by Megan Duncan
Chapter 13
“Can you believe that?” Taya whispered when Judy and Norah were sleeping soundly. “That’s horrible.”
“That’s not even the worst of it,” Carter added as he tossed some branches into the fire.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Norah left out some details, probably because she didn’t want to scare the two of you.”
“Well, what do you want to scare us for?” Taya asked.
“I’m not trying to scare you. I just think you should know everything. When John came back up from the basement, it wasn’t just human blood he wanted to sacrifice. He said it had to be only the blood of a woman, because they are considered more pure then men, and therefore would be more desired by the demon.” Our jaws dropped at this comment. “Didn’t you two notice that none of the men at that place had cuts on their arms?”
I shook my head not knowing what to say. Thinking back on it, I couldn’t remember seeing any of the men with bandages on their arms.
“But John said that everyone had to make the sacrifice.” I don’t know why I said that, it sounded like I was pleading a case for John.
“Come on, Abby, you really think you can believe anything that man said?” Carter asked and I shook my head.
“Now I’m really not going to get any sleep,” Taya commented.
“Maybe you’re right, Carter. It’s scary to think that we could have been that man’s targets. This just throws everything into a whole new kind of crazy. All along we have been thinking that they were just savage beasts, but now they can talk and possess people?” I could feel my hope of survival slipping. I thought before that we may stand some kind of chance against them, but now I was not so sure.
“That’s not entirely true,” Max countered and I thought he was just trying to comfort me. “Maybe that was a higher level demon, I mean it was a lot different than the other ones we’ve seen. It was more… what’s the word I’m looking for?”
“Aware.” Carter made sounds like he was on the verge of an epiphany. “Max does have a point, as crazy as it feels to say that.” Max flipped Carter the bird playfully, but Carter ignored it and went on. “When I went through my whole Goth stage after mom died, I did a lot of research on witchcraft, vampires and even demonology. They aren’t all the same. This is why I have been wanting to catalog as much as possible about them. Some of them, like the one we saw at city hall, have a more developed set of “skills”, for lack of a better word, than say the birds or the little gremlin things at the camp.”
I tried hard not to let the fact that he mentioned our mother distract me.
She had died in a car accident when I was young, and I have little to no memory of her other than pictures that my father and Carter would show me. I used to be very jealous of the fact that Carter had memories of a mother I never knew, and even though I had gotten over it, I still felt a twinge of sadness whenever she was mentioned.
“So what you’re saying is things could get worse than this? That there might be an even higher level demon out there?” I asked, hoping he was going to say no, but I knew he would not.
“Unfortunately. After what Norah has told me, I think things could get much worse. I’m not even sure if what we have seen are actually demons now. They could just simply be beasts or tortured souls who have been twisted into grotesque forms and let loose on the world.”
“This is crazy,” I almost shouted, not wanting to believe what he was saying.
“Abs, calm down, it’s going to be ok,” Max said, resting his hand over mine.
I sighed heavily, and shook my head.
“I can’t deal with this right now. We’re almost to the base. Why are we even worrying about this stuff right now? If there are worse things out there, then just let the damn military deal with it. We’ve done our part.” Taya was starting to get heated, obviously out of the fear that was getting the best of her. “I can’t listen to you guys anymore, stop trying to make it worse.”
“Taya, we aren’t trying to make it worse, I’m just being a realist and telling you what I think is going on. Do you want me to lie to you?” Carter asked.
“Yes! Things are already worse than any of us could possibly have imagined in our most horrible nightmares and you want to tell me things are going to get worse, I just can’t take it!” Taya stormed off then, walking into the distance toward the top of a smaller dune. I agreed with Taya. Now really was not the time to be worrying about these things, all we should be focusing on was getting to the military base. We shouldn’t have been making things any harder on ourselves then they already were.
“You should probably go after her,” I said looking to Carter. He was gingerly touching his swollen eye with his fingertips.
“What, why me? She’s the one that’s overreacting. I’m not the one who sent these demons out.”
“Carter, don’t you get it? She’s scared, and damn it, I am too. Think about everything she has gone through. We’re almost to the base, just when we think we might finally be safe, you go and tell us that everything is even worse than we think it is.” I shouted the words at him harsher than I had intended, but I needed to get it through his thick skull. He stood there for a moment considering what I had said.
“Besides, she shouldn’t be sitting out there alone anyway,” Max added.
“Max is right. At least go check on her, Carter.”
Without saying anything, Carter nodded and headed up the small dune to stand beside Taya. I watched their forms standing in the white sand for a moment. Their bodies bathed in the light of the full moon that reflected off the white sandy dunes.
“Think she will be okay?” Max asked, sounding sincerely concerned.
“Yeah, I think she has just reached her limit. That was a pretty big bomb Carter just dropped on us. There is no way to really prepare yourself for something like that, and we are worn pretty thin already at the moment.”
“How are you holding up?” Max held my face in his hands, brushing back my hair as he looked at me.
“Honestly? I’m scared out of my mind, but I feel almost numb to it all, like it won’t soak in. What are we going to do, Max? What are we going to do if Carter is right?”
Max pulled me into his arms and kissed my head. “Tomorrow we’re going to get to that base, Abby. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to tell the military everything that we know and then we’re going to help them fight. Everything is going to be okay.”
“Do you really think so?” I asked wanting to believe what he was telling me.
“Of course I think so, and I’m never wrong am I?” He looked down at me with a smirk, and I kissed him.
My emotions took over, and I took his lips against mine and kissed him more deeply than I have ever kissed anyone. I felt warm tears trickle across our lips and I could feel the pain and fear I had held onto and buried away slowly break free, if only for a moment.
Our single moment of bliss quickly shattered at the sound of Taya shrieking at the top of her lungs. Max and I jumped up to see her and Carter nearly tumbling down the dune toward us.
I started to rush for them, but Max quickly snatched my arm and pointed to the top of the dune. “Don’t, Abs.”
“What? Why not?”
“Abby, look! It’s a hound.”
“I don’t care, that’s my brother,” I shouted as I yanked my arm from his grasp and ran for my shotgun. I sprinted the short distance to Carter and Taya. Just as we neared each other the sound of another hound came from my left.
A second hound was descending upon us. Judy noticed it and was hurriedly scrambling to shake Norah, and Savannah, awake.
“They are surrounding us!” Max shouted as he ran up behind me.
“Get over here!” I yelled for Judy and the others to come toward us, but they were moving too slowly in their fear as they kept stumbling in the thick sand. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to figure out what we should do.
The hounds slowly
made their way down the dune, closing in on us. Carter grabbed his crossbow and quickly landed an arrow in the head of the first hound. It wailed in pain and swiped at the arrow with its paw, but it didn’t stop in its descent.
They continued steadily moving in on us. Taya quickly pulled out my knife from the strap on my leg and held it in front of her, while Max handed a smaller knife to Norah. We joined together, our bodies trembling as we prepared for the assault.
Carter fired another arrow at the second demon. It hit with a heavy thud into its shoulder. They were about twenty feet from us now, stepping back and forth. Then I realized that the demon hounds had done something we had never seen them do before, they stood and watched us. Their black fur glistened in the moonlight displaying the ripples of muscle under their large bodies.
“They aren’t attacking. Why aren’t they attacking?” I asked as the breeze carried their rotting stench into my nostrils. I gagged, but didn’t dare try to cover my nose because I needed both my hands free.
Savannah screamed from inside Judy’s arms and she pointed toward the dune behind us. We all turned quickly and saw at the top of the dune, the demon from the basement of city hall.
It looked like a massive bear atop the dune. It stood up on its hind legs and howled into the night. Its growl was unlike any animal I had ever heard. We pulled in closer to each other as the demon glared down at us.
“Dear God,” Judy said, her voice shaking in fear. I could feel everyone beginning to panic as it walked slowly toward us.
“It followed us!” Taya yelled in panic.
The demon turned its head toward the second hound and suddenly it bolted into a sprint toward us to attack. Carter and I jumped into action as it came barreling toward us with its teeth barred. Carter fired another arrow at it as it opened its mouth in a loud snarl. I watched the arrow fly into the back of its mouth and I pulled the trigger of my shotgun hitting it right in the head sending its body falling into the sand at our feet.
I glanced at the dead hound for a moment, just long enough to ensure it was dead. I heard gun fire and turned at once to see Max fighting the first hound. He had already unloaded his clip and was holding his knife at the ready. Taya was shaking, barely holding onto her knife as her body trembled in fear. I shoved her aside with my shoulder as I ran to Max’s side and cocked my shotgun. I blasted the demon and only slowed it, but Max lunged quickly slicing the demons throat as blood sprayed onto us.
Dark blood gushed in streaks across my jeans and I swallowed the urge to vomit at the foul stench coupled with the scent of blood. I glanced over at Judy and Norah who were holding Savannah tightly between them. Their eyes were full of fear as they stood like deer caught in headlights.
As the second demon hound fell the large demon from city hall leaped for us like a lion. We all ran, but Savannah was frozen in fear. Judy remained tugging at her arm, but couldn’t get her to move fast enough, finding it difficult to get traction in the sand.
Carter grabbed his last arrow, nocked it and I watched him take a deep breath as he tried to steady his shot as the demon fell onto Savannah. Max ran for it, slicing off an ear, but it fiercely swatted him with his paw like he was a fly, sending him soaring in the air to land like a rock ten feet away.
Carter took his shot and the arrow sliced right through the demon’s eye. It roared in pain as blood streaked down its face and dripped off its muzzle. Judy screamed as she tried to drag Savannah’s body away. The little girl’s form looked like a bloody rag doll as Judy pulled her across the sand. Taya swiftly ran to help, tears streaming down her face, and I knew this was our only chance.
I fumbled trying to reload my shotgun and only managed to load one shell before the demon started for Carter, and me. He pulled out his knife as I fired the shotgun into the demon’s face. Blood splattered everywhere as the shots hit it, but it only shook its head violently before continuing its advance. I went to pull my knife, but realized Taya had taken it earlier.
Suddenly, Max came flying at the demon, he slammed his knife into the demon’s back and held on as it swung and bucked trying to get him off. I was relieved to see he was okay, but the sight of Max’s body flinging around like that made me sick to my stomach. Carter looked to me and then at the demon, slicing at its face and trying to dodge its swings.
“Load your gun!” Carter shouted.
I bolted into action and dove for the shells I had dropped on the ground. I rapidly loaded them and realized I couldn’t get a shot. If I fired I would hit Max who was still being violently tossing from side to side like a cowboy riding a bucking bull.
Max saw my struggling and quickly released as the demon bucked, sending him flying again across the dark landscape.
“Move!” I shouted at Carter. He jumped out of the way but not before the demon thrashed at him, hitting his legs and sending him tumbling face down into the sand. I pulled the trigger and the spray of shots flew into the demons face.
It howled so loudly I wanted to cover my ears and then it looked right at me. Our eyes locked and I had never been so terrified in my life, as its eyes bored into me. Into my soul. I could feel my body freezing in fear, but I couldn’t turn my eyes from it. A sense of overwhelming dread crept through my body like thousands of tiny spiders crawling under my skin. My mind filled with images of horrifying sights that I had never witnessed before and my body trembled as the demon dug at the ground as if it was readying itself to charge at me. My breathing grew quick and ragged as my body trembled in fear.
I squeezed my eyes shut as he came for me, tensing my body for the pain I knew was coming, but it never did. I opened my eyes to see that Judy had thrown herself in front of me.
The demon had latched onto her and was shaking her around like a dog would a chew toy. She had to have been in tremendous pain, but she was screaming out in pure rage as the demon clamped down on her midsection. She repeatedly stabbed at it with a knife until it bit down even harder, severing her in half.
The sight of Judy’s body falling to the ground in pieces made me drop to my knees. Complete defeat washed through me and I lost all hope. All I could manage was to repeat in my head over and over that we were all going to die.
Suddenly, Norah was at my side trying to load my shotgun as I sat frozen in shock, watching the demon devour Judy into two quick bites.
“Abby!” Norah screamed at me, slapping me hard across the face and I felt blood trickle from my nose. My face burned, but it broke me from whatever trance the demon had placed on me.
Just as she handed me the shotgun the demon slashed at her with its claws, her blood splattering all over my face. I saw the whites of her eyes expand as she looked at me in agonizing fear and pain. She gurgled and blood began to pour from her mouth as her body fell onto me. I screamed out in rage as the weight of Norah’s body collapsed on me.
I quickly caught her and dropped her to the ground, trying to avoid the demon as it swung at me. I desperately tried to get back on my feet as I struggled to get away, but the demon was gaining on me. I scrambled through the sand trying to gain my footing as the demon took its time as if it were enjoying itself immensely.
I saw something move from the corner of my eye and saw Carter running at full speed toward the demon. Then I saw Max coming from the other direction, both of them screaming a battle cry as they carried their knives above them. They each lunged for the demon’s neck, slicing as deeply as they could. As their blades tore through the soft flesh of its neck, I felt arms grab me.
Taya dragged me farther away as I watched the demon stagger. It whipped around and slammed Carter to the ground. It quickly smashed its large claw onto Carter. He struggled and grunted as it pressed down on his chest with its giant paw.
Max lifted his knife again and sent it screaming down the demon’s neck. The demon staggered again and looked up at Max, its body shuddering. It tried to bite at Max while keeping Carter contained under its foot. Fear for Max and Carter coursed through me as I saw them struggling in t
heir fight.
I wiggled out of Taya’s grip and pried the gun out of Norah lifeless hand. “Get Carter!” I shouted to Taya as I ran for the demon. She followed close at my heels and quickly grabbed Carter’s arms trying to pull him out from under the demon’s foot. The demon’s eyes were on me and he ignored Taya as she struggled futilely to free Carter.
I ran to Max’s side as I loaded my last two rounds and cocked the shotgun. Max saw me and dove to the side to avoid being bitten. Just as the demon turned his head I fired at the open wound in its neck, quickly firing again, before the demon turned for me. It tried to move, but faltered. Blood was gushing from its neck into dark pools on the white sand. As the demon began to slip and struggle for footing in its puddles of blood, Max took another final swing, completely severing the demon’s head.
It fell to the ground and rolled to my feet, leaving its black eyes looking up at me.
“Abby, Abby, are you okay?” Max ran to me, squeezing me close to him. We both began to weep as we shuddered in each other’s arms.
“I’m okay, I think. Are you hurt?” I asked and he shook his head.
Not wanting to feel the demon’s eyes on me I ran to where Carter lay on the ground. “Oh my God, is he alright?” I asked Taya as I ran to my brother’s side.
“I’m fine, Abby.” I hugged him as tightly as I could without hurting him, and he let out a slight grunt, but didn’t tell me to let go.
“Is it dead?” Taya asked, her voice wavering.
“Yeah, it’s dead,” Max said, with satisfaction.
“What should we do now?” I asked as I helped Carter get up.
“Well, we definitely can’t stay here can we?” Carter said, anger building in his tone.
I saw Taya staring at the bodies that lay strewn about our tiny campfire. I grabbed her shoulder and tried to turn her head away. “Don’t look at them, Taya. Don’t remember them like this.”
“Why not? You want me to just forget them then?”
“That’s not what I meant,” I stammered. The anger in her voice surprised me.
“Of course that’s what you meant! You only care about yourself, it’s your fault they’re dead. You just stood there like an idiot!” Taya got in my face then as she continued to blame me.
“Hey! Calm down!” Max shouted as he pushed Taya away from me.
“Stay out of this; you just want to protect your little girlfriend!” Taya countered shoving Max back.
“Huh, what?” Carter said, clearly still trying to gain his senses.
“Listen to what you’re saying Taya, do you really believe Abby is to blame for all of this?” Max asked. I stood there, starting to wonder if she was right. I was starting to question myself, what was I doing just standing there? It really was my fault that Judy and Norah were dead.
“She just stood there Max, you saw her! Why did you do it? Why, Abby?” Taya was sobbing almost uncontrollably, as tears and snot ran down her face. Everyone looked to me; they too wanted to know what had come over me.
“I… I don’t know. When it looked me in the eyes, I couldn’t move. It was like I could feel it inside me. Inside my head, and under my skin. I just couldn’t move, Taya. I didn’t mean to… I didn’t want this to happen.” I pictured in my mind what I must have looked like to them, just watching the demon attacking everyone, just watching it killing Norah, and I started to feel sick to my stomach.
“It’s okay,” Max whispered to me as he put his arm around me to steady me on my feet. Taya’s blood boiled at the sight of Max comforting me and she slapped me hard in the face before storming off. I stood there in shock and pain as my face burned from the strike. She had hit me were Norah had, right before she died. I wiped the blood from my nose and watched Taya in the distance as she started to pack up what she could, being careful to stay far away from the demon bodies.
“She didn’t mean that. She’s just upset,” Carter said trying to comfort me. “I need you to stay focused, Abby. I need you to tell me what happened to you.”
“Not now, Carter.” I protested shoving his hand away from me.
“Fine, but we need to know. If they’re able to control people like that then we need to know how to stop it. I guess that adds some weight to the idea that John was possessed by it.”
That made me start to panic. “You think I’m possessed?”
“No, I just think it saw you as a threat and was able to make contact with you somehow and immobilized you while it focused on… other targets.” He paused trying to find the right words. “I need my tough girl back. Can you do that for me?”
“You sound like dad,” I said.
“Yeah, well, it always seemed to work for him, when he said it.”
I thought about it for a moment and nodded my head at him. As much as I wanted to crawl into a ball and cry the rest of the night I buried my emotions, and sucked it up like I always had to. I always had to be daddy’s tough little girl.
I watched Carter walk over to Taya, and was grateful that he was playing diplomat. I wanted so badly for everything to be over, for us to just get to the military base and then everything would be better.
“You don’t always have to be tough, ya know?” Max said softly to me.
“Yes I do. If I let myself feel everything, I don’t know if I could handle it.”
“You don’t need to handle it, Abs, I’m here. Carter and Taya are here too, although Taya not so much right now, but that will pass. What I’m trying to say is it’s okay to freak out. I can see you holding it all back. I know you’re trying to be strong for everyone. We’re still going to love you even if you flip out and throw a tantrum like Taya, just like you’ll still love her even though she’s a teenage emotional rollercoaster.” He smiled at me and tried to clean up my face with a strip of his shirt he’d torn off.
“She has good reason to, though.” I winced as he put pressure on my nose.
He shrugged. “Maybe so. Everyone has reason to freak out right now, the world has turned into the devil’s playground, but she didn’t need to take it out on you. Now, take a deep breath and then I need you to help me get things packed up.”
“Okay, Dr. Phil,” I said, using humor to lighten the mood like Max always did.
“There’s my girl!” a wide grin spread on his face. His optimism drove me nuts, but I couldn’t survive without it. I watched him as he made his way toward our things and noticed that he was limping slightly. I realized he must have been in pain from the fight with the demons and I wanted so badly for him to never feel pain again. I silently prayed, not caring that God had apparently forsaken us, that we would all make it to the base and that someday we would be able to live the lives that we had always wanted to.
“I love you, Max,” I called out to him for the first time.
“I love you too,” he shouted back at me. I took a deep breath and walked to what was left of our camp.
~
