Demona tried to focus on the wide open space around her, instead of the claustrophobia she felt when she remembered how helpless, and seemingly paralyzed, she had been when Darius began to turn her. She shook away the feeling and noticed the few bright splashes of orange and yellow marigolds, which had survived the frost, growing around the base of each tree. The boldness of the colors popped out against the bleak brown and gray surroundings.
The sky was overcast with heavy gray clouds that passed quickly above. Their speed sent strong gusts through the park, which made the branches creak and groan. Demona had always felt that autumn was beautiful, yet haunting. They stood waiting for the other half of their patrol team, when a cool drizzle began to sprinkle from above.
Demona tried to focus on the beautiful flowers, but one more thing just happened to add to her misery. One of the field-agents that Demona and Felix were to patrol with was none other than Persephone Black, one of Demona’s least favorite people in the world. She had been Demona’s coworker at TGHC, before she had become a field-agent. Persephone, and a werewolf by the name of Claudia, had tormented Demona every day from the office cubicles next to hers.
That was when she realized that she was unlike any of the TGHC employees and other dark beings. Demona had not belonged among the dark beings, nor surrounded by evil. She had, however, come out on top after Claudia and Persephone eventually humiliated themselves at work. Demona grinned momentarily at the thought, but the bully’s presence still made her uncomfortable. Old feelings were hard to shake.
At least, Persephone did not look anymore pleased by the situation than Demona did. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest and huffed immaturely. She made a point to glare in Demona’s direction and tapped her foot with irritation. She made enough of a scene to draw Felix’s attention. Then, a sudden mischievous smile crept over her face.
Nothing good can come from a smile like that.
“Demona, I’m so happy that you left TGHC. You left Kerrick broken hearted, which made my task of moving in all too easy,” Persephone said.
Somehow I doubt it took much for him to move on.
Demona knew Persephone was only attempting to get under her skin. “You can have him.” She looked at Felix with an annoyed expression on her face. She wanted to grab his hand and leave, but there was a very real reason for their patrols.
Persephone must have noticed the exchange of looks between Demona and Felix, because she suddenly went to stand beside Felix. She twirled one of her braided strands in her fingers as she looked at him. “You’re really cute.”
Felix rolled his eyes. “Sorry, not interested.” He walked away from her.
Demona quickly stepped in to get things moving after witnessing Persephone’s failed attempt to move in on Felix. “We should head out for patrol. Standing around sulking isn’t going to help any of us.”
Felix nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“I was just going to suggest that,” Persephone said.
Sure you were.
Demona and Felix led the way in the direction of the center of town. They cut through the park instead of following the pathways. Persephone and the other agent, a werewolf in human form, followed behind. They followed the sidewalk as they patrolled the streets of Melville. Each kept a cautious eye out for any unusual activities.
They travelled from one end of town to another. They passed crumbling brick factories in the industrial park. They dodged trucks that pulled in and out from the many warehouses. They walked through an old development with rows of matching old Sears homes situated on tiny plots of land.
They walked through the poor section of Melville. That part of town was run down and many of the homes were dilapidated. Shady characters watched them from street corners as they passed by. Their viciously trained dogs tugged on their leashes and flashed their sharp teeth as they barked boisterously. Slobber and foam flew from their jowls with a warning to stay away.
Occasionally, Demona cast Persephone a weary look. The dark skinned witch had made a point to stick close to Felix’s side throughout patrol. Demona also caught Persephone peering out of the corner of her eye to see if she was watching.
Pathetic. Demona vowed to remain stoic for the remainder of the patrol since she was pretty sure Persephone was just trying to provoke her. Demona knew that she had nothing to worry about with Felix. Besides, they were there for a purpose and Demona was determined to see that they did a thorough job.
Several hours had passed without any sign of a demon or the possessed. They were now walking through a better section of town. The houses were as old as the town, all lined up perfectly so that the front steps ended just where the sidewalk began. They were made of wood and brick, with finely carved decorative molding. A few storefronts gave signs of businesses such as florists, thrift stores, computer repair shops, and so much more.
They were about to return to their cars after having almost completely patrolled the most populated sections of town and let the next group take over patrol when something caught the silent werewolf’s eye. Felix stopped in his tracks when he noticed something out of place as well. The group watched as a ragged looking man in tattered clothing seemed to walk aimlessly down the sidewalk. His black clothes were dirty and the clerical collar hung from one side of his neck. He seemed oblivious to the world around him and continued walking.
Demona instantly recognized the demon priest from the pictures she had seen months before. Demona and Felix exchanged knowing glances. The priest made his way towards the outskirts of town. Several more people seemed to be drawn to him, each falling in step behind him. Most likely they were newly possessed and he was leading them to his horde.
The demon priest seemed much more run down, thin, and pale than Demona imagined he would be. Demona wondered how the priest’s body was still alive considering the condition that the demon was keeping it in. Is he even able to consume food? Was the priest’s soul alive, or had it left only his body to be abused by the demon?
The group decided to follow the priest and his followers at a safe distance, so not to alert them to their presence. They wondered what the demon priest was up to considering he walked so openly through town. He walked past shops and restaurants that lined both sides of the Main Street in town. Every few blocks another person joined the others that followed behind him. When he turned, they turned. When he paused, they paused. When he swung his left hand, they did the same.
Hmmm…Is it possible that the possessed act when the demon priest does, because of a hive mind? Demona watched them carefully and found her assessment correct. All of the possessed, that currently followed Abd al-Malik, mimicked his actions perfectly. Upon farther observation these possessed all seemed to be the mindless, poor motor-skilled, zombie-like possessed that had killed their hosts. The discovery could be vital for later.
They continued to follow the priest and his little bees to the outskirts of town. They must have followed him for at least two miles down Route 61 before the group headed off onto a closed portion of the highway. It was remote and only accessible on foot, though there were signs of dirt bike or four-wheeler tracks in the dried, cracked dirt. As they continued to stalk the demonic priest Demona began to recognize her surroundings.
She stopped and motioned for the others to do the same. They huddled in a spot behind a small hill out of sight of the priest.
Demona whispered. “We’re at the abandoned roadway. When I was a field-agent Salina and Foss were able to track the demon priest to this location. It’s sort of his home base.”
“Let’s keep going to see what he is doing,” Persephone said.
Demona was surprised that Persephone seemed genuinely interested in doing her job well. They all agreed to continue to follow the priest to his destination. Maybe they could gather some kind of information that would aid them in eventually defeating the leader and his army.
The priest and his followers disappeared behind some remaining tall grass and browning Elephant Ear t
hat stood several feet high. The group cautiously made their way in the same direction and peeked behind the grass to find a gathering of beings. There must have been close to a hundred gathered. The priest walked through the crowd, which parted as he made his way across to the other side. The possessed stood around waiting for the priest’s directions, while guardian demons swirled around the group in mist form. The hive seemed to wait for their king bee to give orders.
Demona took note of the differences between the possessed. Those with a somewhat healthy complexion seemed almost human-like. They stood together in a large group as if mingling with friends. The others were clearly those that had died during their possession, some were even in advanced stages of decay. Demona smelled the rot of flesh, thinking it had been coming from the dead possessed, but quickly noticed the pile of bodies in decomposition.
She was horrified. She was quickly in a state of shock and disbelief after viewing the scene. What had sent her over the top was when she watched one of the possessed, clearly almost unable to function, stagger toward the pile of death and fall on top of the bodies. The possessed ceased to move and suddenly the misty form of a demon burst from within the body and swirled up into the sky.
So, that’s how there is an endless amount of demons. Once the host is useless, they abandon it. Which means that demon is going to be looking for a new body very soon.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I think we should get out of here before we are noticed,” Persephone said.
“I second that motion,” Felix replied.
The group dared not turn their backs to the gathering as they inched from this scene. They did not turn until they could no longer see any of the swirling demons that sped through the air or hear the hissing responses to the demon priest’s presence. Each of the patrollers, TGHC and GLC, had vowed to report what they had witnessed to their superiors. As they were preparing to part ways, several of the demonic mists went flying into town.
“I think it’s time to get out of here. There are too many demons for us to fight today,” Demona said.
“This completely sucks, because those demons that just came into town are only here for one reason…” Persephone said.
Felix nodded. “Yes, that just means that tomorrow there will be even more of the possessed we will eventually encounter.”
Demona nodded as well. “And most likely more demons searching for a fresh host…”
Chapter 8:
The Quarantine
Felix was driving his red sedan through town towards the location of the GLC headquarters. Demona sat in the passenger seat watching the love of her life sing along to a heavy metal song. It put a smile on her face to see him still enjoying the little things, despite all of the chaos that seemed to be surrounding them. Felix turned to her and made a goofy face as he continued to sing and topped it off with a little head banging. Suddenly, he stopped everything he was doing and stared straight ahead.
They were making their way toward the edge of town, back to headquarters. Demona noticed the flashing red and blue lights of police cars and fire vehicles parked on the side of the road. The firemen and policemen stood huddled on the sidewalk deep in conversation. One of the police officers pointed farther down the road, in the direction Felix and Demona were travelling.
“Huh,” Felix said, “I wonder what’s going on.”
Demona shrugged.
Felix waited for a line of oncoming traffic to pass, before he drove around the vehicles and continued on their way. The traffic coming in their direction was a steady flow. It was unusual to see so many cars and trucks driving into town.
Soon afterwards they again found themselves being stopped by a police officer with a bright yellow vest on, who was directing traffic. An ambulance was pulled off to the side with the back doors wide open. They watched, while they waited, as two medics brought a stretcher out of one of the old townhomes on the right side of the street. They wore blue gloves, protective eyewear, and masks that covered their nose and mouth.
Felix’s brows were furrowed in a quizzical expression. “Something is definitely going on.”
“Well, if those demons that entered town are already wrecking havoc, then it’s no wonder there are so many safety personnel out,” Demona replied.
Felix nodded. “You’re probably right.”
There was a woman on the stretcher covered partially with a thin white blanket. Her hair looked wild and matted. She thrashed around, as they wheeled her toward the ambulance, attempting to break free of the restraints that held her down. She was yelling something unintelligible as the medics lifted the stretcher into the ambulance and packed up their gear. The woman managed to pull an arm free, but the emergency management technician quickly hopped into the back of the ambulance and strapped her free arm to the stretcher.
The EMT inside administered an intravenous medication, which must have been a sedative because the woman suddenly became calm. Then, the other EMT slammed the double doors on the back of the ambulance shut and made his way to the driver’s side of the vehicle. The engine started and the sirens wailed as the ambulance sped away. The policeman waited until it was out of sight before he waved them to move along.
They were about to follow the road that exited town, when they spotted even more emergency vehicles with lights flashing ahead. A volunteer fireman in his turnout gear flagged their car down as they approached. He signaled for Felix to roll his window down as the sedan came to a stop.
“What’s going on?” Felix asked.
“You can’t pass through here. You’ll need to go back the way you came,” the volunteer said.
Felix shook his head and rolled up his window. The volunteer fireman allowed Felix to pull the car up so that he could do a three-point turn and go back down the other lane. Demona tried to see what was happening ahead as Felix carefully maneuvered the vehicle to avoid hitting any orange cones or vehicles waiting in the traffic behind them.
Demona strained her neck to see. “They’ve blocked the road.”
Felix remained focused on maneuvering the car. “What? Is there an accident?” Felix attempted to see what was going on in the rearview mirror, but they were already too far away.
“No, I mean they are actually blocking the road. There are concrete barricades and police cars spread across both lanes. There are even police men patrolling the barricade with batons in hand and Kevlar vests on.
“Strange,” Felix said. “I’ll see if we can get back to headquarters by going a longer route.”
By the time they got close to the edge of town a different way, they had been sitting in a line of traffic for fifteen minutes, which was highly unusual for the small town. Traffic usually consisted of a few cars moving at a crawl. Felix was beginning to get annoyed with the continuous complications that they were encountering as they attempted to make their way back to headquarters.
“I’m going to run up ahead to see if we’re dealing with another road block,” Demona said. “I’m starting to wonder if that quarantine that Barty and Anne mentioned is happening right now.”
Felix gave her an anxious look. “Be careful.”
Demona gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Don’t worry, I will be right back.” She exited the car and peered down the long line of vehicles sitting at a standstill ahead. She glanced backward to see a long line had formed. She walked in the direction that they had been going and passed many frustrated drivers. After several moments her fears were confirmed, there was a road block at this location as well. She continued walking towards the flashing police lights in the hopes that she could find out what was actually going on. She came upon another volunteer fireman instructing vehicles to turn around.
The fireman held a hand out to stop her from going farther. “Miss, you can’t go this way.”
“Why not?” Demona asked.
“I’m not at liberty to say.” He shook his head. “Go back the way you came.”
At that moment a man stepped out of a beat up
pick-up truck a few places back in the line. “What’s going on here?”
“Sir, return to your truck. You will be able to turn around very shortly,” the fireman responded.
“I’ve been waiting here for more than half an hour. Now, I asked what was going on. Is there some kind of accident or something?” the truck driver asked.
“Sir, please, go back to your vehicle.”
“Not until you tell me what’s up. I was just on the other side of town about an hour ago and ran into a similar situation. Why are you guys blocking the roads?” The man was clearly growing more and more agitated. He began throwing his arms around erratically and started raising his voice in response to the fireman.
Another driver in line leaned out of his car window, “What’s going on?”
Horde of the Demon Priest (Demona Book 3) Page 7
