in between dozens of cars as he made his way up to the freeway. The road looped up and away from the city in a wide arc that gave John another good view of the Los Angeles skyline. Before John could really appreciate the sight, Diamond took an exit ramp off of the freeway and the area slowly became more industrial. There were gradually less and less normal houses, apartments, and offices and more construction sites and areas of the like.
“So, what exactly are we doing out here?” John asked, breaking the silence that had befallen the vehicle ever since their departure.
“Meredith didn’t tell you?” Lazarus asked as he looked back over his shoulder toward John.
“No, said you’d fill us in.” John stated as he looked to Aerin for clarification, to which she nodded in response.
“Right, right.” Lazarus understood. “Search and Destroy.” He stated. “Well, destroy really. Another team already did the searching for us.” He added. “It’s an Elemental, Class Four, Fire from the sound of it.”
“Wait… what?” John asked in confusion. He quickly glanced over toward Aerin; she, unlike him, had understood Lazarus perfectly.
“That’s right; I forget you’re a newbie.” Lazarus said as he shook his head. “Let’s start from the bottom then. An Elemental is a Demon that’s aligned to an Element, obviously. We rank ‘em by class, with one being average and four being the worst. That’s why Old Meredith sent you along with us, things are pretty gnarly.”
“Right.” John said. “Yeah, that makes sense, thanks.”
“No problem, mate. Anything else you’d like to know?” Lazarus asked.
“Yeah, just one more thing.” John said as he sat forward in his chair. “You guys… You aren’t Slayers like me, are you?” He asked.
“Nope.” Lazarus responded with a smile. “Just plain ol’ red blooded humans, Hunters they call us. We were all military; Meredith just picked us up along the way.”
“So if you guys aren’t Slayers then how do you fight?” John asked. “With this.” Lazarus smiled as he reached down to his side and pulled something up. “Here, take a look.” He said as he passed the item back.
It was a gun, a model 1911 handgun to be precise. John knew about the pistol, it was a design over a hundred years old that was still found all over the place. He held the gun in his hands and felt its weight; it was heavy, and the weight was nicely balanced between the handle and barrel. The majority of the handle was a polished brown wood that ran up and connected with the shiny silver metal that made up the rest of the weapon. John cupped both hands around the pistol’s grip and looked down the weapon’s sights. He lined the small pin at the end of the barrel with the two pins closest to him. It was a good weapon; even if John didn’t have much experience with guns.
“So bullets can kill Demons?” John asked before he spun the pistol around in his hand and handed it back to Lazarus.
“Not by a longshot!” Lazarus said with a laugh as he took the pistol from John and returned it to its holster.
“Then how?” John asked with a puzzled expression.
“It was Meredith’s idea.” Lazarus turned a little bit more in his seat toward John. “We all use hollow points and she puts a little explosive spell inside. Doesn’t kill Demons, but it does a good enough bit of damage.”
“That’s…” John began before he was cut off.
“Crazy?” Hatchet interrupted him from behind. The large man leaned forward and placed his hands on both Aerin and John’s seats to pull himself forward. “I thought the same thing when I first saw it.” He spoke in his heavy southern accent. “You just wait until you seem ‘em in action. These little bad boys pack a punch. You’re gonna love it.”
With that, Hatchet patted John on the shoulder and returned to his seat. Lazarus could see that John was satisfied with the explanations he had been given, and so he turned back around. Diamond navigated the SUV through rough back roads until he finally turned the vehicle off onto a gravel drive. After about a minute on the bumpy road, he pulled over next to an unfinished office building. The car came to a stop and Diamond turned around in his chair.
“Alright, Ghost, we’re here.” He called out to the back of the vehicle. “Let him out, would you John?”
Ghost had lifted up from his seat and brought himself in between Aerin and John’s chairs while waiting for an exit. John reached over and raised the handle on the door before jumping down onto the loose gravel below. The air was incredibly dry and dust swirled around as the wind blew. Ghost dropped down beside John and nodded to him, which John took as a simple thank you. The smaller man walked around to the back of the SUV and opened the trunk. He pulled out a box that was as long as he was tall before shutting the trunk and vanishing into a nearby building.
John looked back up into the vehicle and saw Lazarus motion for him to climb back in. Once he had, the SUV spun its tires and ventured deeper into the dusty lot. There was a strange sensation inside of the vehicle that hadn’t been present when John had stepped out. The air was thick and no one made a sound. It was like the calm before a storm; everyone was on edge. John bid his time by watching the surrounding area outside of his window. It was definitely industrial, but the area seemed to be abandoned for the most part.
“Alright everyone.” Lazarus suddenly broke the silence. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily before continuing. “It’s almost show time.”
Just as the words left his mouth, the SUV turned a corner and something amazing came into view. At the center of an abandoned construction site, a massive black bubble dominated the area. It was nearly two stories tall, gauging it by the skeletal building beside it, and was just as wide. It pulsed and swirled violently as the SUV approached. Diamond parked the vehicle behind some large concrete slabs; once the SUV had come to a complete stop, everyone disembarked.
“It’s about damn time you got here, Lazarus!” A voice shouted from across the way.
John turned his attention to the massive bubble and saw a few men standing around it. They were dressed in a similar manner to the men from Gemini, but seemed to have vastly less equipment. The only things John could see that they had were large staves that were firmly stabbed into the ground around the bubble, as if creating a perimeter. The staves were nearly six feet tall and were adorned with some kind of sparkling gem on top.
“Looks like we made it just in time!” Lazarus shouted back as he pulled a box out of the trunk.
He dropped the box to the ground and quickly opened it. Inside were two state-of-the-art assault rifles. They were short barreled rifles with a curved rail that held a small sight on the top. Lazarus reached in and pulled one out for himself before throwing the other to Diamond. They both loaded long magazines into the bottoms of the rifles as Hatchet opened up a box of his own. Inside was a large machine gun that looked heavier than John could muster. Hatchet pulled ou
t another box from within the trunk and attached it onto the side of the gun; from there he pulled out a long belt of ammunition and fed it directly into the weapon.
John couldn’t shake the fact that what he saw before him was exciting. Seeing the men prepping their weapons like that made it feel like it was something straight out of a movie. He still had his doubts about how a regular weapon would affect a Demon, considering all he had seen. John glanced over toward the massive black bubble; it was definitely larger up close. Lazarus’ words from before ran through his mind as he took in the otherworldly sight. Class Four, he thought. A slight sense of nervousness found its way into his mind. The two fights he had up to this point had both been the spur of the moment. None had ever given him time to think and plan ahead; but now that he had a moment to dwell on his thoughts, he was nervous. As if on command, Aerin suddenly tugged on his sleeve.
“You ready?” She looked up at him and asked.
Aerin’s words had done the trick. He looked down at her small form; there was determination in her eyes. The girl that only came up to his chin was ready to stand up against whatever was ahead of her. “Yeah, I’m ready.” He answered. “It’s you and me, right?”
“Yes.” Aerin replied with a smile.
“The barrier’s almost done!” One of the men over by the bubble shouted.
“Alright then!” Lazarus shouted. “Everyone! Get into positions!” He ordered.
“Roger!” Hatchet shouted as he quickly rushed over to the nearby skeletal building. He dashed up the stairs and quickly made his way to the second floor. He found a large stack of plywood and dropped the bipod on his weapon down, mounting it in place. “I’m good!”
“In position!” Diamond shouted from behind a large column.
“Capricorn!” Lazarus shouted to the men beside the black barrier. “Get out of here!”
“It’s your problem now!” One of the men at the barrier shouted as he pulled his staff from the ground. The others quickly followed suit and they rushed off in different directions, disappearing behind the various buildings around them.
“Get ready, Gemini! This thing’s big, and it’s slow! Keep its attention while John and Aerin deal damage!” Lazarus shouted as he pulled the handle on his rifle, charging the weapon. “Hey, Slayer! Show me what you can do!”
Without another word, John reached behind him and felt around for that sweet spot. His hand didn’t have to search around as much anymore, as it was naturally drawn to it now. He took hold of the hilt of his blade and flames lapped up around his body as he transformed. With a new change of clothing, John walked forward toward the barrier as he twirled his sword in his right hand. He brought the blade down to his side and stared up at the barrier before him.
The massive bubble had begun to crack and an eerie red light poured out from the steadily growing wounds. There was a sound coming from within the barrier itself like a distant howl. John could feel the pressure coming from within, the Demon inside was powerful. Suddenly the barrier shattered in a violent collapse of light and fire. There was a terrible roar that echoed throughout John’s entire frame as the Elemental Demon broke free from its confinement. The monster was humongous, nearly as large as the barrier had been tall. It stood on four limbs that burned hotter than anything John had felt in his entire life. Even at a distance, he could feel the terrible heat on his face. Wherever the Demon stood, the ground beneath it cooked.
A loud clap rang out just beside John. He looked over to see Aerin beside him, her wings unfurled and her clothing changed. She dropped to her knees and placed both hands firmly on the ground. A massive Cypher suddenly appeared on the gravel beneath her. As it did, a large barrier rose up around the entire construction site. The sky slowly turned from a bright blue to a pale gray as the barrier grew larger.
The Fire Demon lumbered forward slowly before stopping itself. Its massive head moved from side to side as a deep rumbling resonated within it. It looked left and then right, searching for a target. Finally, its sights locked onto the Slayer before it, and it let out a terribly loud roar that made the hairs on John’s neck stand on end. It made a move forward, but was abruptly stopped by concentrated machine gun fire. The shots rang out in John’s ears around him nearly as loud as the Demon’s roar had been. Dozens of rounds impacted into the Demon’s large head, each one packing an explosive punch that caused the massive beast to close its red eyes and reel back in pain.
“We’ll distract it! You two take it out!” Lazarus shouted at the top of his lungs in between bursts from his rifle.
The Demon lashed out wildly; it swung its flaming arms in all directions, unable to pick one single target. Just as it would turn its attention toward one of its assailants, concentrated fire from the others would once again redirect its rage. Dozens of explosions suddenly impacted into the Elemental’s back; Aerin had taken flight and fired a barrage of attacks without John even realizing. In response to this, the massive Demon thrust one of its arms up into the air and a pillar of fire sped upward toward the Angel overhead. Luckily, Aerin was much faster than the Demon could aim, and she easily avoided the counter attack.
Realizing that he was the only one who had yet to enter the fray, John quickly sprang into action. He dashed around the backside of the demon as fast as he could. The monster was massive, and because of that it was also slow. John readied his blade and moved in to attack one of the beast’s hind legs. But the closer John got, the hotter the temperature became. It was searing, hotter than anything he had ever experienced, even more so than the inferno that would herald his transformation. John had to close his eyes as he approached the beast, making the attack nearly pointless as well as dangerous, as the beast lumbered to and fro, stomping about. He quickly slammed his feet down and backpedaled as hard as he could before his skin began to burn.
The Demon was slow, but it picked up on things quickly. While John had been busy moving away from the flames, the massive creature had sensed his presence. It turned toward him and, before John could move out of the way, brought one of its fiery fists down upon him. John did the only thing he could think of, and that was to raise his blade and attempt to block the monster’s attack with both hands. With a firm grip on the sword’s hilt with his right hand, and support against the blade with his left, the sword caught the Demon’s crushing blow and stopped it. Not only was the temperature insane as it scalded his face, but the pressure was tremendous as well. John closed his eyes and turned his head away from the terrible flames in front of him as he felt his boots slowly losing traction against the gravel beneath him. The weight on top of him was incredible and he could feel his knees starting to buckle.
Just as the weight had become too much, a loud crack resonated throughout the air. It had been loud enough to be heard over the sound of the roaring flames that enveloped the beast; and as John heard it, the pressure from the Demon’s fist lessened. Another crack reverberated throughout the lot and this time John saw what happened. An explosion impacted into the Demon’s fist that sent it reeling backward. Now free from the Demon’s attack, John quickly jumped back away from the monster. There was another crack, and this time John followed the round’s trajectory back to the source. The shots were coming from a building about a hundred yards away, just down the gravel road the SUV had traveled on before. These were sniper rounds and John made a mental note to thank Ghost later.
John decided to steel himself and go in for another attack. The Demon was once again effectively distracted. It was attempting to regain stability from the overpowered sniper rounds that were continuously assaulting it, and all the while the other members of Gemini poured bullet after bullet into its burning flesh. Aerin circled above and laid on as much firepower as she could. Everyone was giving their all except for John. He ran forward once more in an attempt to even cut the beast. With his eyes closed he raised his blade for another swing, but once again encountered the searing flames from before. He attempted to bear with it just to land one hit, but had to turn aw
ay. Any closer and he felt that his eyes would begin to boil.
“It’s no good!” He shouted to Lazarus as he moved away from the Demon before it could land a hit like it had before. “The fire’s too hot!” He shouted as he ducked behind a pillar to catch his breath. “I can’t get in close!”
Before Lazarus could respond, their attention was drawn toward the massive Fire Demon. The beast had finally stabilized itself and it stood up on its hind legs. It raised both fists high into the air; ignoring the increased fire Gemini and Aerin were giving it. With a thunderous roar, it brought its fists down into the ground in a powerful smash. A wave of fire, dirt, and gravel flew out in a perfect circle around the monster. John raised his blade in an effort to block the fire just as he would a magical bolt, and to his surprise it worked for the most part. The flames burned around him, only sending him tumbling backwards once they had become too much. He slammed into the dirt on his back and slid a ways before coming to a stop. His vision blurred from the sudden impact, but he quickly shook off the trauma. He looked left and then right, but none of the other Gemini members were anywhere to be seen. A chunk of the skeletal building Hatchet had been inside had collapsed and the barricades Lazarus and Diamond were behind had been blown back. John had been spared from the flames by his sword, but he could only fear the worst for the others.
“Are you alright?!” Aerin landed next to him suddenly. From above, she had avoided the attack entirely.
John was on his back facing the sky above him. He watched as the pale gray void of the barrier slowly disappeared. The bright, sunny, blue sky of Los Angeles suddenly came back into view. The Demon’s last attack had been too much for the barrier’s Cypher to take, and the magical circle had been shattered completely. With its tether destroyed, the barrier was gone.
“Yeah.” John answered her as he pulled himself up. “I’m good, but… this is bad.” He observed. He went to shift his weight forward to stand, but was met with a sudden pain in his hip. There was something poking him from below and so he shifted to his left to remove whatever it was. He stuffed his hand inside and felt it; it was hard and felt slightly warm. He slowly pulled out the blue sphere Meredith had entrusted him with. It pulsed and hummed in time, as if begging to be used.
Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale Page 12
