War of the Damned Boxed Set

by Michael Todd

  She stopped when she saw a fresh group of demons pour out of the portal. They were small demons; lesser ones that she would love to pick up and snap in half. Not the time. She had vengeance in her heart.

  Down on the ground, Calvin could see the next wave of demons emerging. “All right, guys, here they come again. We can’t leave it all up to Katie, so let’s give her the best backup we can.”

  Stephanie was ready to go and checked her gun. Korbin pushed the barrel down. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Stephanie shrugged. “I never let a few scratches get to me before.”

  Korbin lifted an eyebrow at her. “By a few scratches, you mean from the rose bushes back at home? Not from demon claws. Trust me, there’ll be more fights. Go down and get healed for now. And stay there.”

  Stephanie studied him intently and snarled, “Are you telling me what to do?”

  Korbin spoke softly but put his foot down. “I am. This time, I am.”

  Slowly a smile moved over Stephanie’s lips, and she leaned up and kissed him. “Don’t make it a habit, but I have to say…it’s kind of sexy.”

  Calvin walked up to the two of them. They were battered and bloody and still looked like a couple of dogs in heat. He cleared his throat. “Uh, we ready?”

  Stephanie nodded and slapped Korbin’s shoulder. “I’m going to sit this one out, but good luck.”

  Katie pumped her wings hard and flew up high, then hovered over the battlefield. The sun streamed over her shoulders and trickled over the desert. From below, all they could see was the shadow of Katie’s giant wings spread wide. Katie took a deep breath, and her body emitted a blinding stream of light. She tipped forward and folded her wings back, diving as fast as she could toward the battlefield, and right at the gigantic demon who was lumbering toward the production building.

  She pulled out her angelic sword and held it high over her head as she slammed into the demon. In a fluid motion, she drove her angelic sword into the back of his head and through his skull. She held on tightly as the creature flailed, growling loudly and whimpering. He was layer upon layer of infernal muscle, and he couldn’t get his huge arms around his bulk. He waved his claws behind him, but couldn’t reach high enough to knock her off. His claws began to glow, pulling great boulders of molten rock from hell.

  Katie levered her angelic sword back and forth and the demon began to waver.

  “That’s right, buddy, just give in to it. You can go right back down to hell and have yourself a nice little cocktail on me,” Katie whispered to the demon.

  The demon’s eyes rolled back in its head, and it fell. Katie held on tightly and pulled the sword from the beast’s skull and rode it all the way down, and the earth shook as it landed. One moment Katie stood on its head, a conquering hero, and the next, the demon burst into a cloud of ash that hid Katie from sight. The wind picked up, and the ash swirled and began to blow toward the mountains. From a distance, the guards saw Katie walking through the dissipating ash, fully armored and holding her sword tightly. Two cooling mounds of lava were all that remained of the big one.

  Korbin sliced the top of a demon’s head off as he watched Katie emerge from the ash. He yelled at Calvin, “The girl sure knows how to make an entrance.”

  Calvin chuckled, then stabbed a demon in the throat with a dagger and finished it with a gunshot to the head. “You have no idea, buddy. I blame that on Pandora. She’s the one with the flair for dramatics.”

  One of the guards on top of the production building whistled. “Too bad the movie cameras aren’t here, because this girl would blow Wonder Woman out of the water.”

  The grizzled guard shrugged. “I mean, get her a whip, and I’m sold.”

  As Katie strutted across the sand, Pandora gave her a play-by-play of the reactions of the people in the area. Maybe this angelic armor isn’t as bad as I thought. I do need to see this Wonder Woman, though. She’s come up several times.

  Katie laughed and pulled a gun from her holster. That’s definitely one I can get down with.

  I’m just interested in the whip part.

  All across the base the guards were locking and loading, getting ready to rush in to support Katie. Joshua raised the shield on the front doors and holstered his guns on his chest. In his hands he now held two large axes, the special metal shimmering in the sunlight. He was no longer the meek kid Katie had met so long ago. He was a grown man, and he was going to stand up for his home and back up his demonic boss.

  Katie gave Joshua a nod of approval. She wasn’t keen on him fighting, but she knew she couldn’t stop him. Despite herself, she was pretty proud of him for what he had become.

  Pandora cleared her throat. So, are we going to annihilate this wave of bastard demons, or what?

  Hey, give me a fucking second. I just took down a giant demon in my first three seconds on the ground, and I used my angelic powers to do it.

  Pandora scoffed. Oh, I didn’t realize this was a competition. If that’s the case, then settle in, bitch. These demons are going down.

  Katie smirked. She had gotten the reaction she wanted from Pandora. She gripped her magic sword in one hand and a gun in the other. She crouched and waited for Pandora to give her a burst of speed. Her wings had disappeared, but that was okay. Now that she was on the ground, she was all demon.

  Pandora cackled loudly, giving her a burst of speed. Hold on, sweet tits, we’re going in for the kill!

  An explosion of energy erupted behind Katie, swirling the sand up as she took off across the field and barreled straight into the first wave of demons. She put her head down, raised her gun, and swung her angelic sword, cutting through them as though they were paper.

  Calvin and the others watched the wave of energy she brought with her in amazement. It blew back at least half of the demons and sent them rolling across the desert.

  Calvin scratched his head. “Looks like we have a superhero on our hands.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The entire melee was absolutely horrible. There were demons, mercs, and humans all over the place. It was obvious that the smaller demons had no control or understanding of where they were supposed to be going. It was essentially a giant shit show.

  The bullets from both those on the ground and those still shooting from the production building sprayed, heavily concentrated on the areas in front of Katie. It was backup, or maybe cover—anything to keep Katie on the go before all the demons could swarm her. There were so many that regardless of her powers and might, she was barely making a dent. After her first charge it was all defensive, trying to keep them away from the production building. When one was killed, another dozen emerged from the portal.

  Fuck this! Katie snarled angrily.

  These motherfuckers pulled all the demons out for this one. They are using the idiots from the far reaches of hell, Pandora replied, still giving Katie as much juice as she could.

  I don’t want to defend, I want to put a god damned stop to this mess. Where the fuck are those two idiots, Moloch and Fucknuts?

  Pandora laughed out loud. They were probably lounging back in hell, snacking on some poor unfortunate creature. My best guess is safely behind that portal.

  Katie slashed her sword, taking the heads off four demons who had made it through the gunfire from above. They think they are safe in that portal, but I just might have different news for them.

  Uh… I don’t know if you understand how the portal works?

  Katie quickly pulled one of her pistols, firing at two demons leaping toward her. She struck them each in the head, and they grimaced and squirmed before turning to dust. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and let out a deep sigh. I do know this: there are more demons here than our base can handle, and I only have two people with me who are Damned. The rest are humans, and there’s no way I’m going to let Korbin and Stephanie die in this. I just brought them back, for fuck’s sake!

  Pandora sensed a demon approaching. To your left!

 
Katie went low as the demon soared toward her, claws out and his teeth covered in blood from some poor victim. She shook her head and nonchalantly aimed, looking at the portal as she pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight through the demon’s head, but Katie didn’t even stop to watch it turn to dust. This shit is stupid. This will keep going unless the source is taken out.

  Pandora grimaced. I don’t think you’re quite ready for Lucifer.

  The demon on the ground squirmed and screeched so Katie, eyes still focused on the gates, pointed her weapon down and shot it twice, turning it to dust. You said it wasn’t Lucifer, per se. And even if it is, if that’s what needs to happen? So be it.

  Pandora sighed at Katie’s stubbornness. Katie moved forward, slashing through the droves of demons. She was headed straight for the gate with anger in her red eyes. The demons slashed and gnarled, trying to overcome her. Several times she let out smaller pulses of energy, pushing back the front lines and then diving in to rip demons apart with her bare hands.

  She stood up and stepped over a pile of demons as they turned to dust at her feet. She wiped the blood from her cheek. It was black and sticky, and she could barely get her hand away from her face. What the fuck are your people made of? Tar?

  Pandora giggled. More like souls, puppy dog innards, and angst.

  So, like a teenage boy?

  Pandora watched as Katie grabbed a demon by the throat and pulled his head from his shoulders. Black blood splashed the sand. Yeah, actually, pretty close, Pandora admitted.

  Not far away, Moloch and Baal watched as Katie rampaged through the lines of demons, giving zero fucks. Moloch gritted his teeth, pissed. He stood up, knocking his chair to the floor. He stomped to the edge of the gate and stared with bright red eyes at Katie. She tore a demon in half and seemed to stare right back, even though he knew she couldn’t see him through the portal.

  “This bitch has gone too far this time,” he bellowed.

  Baal wiped his hands on his black scaly legs and stood up with a grunt. He could see that Moloch was at the end of his rope. He picked up Moloch’s chair, set it right, and stepped around the table. “Calm down Moloch, we knew she would kick the shit out of those lesser demons.”

  He looked at Baal with his hands out. “She killed the big one with a single jab of her fucking shimmering sword!”

  Baal shrugged his shoulders. “So, send her a few more big ones. Let’s see how she does with them.”

  Moloch’s frustration faded, and an evil smile curled his lips. “You are a genius. If she thought one was easy, let’s see how well she does with three.”

  Moloch waved his arms, sending a cloud of dark mist through the gate. When the mist touched the soil of Earth, it congealed, twisted, and solidified into three very large demons. Moloch smiled, and Katie stopped dead in her tracks.

  He started to laugh. “What’s wrong, bitch? Too much demon for you to handle?”

  And then she leaped. Not at the three new big ones, but at the portal itself. At Moloch and Baal. Her eyes glowed bright blue from the angel inside her, and the wave of energy hit Moloch hard. He stumbled backward. Baal’s eyes opened wide, and he scurried back. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  Moloch nodded his head heavily. “We have to close the gate. Those on the other side can find their way back with a bullet to the head.”

  Moloch and Baal stood at the gate with their hands up, trying to close it. The harder they tried, the more it stuck. Both of them grunted loudly and pulled their arms open, but as soon as they released, the gate snapped back open.

  “What the?” Baal panicked.

  Moloch stared at Katie for a moment. She had turned back to the big ones. He watched the angel in her fighting the demons and realized what was happening. “I’ve never seen it done, but they are acting separately.”

  Baal looked at him confused. “What?”

  Moloch narrowed his eyes. “Lilith is keeping the gate open while Katie is using her angelic powers to fight. Those bitches have figured out the duality of their powers.”

  Baal shook his head. “No one has ever been able to do that, not even when Lucifer went above and took over a body. One is always fully in charge.”

  “It seems that we are seeing something completely different this time,” Moloch shouted.

  He was livid, watching Katie jab her sword into one of the gigantic demon’s heads and ride him to the ground like a badly-formed bull. Moloch glared at her even as he felt her angelic stare piercing his chest. She had her eyes locked on him, but he didn’t think she could see through the portal. He knew she couldn’t.

  Both Moloch and Baal backed up again, moving around the table and standing as if it would provide some sort of protection. They watched as Katie attempted to kill the other two demons, her eyes locked on the portal. She wasn’t going to give up, and she definitely wasn’t going to let them think she was afraid.

  Do they think sending a couple of oversized puffball demons will scare me off? Katie slashed through several smaller demons, spraying blood and dust everywhere.

  That’s what it looks like. I don’t think they fully understand your abilities just yet.

  Moloch and Baal continued to step back as Katie moved closer to the gate. Baal shook his head and looked at Moloch. “What is that bitch thinking? What’s she going to do, invade hell?”

  Moloch gave him a non-reassuring look and watched the battle ensue. He couldn’t remember a time when a human had tried to invade hell, at least not one where they had survived. Then again, every time Katie and Pandora did something they shocked the hell out of him. The word “impossible” didn’t seem to apply to the two of them.

  “Whatever she is planning, I’m not even remotely considering watching it from the front lines,” Baal whined.

  Moloch stared out at Katie, watching the way she moved. “Agreed, but I am curious as to what is driving the human. Is it her angelic abilities? Is it Lilith? I have seen a lot of mercs in my time in hell, and I have battled a few as well. She is different. I give T’Chezz a bad rap, but he was a tough sonofabitch, and she took him down even before the angel powers became so prominent. She is definitely a force to be reckoned with.”

  On the other side of the world, waves gently crawled up the beach. The ocean had been calm all morning. The Mediterranean was seeing one of its more beautiful, bright blue days. The beaches were full of tourists and locals, all of them taking in the sun and sand, but around mid-day all that changed.

  “Look, mommy, the waves! They’re getting so big.” The little boy marveled at the tide with his hands cupped around an elaborate sandcastle.

  His mother glanced up with a smile, but her face quickly changed as she watched large waves begin to roll up onto the shore. She stood up from her chair and stepped forward, frowning out across the ocean. Just beyond a sandbar, large bubbles were rising to the surface. Water roiled all around it.

  Several other beachgoers stopped what they were doing and joined the woman looking out over the ocean. “What in the world is that?”

  Another sunbather replied, “I don’t know. Maybe some sort of environmental thing?”

  They stood there covered in suntan oil, in bathing suits and wide-brimmed sun hats. They sat in their beach chairs and under their umbrellas, with no idea of the terror that was about to rain down on that small Mediterranean beach. The bubbles grew larger and larger until it looked as if the ocean were boiling. The little boy put down his shovel and left his sandcastle. He walked over to the edge of the waves, tilting his head to the side. He suddenly grinned.

  “A dinosaur!” the little boy yelled.

  The mother’s eyes grew wide and she ran for her son, grabbing her little boy around the waist and running down the beach. A Leviathan rose from the waves, the water sluicing off it in a cascade. People began screaming and running, never having seen anything like that before. The beast moved fast for its size and made its way to the shore within seconds.

  His green, algae-covered skin s
himmered in the sunlight as he beat his hands against his chest and roared loudly. The sound of his voice echoed across the small town, shaking the ground and breaking storefront windows. He stepped forward, crushing the little boy’s sandcastle. The Leviathan raged as he descended upon the small beach town with all the anger of hell in his eyes.

  He grabbed a small surfing shanty and picked it up high in the air, a surfer still inside. The twenty-something blond guy stared fearfully out the window as the beast raised the shanty high above his head. With a quick movement, the Leviathan threw it hard at the ground, smashing it and everything inside it. The blond surfer, bruised and bloody, tried to crawl from the wreckage, and the Leviathan stepped on him.

  The beast grabbed a woman standing frozen in fear and ripped her head off with his jagged teeth. He tossed the woman’s lifeless body to the ground, crunching on her skull like it was a kernel of popcorn. The Leviathan continued moving, crushing buildings and people everywhere he looked. He moved fast and with a purpose, and that purpose was destruction. He flattened anything and anyone in his path.

  “Where’s the military? Where is help?” One of the tourists screamed out as several bodies rolled past her in the street.

  The man standing next to her shook his head. “He looks like Godzilla. What could we do against Godzilla?”

  The beast smashed across the beach, waving his deadly green claws around, and crashed through several of the resorts that sat on the shore. The tourists didn’t even have a chance to evacuate. All were crushed either by his uncaring footfalls or the buildings he toppled onto them. On the streets of the small Mediterranean beach town, debris and bodies were strewn. Just moments before the place had been peaceful and beautiful, with fountains and merchants in the streets. Now it was a wasteland of screaming injured and wrecked lives.