"I don't know man." Diamond sighed. "This building starts coming down-"
"Hey." Hatchet cut him off. "You ain't never let us down before, you ain't gonna start now. You got shit to do, Diamond. Now get to it."
"Yeah..." Diamond's spirit seemed to be coming back to him. "You're right. I got tuning I gotta finish, man."
With that, Diamond quickly turned and made his way back towards the engine. Ghost had already begun work on his rifle without anyone noticing, as was his usual style. Hatchet sighed and turned his attention toward John.
"Alright, I hate to do this..." He ran his fingers through his crew cut. "But I gotta ask you for help again."
"Whatever you need, I’m your man." John assured. “What’s up?”
"Well, before the convoy can roll out, we're gonna need to clear a path for it." Hatchet said.
"Right." John nodded and crossed his arms as he listened.
"Those bombs, they took out a good chunk of 'em." Hatchet stated. He turned and headed toward the back of the SUV as John followed him. "Scanners picked up movement, though."
"So what are we up against?"
"Level Four Elemental." Hatchet said with an extremely displeased look.
"We saw a few outside on the way in, guess one survived.” John surmised. "Do you know what element?"
"No idea." Hatchet answered as he retrieved a large case from the trunk of the SUV. "Probably wind or some horse shit like that." He forced a laugh as he popped the lid on the case, revealing a rather large machine gun. "There's also a Class Two Demon out there, along with a literal metric shit ton of horde."
"Horde?" John repeated the word.
"You probably saw them outside." Hatchet lifted the large gun out of the case and began to inspect it. "Bunch of shadow things."
"Right." John remembered the things he had seen on his way in with Lazarus. "So it's an army against... what?" He asked. "How many squads we got?"
"Yeah that's kinda the thing." A serious expression came across Hatchet's face. "We're just about all that's left. Well, except for the shield squads, but they ain't worth nothing in a fight."
"So..." John could feel a slight sense of dread. "Me, you, and Ghost then?"
"Yep." Hatchet nodded.
"Three against an army?" He shook his head. "Well, I guess our odds could be worse."
"Actually..." Hatchet seemed to look past John, just over his shoulder. "Looks like they just got a little better..."
John raised an eyebrow at Hatchet's statement. Seeing his confusion, Hatchet motioned with a tilt of his head for John to turn around. John did so and found the source of Hatchet's newfound hope; Aerin stood leaning against a concrete column over by the glass doors leading into the medical ward. She gripped her left arm with her right hand in a timid manner as she glanced over toward the men. There was a small smile on her face and a bandage that wrapped around where she had hit her head a few days prior.
"Aerin!" John called out as he rushed over to greet her. "Are you alright?" He questioned. Looking her over, his eyes stopped on the bandage.
"Yeah." Aerin stated, a little taken back by John's sudden concern. "I'm alright." She assured. "Just a little headache." She said with a smile. "They told me you could use some help out here."
"Well, you’re certainly not wrong." John said as he glanced back toward Ghost and Hatchet. "But..." He paused. "Are you sure you're up for it?"
"I'll be fine!" Aerin assured him. "This is nothing!" A proud look came across her face at her own statement. "Besides, I can’t sit around while everyone else is doing all they can."
"Then it's decided." Hatchet stated as he approached. He toted the machine gun over his shoulder and a large belt of ammo around his neck. "Sounds like you two are ready then?"
"Yeah." John said. "I guess we are."
"Great." Hatchet let out a sigh. "Come on."
He turned and led them towards the side of the parking deck. There was a ramp there that curved around up to the next level. Up top was a similar scene as down below. HUNTER personnel were busily loading everything they could into a dozen other SUVs. Hatchet led John and Aerin through them all as he headed toward the exit out onto the street. Up ahead, John could see three men dressed in the same garb Virgo had worn in the entrance lobby before with staves that looked the same. They were driven into the ground at the edge of the parking deck just in front of the large black wall that surrounded the entire building where the exit should have been.
"Capricorn!" Hatchet called out as he approached. The man in the middle turned his head and acknowledged him.
"Gemini." He spoke. "What happened to Lazarus?"
"He took a pretty bad hit." Hatchet stated with a shake of his head. "But he's gonna pull through." The man nodded at his words. "In the meantime, I'm in charge of this operation, and we're moving to stage two."
"Stage two?" The man repeated as he exchanged looks with his two other squad mates. "Hell yeah." He said. "Barrier is good to go."
"Alright." Hatchet dropped the machine gun from his shoulder and gripped it properly. "Here's the game plan. Ghost," He glanced over to the smaller man beside him. "You keep our backs clean. I don't want nothing within ten feet of me that I can't see." Ghost nodded as he chambered a round into his rifle. "I’m gonna lay down some heavy fire, try and cut as many down as I can." He turned to Aerin and John. "John, Aerin, well... you two do what you do best."
"Right." John and Aerin both nodded in agreement.
"Okay!" Hatchet pulled the bar back on his machine gun to chamber the first round. "Kick the barrier on my mark!"
"Ready!" The Capricorn leader shouted.
"3... 2...1..." Hatchet glanced at everyone around him. "Kick it!"
The three members from Capricorn pulled their staves up simultaneously. Flashes of lightning sparked at the base of each staff, attempting to root it back into the ground it had come from. The three men gave one last tug as they ripped their staves away from the magic that bound the barrier in place. The black wall ahead of them began to violently pulse and shake, as if it was about to fall apart. Before that could happen, though, the Capricorn leader spun his staff around in a very showoff way before thrusting it towards the wall. The black barrier suddenly pulsed forward as it tore through anything and everything that was in its way, leaving a swath of destruction in its wake. With the barrier gone, the members of Capricorn gave a salute before quickly retreating.
The city outside was something straight out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare. There used to be buildings around the HUNTER building. John had walked the streets, he had mingled among the people, but now none of that was as it used to be. The street outside lay busted and broken, huge cracks ran the length of the asphalt from where sections had buckled and exploded. The small office buildings across the way had collapsed or were shortly on their way. The air outside was cold, and the sky was still grey. The only difference this time was the massive barrier Meredith had assembled had suffered a heavy blow as well. The sky above the HUNTER building was splintered, almost as if the barrier itself was about to come down. The massive wound was a testament to the weapons they had been forced to use.
John unsheathed his blade and as the fire whirled around him, he was the first out the door. He rushed forward onto the street, surveying the damage around him and looking for any signs of resistance at the same time. Shadows began to appear in the distance. They crawled out of windows, out from behind broken sections of road, out from around cars; they appeared all over the place. Either they had survived the bombs, or if they were literally spawning before John, he didn't know. He twirled his sword in his hand before beheading the first Shadow he saw. It squealed one last time before falling to the ground in a burst of flame.
John noted the lack of a soul. Normally killing a demon rewarded him with however many souls that demon was worth, but these things just seemed to exist. Not quite living, but some kind of spirit with a killing intent. John shook the idea from his mind as he focused on somet
hing more important. He raised his blade to cut down another Shadow, but before he could strike the creature vaporized before him. John glanced up to see Aerin circling high above him.
A wave of metal surged forward from Hatchet's machine gun. He aimed in the general direction of as many Shadows as he could and let his tidal wave of bullets do the rest. The bullets slammed into the creatures' bodies, ripping them to shreds. Even though they were being decimated, the Shadows continued rushing towards him relentlessly.
A loud crack rang out as Ghost fired his rifle. One Shadow approaching John fell, and then another, and another. With each trigger pull, Ghost made sure something fell to his rifle. The head of a Shadow sneaking up on Hatchet exploded with the sound of a rifle round. Ghost eliminated his targets with terrifying precision as he kept the monsters off of everyone's backs.
Hatchet hadn't exaggerated. There were dozens upon dozens of Shadows rushing towards them. John cut them down one by one as they approached, but even still it appeared that the wave would never end. Truly, they lived up to their name; this was, indeed, a Horde. Aerin continued to thin the ranks as much as she could from above as Hatchet sprayed volley after volley from his weapon. Suddenly a loud ping rang out across the street. It was a sound that caused Hatchet to backpedal, and as if on cue, the Shadows began to funnel towards him.
"Cover me!" He shouted with urgency in his voice.
In response, Aerin immediately landed beside him as he dropped to one knee. She blasted one Shadow after another, killing anything that got close. Hatchet pulled a slide back on his rifle that released the top part of the weapon, and as he did an empty belt let go and fell out. Quickly, Hatchet pulled the ammo belt from around his neck and began to set it in place. A Shadow attempted a quick attack from the side, but was stopped by the edge of John's sword just in time. He smiled and nodded to Hatchet, assuring him he'd be alright.
"So... how you feeling, Aerin?" John asked as he thrust forward against a Shadow.
"Good!" Aerin responded.
"Your head alright?"
"I'll be fine!" Aerin assured. She vaporized a Shadow in front of her and then another off to the side. "Really!"
"Let the lady work, John!" Hatchet chastised as he slammed the top part of the rifle down onto the belt.
"Alright, alright!" John dashed forward and impaled another Shadow. He shook it off his blade before it burst into flames. "Just keeping tabs on my partner!"
"She fine!" Hatchet ripped the lever back on his rifle as it chambered a new round. "And I'm good to go!" He raised the weapon to his shoulder. "Come on!"
John broke forward and to the left, Aerin beat down hard with her wings and flew up above, and Hatchet squeezed down on the trigger and tore everything in front of him apart. The fighting continued on for what felt like forever, but was most likely only a few more minutes. Eventually the Horde began to thin and everyone was given a moderate amount of breathing room between imminent attacks. John had rushed forward, farther ahead of everyone else. He swung his sword back and forth in brilliant arcs, cutting down every Shadow that came within arm’s length of him. Aerin stuck close above his flank, taking down everything on John's sides. All the while, Hatchet moved around, taking out whatever John and Aerin might have missed.
Ghost, though, was still back near the entrance to the garage. The thinned numbers of the Horde had allowed the battle to move farther away from him, which was much to his liking. Ghost was, after all, a sniper, and a sniper's best position was well away from the enemy. He had twisted a new scope into place and he held it to his eye as he aimed down range. Another trigger pull and another Shadow went down. His marksmanship was like an art form. The way things exploded and fell to the ground, it all pleased the short man, but he'd never tell a soul.
Suddenly, the concrete next to Ghost splintered and exploded. It was as if a bomb had gone off just under the surface. The concussive force sent him back into a light pole beside him. The force of the impact had knocked the wind out of him, but he quickly steadied his breathing in an attempt to reflate his lungs. He did so as quickly as possible, because something extremely dangerous stood before him. It rose out of the ground as chunks of concrete and asphalt stuck to it like glue. Standing nearly twenty feet tall, it was completely covered in stone.
Ghost inhaled deeply as his lungs filled once more, and he then proceeded to react the only way he knew how. He fired every last bullet that was in his rifle's magazine. The rounds pinged off of the demon's thick exterior; leaving behind no damage and only serving to agitate the large beast. When all rounds were depleted, Ghost discarded the empty rifle and retrieved two automatic machine pistols from his side. He strafed around the side of the monster as he squeezed both triggers. A hail of bullets unloaded into the demon's side; but, just like the others, the bullets only seemed to chip and flake off chunks of rock.
The demon moved faster than Ghost had anticipated. It slammed its fist down against the ground just to the left of him. The asphalt buckled and cracked as a wave visibly moved through the ground. Fortunately, Ghost had been fast enough to stumble his way into a jump as the wave moved quickly underneath him. He landed on the broken sidewalk with a roll as he discarded the empty pistols.
In one last ditch effort, Ghost pulled out the last gun he had on him. It was a massive handgun, solid chrome, and nearly the length of his forearm. He opened the revolver chamber and quickly inserted his final bullet. With both hands firmly gripping the weapon, he turned and fired. The revolver let loose a thunderous roar as the bullet sped out of the chamber. The force was intense enough to send Ghost backwards into a chunk of upturned concrete, nearly knocking the wind from him again. The bullet struck the demon center of mass, sending bits and pieces of rock all over the place. The explosion had been enough to stagger the demon for a few seconds, but not enough to take it down.
As the demon raised its large fist into the air above Ghost, he closed his eyes and exhaled, waiting for the inevitable end. Luckily for him, it wouldn’t come just yet. A loud clang rang out as he was suddenly hit in the side. He felt himself moving at great speed before coming to a quick and hard stop. Ghost opened his eyes to see Aerin leaning over him, her white wings covering them both. She examined him up and down before speaking.
"Are you okay?" She asked. Ghost simply nodded in reply. "Good!" She said with a smile before flying off once more.
John struck at the demon's hide, but to no avail. Each stab was instantly repelled by the thick, rocky exterior. His arms vibrated hard each time he attacked, almost to the point of going numb, but still he persisted. Aerin flew overhead and pelted the lumbering beast's backside with a volley of magical bolts. They exploded, sending small chunks of debris from the creature's skin. Together, they kept the creature in a frenzy. It lashed out towards John with slow, telegraphed attacks that were easily avoided, while occasionally turning its attention toward Aerin, who was an impossible target.
"It's just like last time!" John shouted. "I can't even scratch it!"
Hatchet had fallen back towards everyone else as he thinned the last few stragglers that he could. He heard John's proclamation, and it gave him an idea. As if on cue, his machine gun locked up once more as the last bullet fired from its barrel. He dropped the weapon and sprinted back inside the garage toward the SUV. Diamond had been observing the situation from inside and was in the middle of preparing a solution. He retrieved a long, rectangular case from the back of the vehicle and presented it to Hatchet. Hatchet smiled at Diamond's decision as he pulled the weapon from its confines. He loaded a round in that could change the tide of battle before making his way toward the street again.
"John! Aerin!" Hatchet shouted as he shouldered the RPG. "Get out of the way!"
With a squeeze of the trigger, the grenade rocketed out of the tube. It sped forward at breakneck speed, barely allotting John enough time to dodge. The explosive slammed into the demon's neck in a fireball of destruction. Large chunks of rock flew in all directions as the monste
r let out an anger filled roar.
"Do it now John!" Aerin shouted from high above.
John ran forward through the cloud of dust toward his target. The demons weak spot had been exposed, and John aimed to abuse it to the fullest. He jumped onto the demon's arm, just as he had with the last Elemental, and ran up it as fast as he could. He was only going to get one shot, if he failed to slay the demon now it would not be so kind as to let him have a second try. John lifted his blade high and brought it down into the demon's fleshy skin. It stabbed in deep, causing the monster to roar in pain as John wretched the blade back and forth. He pulled it loose, and in one swing he severed the demon's head from its thick neck. The massive head fell to the ground with a loud thud and the body slowly staggered backwards. John jumped down and landed just as the demon burst into flames. As the corpse disappeared, he noted the four souls that had appeared within him.
"We did it!" Aerin cheered. She flew down and landed next to John with a wide grin on her face.
"Hell yeah we did!" Hatchet agreed. He walked up with Ghost under his arm, a smile on both of their faces.
"Looks pretty clear now." John said as he surveyed the street around them. What had been left of the Horde had vanished into the distance.
"Yeah, scanner lost that Class Two." Hatchet stated. He moved his left hand up to his ear and spoke. "This is Gemini Actual. The way is clear, evac is now stage three. I repeat, stage three. Let's get the hell out of here!"
The sound of screeching tires filled the garage as SUVs poured out onto the street one by one. Shouts of praise filled John and Aerin’s ears as the convoy pulled out, moving out onto the street past them. The vehicles rolled down the street and out of sight as their cheers slowly faded. Finally, Diamond pulled up beside them.
"Time to go, guys."
"Looks that way." Hatchet agreed. He opened the trunk and tossed the empty RPG inside. "Best get while the getting’s good." He said with a laugh. "At least we ain't running with our tail between our legs. That was one hell of a fight." He smiled proudly to John and Aerin. "You two coming with us?"
Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale Page 31
