by David Belau
The teenagers out front were smoking a joint and giggling. No demons were in sight, so I moved on. The front of the house had a large window that allowed me to view the living room. It was crowded with teenagers and infested with the hellish brethren. I’d go there last. Moving around back, I found a girl passed out in the grass. A boy was with her, trying to unbutton her pants. Sure enough, a rotund demon stood next to him, cheering him on.
My boot caught him by surprise, landing square between his legs and punting him into the air. Aiming my gun, I pulled the trigger and shot him out of the sky like a flabby clay pigeon. Pieces of him landed in the yard— probably not any good for making boots.
I made my way around back and entered the house. It was throbbing with an electronic bass line and the pulse of a strobe light. Avoiding the main throng, I headed upstairs. My nose told me that there were unclean spirits there.
Pausing at the first door, I listened. There seemed to be a single demon inside, I entered quietly. Three teenagers sat in a circle, one held a spoon and lighter, cooking a hit of heroine. A couple demons circled above them. The first demon made a magnificent red mist when I perforated him. The smoking, empty casing flipped through the air when I pumped the slide. The second demon’s eyes grew wide when he saw me and he turned to take flight. The force from the second blast hit him in the back and propelled him out the window. Yeah, I shot him in the back. Don’t care.
Turning back to the circle seated on the floor, I watched one of them projectile vomit all over the heated spoon, ruining the batch. The circle scattered in disgust. Guess somebody couldn’t hold their liquor.
The air downstairs was thick with the smell of demon sweat. They were working hard. A wall separated the living room from the hallway. Back to the wall, I loaded more cartridges in the gun. Earlier, through the front window, I had counted at least five demons, possibly more. Couple of big ones too. This had to be quick, because I was outnumbered. If they got a hold of me, I’d be in for a rough night.
Stepping clear of the wall, the room came into view. A small demon, covered in hair, was the first lined up in my sights. Lead shot tore through his body as I pumped another round into the chamber. The spent cartridge had not hit the floor before I fired on the next demon. This one was skinny with a long tail. By the time he was snuffed, the other demons were realizing the situation.
Before I could fire again, a large demon to my left took a swipe at me. He’d blended in well enough that I didn’t see him at first. I dove to the right and rolled. Taking a knee at the same time I took aim, I pulled the trigger and blew his head clean off. You’d think they’d attach those better.
A small demon tried to make a break for it but was stopped by a spray of pellets. I’d led him too much. He reversed course and this time I relaxed for a moment before squeezing the trigger again. Just right. Its lifeless body spun through the air and landed at the feet of another demon. It looked at me through the haze of gun smoke with hate in its eyes. He was the last one— the playing field now even.
“You must be Tsayad. I’ve heard of you,” it said.
“Yeah? What have you heard?”
“They say you’re tough.”
“Oh yeah? Did they mention my muscular physique and rugged good looks?”
“We aren’t concerned with such things.”
“I can tell.”
It snorted. “I hear you’re all alone these days. Not as many people use your services.”
“I like to think I work best alone.”
“Look. Nobody cares about this town anymore. It’s going down.”
“Well I, for one, am offended. I like this town.”
“It doesn’t matter. You and I both know that you can’t do anything unless it’s called in. And, as I said, nobody is using your services. You’re on the losing end here. We’re going to take this town.”
“Like hell you are.” I swung the gun up and fired at his gut. He staggered backward, holding in his entrails. Stepping forward, I fired again, hitting him in the chest. He fell backward, still clinging to life. I put my boot on his neck and looked into his dark eyes. “This is my town, you piece of screed. Nobody takes it from me.” Its neck made a satisfying crack when I finished it off with my boot.
I drug the carcasses out to the car and tossed them in the trunk. They would make a nice fire. This was my last call for the night and the sun was starting to light up the horizon.
Back at my camp, the morning sun was hot. What that last demon had said bothered me. It kept running through my head. I lugged the carcasses into the woods and piled them up. “We’re going to take this town.” That was the thing that bugged me. However, it was right. I couldn’t do anything unless it was called in.
I split some wood and piled it on top of the bodies. There was a change in town, I felt it. It was darker. Perhaps there were other forces at work that I couldn’t see.
After pouring gasoline on the pile, I took a step back. The calls were coming in less and less. Did anyone care about the town anymore? Surely there were more than just me.
Lighting a match, I watched it flare up before flicking it at the pile. It caught immediately and sent flames high into the air.
There was something going on in town, that was sure. I just wasn’t sure what it was.
I took a few minutes to scrub the hides I’d been tanning with a wire brush to soften them up. They were getting close to usable. Still had some oil to soak in.
After that, I decided to skip the heat of the day and took a nap in my hammock. By the time I woke up, the fire should be down to coals.
I woke in the late afternoon and went to check on the fire. It was down to coals, with a stray body part here and there. Using a shovel, I scooped the coals into a pile and made sure the extra limbs were on top.
I sat and looked out at the town. No calls had come in for the night. What’s a guy to do? I don’t do boredom well. I decided to work on a pair of boots. By the time the sun was starting to set, I’d cut all my pieces of hide and started stitching. Still no calls. I was getting antsy.
With no calls, I couldn’t hunt any demons, but I could certainly harass some. And that sounded like a better idea than sitting at camp all night.
Grabbing my blade and the 12 gauge, I loaded up the car just in case I got a call while I was out. The part of town I was headed to always had demons crawling around. They were typically puny, sniveling little things that I didn’t feel bad about smacking around. The place was a secluded park down by the lake where the transients camped.
To keep from alerting the foul creatures, I parked the car a block away in an alley. Right away, something didn’t feel right. It hung in the air like a stench, but it wasn’t my nose that was sensing it. Sheathing my blade, I left the gun in the car. The feeling grew stronger as I walked down the alleyway. Then, behind a dumpster, I saw the reason for my unease. A body lay crumpled in a heap on the ground. It was a man, probably about 35 years old. A transient, by the looks of him. A couple of syringes were nearby— probably an overdose.
These always bothered me because drug addicts were easy prey. Demons were usually content to just keep them in a stupor— numb to the world. To push them to the point of overdose or suicide seemed especially cruel. They weren’t leaders in society that would steer the population toward evil, no, they were usually regarded as trash. Ignored. It did not take much urging for them to be snuffed out.
Then I saw it. Next to the body on the wall, painted in running red paint, was a symbol. A leering demon with goat horns was what it represented. This killing was a sign to me. A warning. Somebody was trying to send a message. The demon from last night hinted at it and now it seemed like it was true. There appeared to be a coordinated effort afoot, determined to take over the town. I wasn’t sure how strong it was yet.
Continuing to the park, I was determined to get some answers. The park was populated with tents and tarps spread between trees. Men and women lay on the ground strung out while some gathered arou
nd a fire. The demons were fat and lazy, having some of the easiest charges in their line of work. They sat on the ground or up in the trees, like chickens roosting. The first one I came to was round like a beach ball and my boot sent him rolling across the ground.
“Hey! You can’t be here!” it grunted when it stopped rolling. “Nobody called you!”
“That’s right. I’m just here for some fun.” It skittered away before I could get a second kick in. Farther into the camp, I found the next demon snoozing on the ground. I reached down and slapped it across the face.
“What the hell, man?” it whined. “You’re not supposed to be here!” Its eyes grew wide.
I gave it the backhand on the other side of its face. “Who’s in charge here?”
“Stop, man! Nobody called you here.” I wound up again for another slap. “Okay…hey take it easy! Shablul is the leader around here.”
“Where is he?”
“Over there,” it pointed toward the trees.
“Thank you,” I said. “You’ve been most agreeable.” It scowled at me, so I gave it one more slap.
I walked toward the trees and I could feel eyes on me. By now there was murmuring rising from the camp— they were aware of my presence. “Shablul!” I called out. A pair of dull yellow eyes turned to me from a sagging branch. As I drew closer, I could make out his body— a fat slug-like thing that draped over the branch.
“What do you want?” his voice gurgled. “No one called you here.”
“I’m getting that a lot tonight. Yes, I know that I was not called here.” The tree he was roosting in wasn’t very big, so I gave it a kick. It shuddered and he lost his balance, falling face down into the dirt. “I’m just here for some fun.”
He struggled to right himself and sit up, facing me. “You can’t do anything to us.”
“See these boots I’m wearing?” I lifted my pant leg to give him a good view. “I made them from one of your brothers a couple months ago.” His eye grew wide. “You’ve got some real nice skin. I bet you’d make some comfortable boots.”
“You can’t do that!” he stammered.
Placing my boot on his stomach, I gave him a little pressure. My foot sunk in and his fat rolls started to curl around my foot. I wasn’t sure he had any bone structure under all that flab. “I’m looking for some answers. Is there something going on? Some sort of plan for our town?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I put a little more pressure on his stomach and watched as his eyes bulged out of their sockets. It seemed to be proportional to the pressure on his stomach, so I amused myself for a minute by making his eyes bulge in and out with the pressure from my foot. “Sure you do. I found a body tonight with some graffiti next to it. Does that ring any bells?”
“People…ugh…commit suicide all the time,” he gasped.
Pressing harder, I said, “Not like this, they don’t. Somebody is trying to send me a message.” His eye looked like it was nearly free from its socket.
“Okay, okay! I’ll talk. Get your foot off me!” I released the pressure and let him sit up. “Couple days ago some guys showed up that I didn’t recognize. All dressed in suits. Real high-ranking guys. I’ve seen them around town.”
“What are they doing here?”
“I don’t know, but I think they’re Sokhen.”
“Have you spoken with any of them?”
“No. Even if I tried, they wouldn’t talk to someone as low ranking as me. I’m just supposed to do what I’m told. And I haven’t been told nothin’ yet.”
“Sokhen.” I looked out over the park, thinking. “Why would they be here?”
“I don’t know! I told you.”
“Shut up. I wasn’t talking to you.”
“I’d be careful if I was you. These are bad dudes. I’ve heard some stories from the city on the coast. Heard they got some cult people to murder 15 people in one night! Whole city is terrified.”
I looked back at his greasy face. “I don’t need to be worried about some cowards in suits. I’ve seen a lot of things and I’m not about to run away from my duties to this town.”
“Heh. People aren’t using your services anymore. People don’t care.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? Do you guys rehearse what you say? You’re the fifth one to say that.”
He stood. “I think you should be scared. I heard another story about what the Sokhen did to another demon hunter.”
“Oh yeah? Did they paint his nails pink and sing love songs to him?”
He frowned. “No, man. They cut him open and hung him on a tree with his own intestines.” His frown turned to a smile and he chuckled. “You should be scared.”
“Listen, you’ve been real helpful tonight and I’m thankful for all the information you’ve given me. But, if the call comes in, I won’t hesitate to kill you.” I turned to leave.
“Be scared, Tsayad!” He called after me. Then he started laughing and was joined with the rest of the demons, cackling. It was a disconcerting sound and I hated that I couldn’t do anything about it.
If the Sokhen were in town, there would be more signs. I decided to take a walk around the downtown area. The boardwalk followed the shoreline of the lake and led downtown. As I walked, I scanned the area ahead. It did not take long before I started feeling something. I stopped and looked around. What was it? My eyes caught something about 50 feet away, near a tree. Cautiously, I approached. It started to take shape as I drew closer. It was a black lab, or what was left of one. Its ears had been cut off and its front legs removed. It had suffered abuse before dying, perhaps as some sort of ritual. It didn’t take much more searching before I found evidence of the Sokhen. Carved into the tree was the same leering demon that was near the drug addict’s body.
That night I found more evidence of the Sokhen’s presence. I found two more dismembered animals, another dog, and a black cat. There was a structure fire in a foreclosed house just above downtown. Its walls had been spray painted with the goat-horned figure.
The last thing I saw was the most disturbing. On the east side of town, I saw a man standing on the front lawn of a house. He was yelling at a woman who was standing on the porch of the house. They were lobbing accusations back and forth about infidelity in their relationship. I assumed they were husband and wife. In the window of the house, I saw a couple pairs of little eyes peering out— most likely their children. They looked to be both under the age of ten. This argument went on for a while as I stood and watched. The man’s face grew more and more red as the intensity of his voice increased.
A Sokhen in a business suit strolled casually up to the other man and leaned in toward his ear. Suddenly, the man pulled a pistol and fired at his wife, hitting her in the chest. In his rage, he ran forward and fired two more shots, ensuring her death. The eyes in the window enlarged in horror and disappeared from sight. The man paced around the lawn, running his fingers through his hair and mumbling to himself. The neighborhood started to wake up— porch lights came on, dogs barked, and people peered out their front windows to see what the noise was.
The Sokhen strolled over to him and leaned in again. The man stopped pacing and stood up straight, his face grim. He raised the pistol to his temple and paused. His body was trembling. The Sokhen leaned in one last time before the man pulled the trigger. His body dropped to the ground and writhed. It took a while for death to come, and the Sokhen kneeled down and smiled as he watched.
Just like that, two kids were orphaned. Their life path was permanently altered. They would try to make the best of it, but for years they would wake up at night screaming. The Sokhen just smiled. When it stood, it looked at me and gave another smile. I could feel the evil flowing out of this being and my body felt cold. My heart started pounding as I looked into its black eyes. Its presence was overwhelming and I had to look away. I felt like its gaze was removing life from my soul. When I summoned the courage to look up, the being was gone. I could hear the childre
n sobbing in the house. A siren sounded off in the distance and a couple of neighbors ran to the house. They checked on the bodies and then went to comfort the children.
One call came in that night after I witnessed this. It was a typical call involving a demon banging around in an attic. It was keeping the family awake and filling the children with fear. After what I had seen, I had no patience for this. When I found it, it tried to cop an attitude with me and got all snarky. It made the same comment about me not having authority here. My 12 gauge sent it to oblivion with great efficiency.
There was no doubt now that I had seen a Sokhen in my town. It reminded me of my time in the city on the coast, when I was just an apprentice. They were more common in that city and the veterans had a healthy respect for them. I was involved in one operation where we had to take out three of them. It took seven of us hunters to get the job done. The Sokhen were the most evil bastards I had ever seen and they were also hard to kill. One of the veterans told me something that night that I recalled now. The Sokhen, evil as they are, are only agents. When they showed up, it was usually to prepare the way for a higher demon. In my time in the city, I’d never seen a demon that ranked higher than a Sokhen. Our operation to take out the three had thwarted the coming of a higher ranking being. Now I faced the same situation in my little town.
Over the next month, I saw more and more Sokhen in town. They seemed to be lurking around every corner and blending into crowds. When I made eye contact with them, I always felt a cold evil. Their eyes would smirk— a look of knowing. It wasn’t a look of respect, but more of a confident knowing of what was coming. They weren’t afraid of me, but I found that I was starting to feel fear of them. I was outnumbered by a wide margin and I knew that I could not take them on. I started to feel quite alone. When I was in town, I was always looking over my shoulder. Feelings of dread seemed to hang over me. One night, I had a dream where I was walking through a crowd of people. I spotted a Sokhen among the people and our eyes met. Dread filled me and I turned, only to make eye contact with another. Turning again, I bumped into yet another. A laughter rose from the crowd, and I realized that I was surrounded. The entire crowd was Sokhen and I could not escape.
