by Michael Todd
He tapped the floor with the long wooden cane to summon the portal he’d been told would come. A swirling black orb appeared beside him, but he didn’t flinch; just kept his eyes on the men before him.
The temperature dropped when the first demon spirit emerged, an incorporeal wraith that twisted the space around it into something impossible. Screams like rending metal echoed from the lightless mass as it pulled itself out of the portal and raced toward the first man in line.
The man closed his eyes tightly, clenching his fists as the demon took him over. He grabbed his stomach and bent at the waist, writhing in pain and screaming. The air vibrated around him as his body convulsed.
“Do not fight it! Release your will, soldier, and it shall be done!”
The man’s shoulders went limp for a moment, then his body slammed upward, his arms flung out to the sides. Red light blazed from his eyes and his screams cut off as suddenly as they’d begun. Just as quickly as the show had started, it ended. His head fell to his chest.
Slowly, he lifted his chin to face the leader. His eyes snapped open, and the brightness of his eyes faded to a dull red ring. The transformation was almost complete.
The leader scrutinized his eyes and nodded in satisfaction. “Good, now hold onto your humanity long enough to get to Times Square and to the President. You will know when it’s time.”
The leader stood in place and watched as the other men were transformed one by one. They barely retained their souls, but they held on, determined to wait for the proper moment to release their demons completely. As the last man accepted his demon, the portal snapped shut and the room went pitch-dark.
They were almost ready to take over the world.
The skies were bright blue and vibrant, and a gentle breeze offered a small respite from the heat to the Secret Service agents stationed around John F. Kennedy Airport. They had shut the airport down long enough to receive Air Force One and transfer the President to the motorcade. The agents lined the runway near the waiting limos and watched the sky for any sign of the approaching plane.
Over the speaker in the tower, the pilot of the Presidential plane stated, “We are on our descent.”
“We are stacked and ready for you,” the agent replied.
Air Force One came into view, its landing gear slowly extending as it prepared to land. The agents remained alert as the plane touched down on the runway, ready for the first sign of trouble. The agents were nervous. They had been briefed on the threat, and in theory they understood the challenge, but it this was like nothing any of them had experienced before.
Katie held her two badges up to one of the agents at the front door of the building. He looked between the pictures and her several times before he nodded and stepped to the side. Katie took the stairwell to the third floor, stopping again to show her badges when she came to another agent. It was about the tenth time she’d had to do so, but it was for the best. They couldn’t have crazies running around the place.
Pandora laughed. Then how did you get a badge?
Shut it.
She walked over to the window and stood with her arms crossed over her chest. The crowds were large enough at that point that it was hard to tell who was there with her and who was just there to see the President.
Detective Lowery from the Nineteenth walked through the door and looked at Katie in surprise. “I didn’t know you would be here.”
Katie nodded at the detective, recognizing him from the nightclub. “Detective Lowery, good to see you.”
He came to stand beside her and looked out over the crowd. “You’re just going to watch this?”
She shrugged. “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe nothing will happen.”
“But you don’t believe that?”
She looked him dead in the eyes. “They want to make a statement. They want to prove that they can hit the biggest guy there is. Think about how many television cameras are on him right now.”
“Even so,” Lowery replied. He shuffled uncomfortably for a moment. “Look… I don’t mean this in any harsh way. You know I respect what you do. But what is one Damned going to be able to do against whatever army you think is coming?”
She chuckled and let her coat fall to her feet.
He took a step back and ran his eyes over all of the weaponry strapped strategically to her body. He raised his eyebrows, realizing that Katie meant serious business. “You don’t play around. I’m sorry I misjudged you.” He looked up and tapped on the glass in front of them. “That’s not gonna stop you from getting the demons, is it?”
Fast as lightning, Katie drew Harry, chambered a round, and holstered him in one easy twirl. She smirked at the detective.
“Nope. In my business, size really does matter.”
Pandora burst into laughter. Oh, holy shit, that was a good one.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The President’s motorcade was creeping slowly toward Times Square. In the President’s overblown, overzealous fashion he had a marching band in front of the parade playing what he called “America’s Greatest Hits ” and a flagman carrying both the Stars and Stripes and the flag of the President of the United States.
Originally, the President had planned on riding through in a convertible to wave to his adoring fans and uphold the illusion that he was a “President of the People,” but after hearing about the possible risk to his life he made sure to stay tightly snug inside his limo. He did, however, have the windows down, and planned to stand up through the sunroof when they stopped for a moment in the center of Times Square.
It was a show, one he loved to put on. One that fooled the American people into feeling secure. It was easy to believe that if the President was out on the streets, there mustn’t be anything to worry about. It was a blind faith that was shortly to be tested.
Up ahead in Times Square, the terrorists had gotten out of the van and made their way in with the crowds. They set up in their assigned spots and waited patiently for the moment they would turn.
No one noticed anything out of the ordinary in the droves of people lining the streets.
Three stories up, Katie looked out the window at the crowd, cheerfully chatting with Pandora.
Look at the guy to the right between all the women in pink. He’s got the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.
Fuck his eyes. Pandora snorted. Check out the six-pack he’s rocking under that tight blue T-shirt. Wait… Dammit, is that a rainbow pin on his shirt?
Katie laughed out loud. It sure as hell is. That explains why he’s surrounded by all those gorgeous women and not even glancing at them. You have this uncanny attraction to gay men.
No, I have an attraction to men. It’s not my business or my fault if they are gay. I can promise you, you have looked at a man before and given him googly-eyes, and he has been gay. You just didn’t know.
Oh, I’m sure I have. I just don’t express my desires out loud.
Whatever. Oh, oh, next to Detective McSlimy on the corner, the guy with the T-shirt with the President’s slogan on it. He is fucking hot.
I thought you hated the President.
I didn’t say I wanted to spend time talking politics with him. Shirts can be taken off, and unless he tattooed that shit on his body I am perfectly fine with it.
Don’t trust it. There’s a good chance he did just that. The followers of this President are a little more whacked-out than ones before, at least that I can remember. Just sayin’.
This is probably true.
Katie laughed and scanned the crowd. A bright flash amongst the movement caught her eye. Katie held her hand up to shade her eyes and squinted, following the reflection to the back of the crowd across the street. It was just a wristwatch, no weapon in sight. She almost shrugged it off, but something pulled at her awareness. Her eyes moved up the man to his face, but his eyes were shadowed by the brim of his low baseball cap, preventing her from seeing if he was infected.
Katie moved to the right to get a better view, but she couldn’t s
ee. Suddenly, there was a loud pop in the street, a kid throwing down a firecracker. The guy looked up for a split second, but it was long enough for Katie to see the red glow in his eyes. She grabbed her gun from her hip and took a step back.
You found one.
Sure did. Shit’s about to get crazy. I can feel it.
Katie saw that the President was still a few blocks away, which gave her at least a little bit of time to move. Down were crowds of people, including kids sitting on their parents’ shoulders.
“Damn it!” Katie snarled. She knew she couldn’t blow the window. Shards of glass would fall onto all the people below and start a severe panic in the streets. Katie slammed her gun back into the holster and took off at a run. She pushed past the agent and raced to the bottom of the stairs. When she exited, she grabbed the startled agent who was guarding the door by his shirt collar.
“There’s a threat. These people need to be cleared. Call it in. Tell them Katie told you.”
The agent nodded and reached for his walkie.
Katie was already gone. She wound her way through the crowd to the spot where she’d seen the infected guy, but by the time she got to his position he was gone. She looked for red eyes in the faces of the crowd around her and tried to feel for the location of his demon.
There was nothing.
Katie slammed her hands against her legs in frustration, knowing that she hadn’t imagined it. She flashed her badge and stepped out into the road to check the progress of the steadily approaching motorcade. It wouldn’t be long until the President reached the center of Times Square, and she knew that was when the shit would hit the fan.
What she didn’t know was that the demons’ lookouts had spotted her. They had been warned to expect her and had prepared a distraction for Katie to ensure they got a foot forward before the mercenary did.
Screams rang out from under the famous Times Square screen. Katie jerked around, drawing Tom and Harry instinctively. A ten-foot demon tore through the crowd, scattering the people with wide swipes of his claws. He snarled and growled at the crowd, his sharp teeth dripping hot saliva. He scooped his clawed hand through the crowd, picking up several bystanders and tossing them into his mouth.
Due to the concealed pistol permits that had gotten easier to obtain since the President came into office, several lone ranger idiots in the crowd pulled their guns and fired at the beast. Their tiny little bullets struck the demon, but ricocheted off his thick skin. The only thing they managed to accomplish was pissing the damn thing off. They were lucky not to injure any bystanders.
The demon threw the half-body he was eating onto the street and splayed its claws, then bent forward and let out a ferocious roar. Those shooting at him quickly ran away through the panicked crowd.
The police nearby had Katie’s bullets, but there was too much chaos around them to get off a shot. They couldn’t take the chance of hitting an innocent bystander, and there were too many kids gripping tight to their parents’ shoulders as families attempted to get away. There was no easy way through the panicked crowd. Navigating the press of the masses was almost an impossible feat, leaving a very tasty human buffet laid out in front of the pissed-off demon.
The demon turned toward a group of school kids.
Their teacher stood in front of them with her arms out protectively. Tears ran down her face, but she stood strong despite her fear. The beast licked his sloppy jaws and began to advance, backing them up against a building. The children screamed and made themselves small behind the teacher. The demon reached back with his sharp, scaled claws. The teacher raised her chin and screamed her fury at the demon as she waited for the impact.
There was a loud boom and the demon’s head exploded, sending chunks of meat flying into the crowds.
The teacher staggered back in shock. The beast’s headless body teetered back and forth for a long moment before it tipped over and fell toward them. She crouched over them to shield the children, but before it hit the ground the body burst into a cloud of dust. The teacher squinted as a red-eyed figure emerged from the ash cloud.
Katie strode toward them with Harry firmly gripped in her hand.
She nodded at the teacher and smiled at the dust-covered children. Katie holstered Harry and spun around, knowing that couldn’t have been the only demon.
The demons had become too cunning for that to be the main event. They would know that the likelihood of one ten-foot demon taking out the President in a sea of people was slim, especially with how easily distracted the low-level ones could be. One minute they followed orders just fine, the next they’d tear off to make a pet shop into an all-you-can-eat buffet. The low-level ones were big, destructive, and expendable.
Katie took a careful step forward, her boots crunching in the broken glass and bloody mess on the street. Her eyes shifted left to right because she knew that at any minute another demon would show its ugly, snarling face. Sure enough, more screams came from down the block.
Katie took off, pulling Tom. She slid to a stop when she saw the demon. This one was twice the size of the last, looming over the crowd and lashing out with his claws to pick people off. A massive swipe almost knocked a cop off one of the balconies.
Katie looked up at the demon as she made her way through the crowd. It’s a big one.
Big and dumb, just how I like them. Pandora chuckled. This will be easy, I can feel it. Watch his right hook and stay out from under his feet.
Got it, Katie replied. Let’s see what Tom is capable of.
Katie advanced, Tom raised in front of her with the beast’s head in view through the scope. Katie jumped up on an overturned car and took a knee. She set her sights on the demon and followed the motion of his body, waiting for the shot. As soon as the beast paused for a moment, Katie pulled the trigger. The huge bullet sped through the air and struck the demon in the side of the head. A small chunk of skin flew off—but the impact was not even enough to make the demon grimace.
“Dammit,” Katie hissed, holstering her gun. “I guess we’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way.”
She pulled the two pieces of her staff from her back and clicked the button to release the blades as she flung her arms down.
Pandora chuckled. So dramatic. You know, you don’t have to do that.
I know, but it looks damn cool.
Work it, sister. Your spectators await.
People had stopped fleeing and were looking at her with wide eyes. Many had their phones in their hands to capture video of the myth-come-to-life that was Katie.
Katie grinned, twisted her hips, and threw one of the halves of her staff at the demon.
The special metal embedded itself beneath the demon’s scaly skin and began to do its work. The demon clawed his neck, screeching in pain, and threw himself back, frantically searching for the cause of his agony. He finally found the staff and yanked it from his body. The thick, heavy wood looked like a toothpick in his hands. He swung his head around and stared angrily at Katie.
He doesn’t seem to care that you’re the Queen of the Damned.
He’s too stupid to understand that.
The demon pulled his massive arm back and launched the staff back at Katie.
Katie launched herself up and reached for the staff as it whistled through the air toward her. Her fingers gripped the smooth wood, and for a moment she was victorious. However, her reaction was neither equal nor opposite, and the momentum of the demon’s throw sent her crashing into the Times Square screen. Sparks rained all around her after the blade embedded itself in the screen.
She snarled and turned her body around, pushing off with her feet to dislodge her staff from the cracked glass. The staff came loose and she landed on a car below, leaving a dent in the hood. She jumped down and examined the staff, but miraculously there weren’t even any scratches on it. She nodded, impressed enough to make a mental note to give Joshua a raise when she got back to Vegas.
She took off down the street, hopping over overturn
ed cars and dashing around groups of shell-shocked people. The demon had grabbed the side of the building and started to climb.
No fucking way is he King Kong-ing this shit. Pandora, give me some super-strength.
One can of spinach coming right up.
Katie grabbed the demon by the foot and pulled him back down with a grunt. His claws dug into the building, sending chunks of brick and stone tumbling to the sidewalk below. Katie tugged again, and the demon lost his grip. She slammed him to the ground, and he bounced across the narrow New York street on his ass.
Katie chuckled as he came to a messy stop.
“Oh, bro, that is going to be a seriously acute case of road rash on your ass. You won’t be able to sit for a week. Here, let me help you out and send you back for a hot sulfur bath—in hell.”
Katie ran after the demon. She got a few paces away and jumped, raising her poles in a high arc to skewer the demon as she came down beside him. The effect of the special metal was instantaneous. The demon squalled and growled and hissed, trying unsuccessfully to flail, but he couldn’t move while she had him pinned with her blades. She pulled the blades free and steaming ichor poured from the wounds, blacker than the asphalt. Katie climbed onto the demon’s chest and looked around at the crowd, who were watching in horror as the demon snapped and growled weakly at her. A cheer went up, and Katie chuckled. She bent down on one knee and looked the demon in his big, red eyes. All she could see was mindless loathing.
There was nothing human in that body; no soul, only hate and evil.
A chill went down her spine when she saw a blue-green shimmer reflected in the demon’s eyes. The demon saw it and stared hard, confused.
Katie patted him on the chin and stood up, pulling Tom and Harry from her sides. She aimed them at his head and narrowed her eyes, tired of the demons fucking with what was now her city too. When she pulled the triggers, two steaming holes appeared in his forehead, and a splatter of brain matter sprayed out the back.
