Demon Town, page 39
With one hand he forced the gun high in the air as Lisa desperately tried to hold on to it, but with his other hand Uncle Pete made a fist and hit the girl just above her left eye. He had never hit a female ever before in his life, but the way that this girl was acting, she wasn’t going to stop until she had killed his nephew. The punch knocked her backwards and she finally released her grip on the gun. Uncle Pete wrestled it away from her and pointed it down to the ground.
It was Mac now who looked like he had just woken up from a strange dream. He had a stunned look on his face as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. His foggy gaze went from the gun in Uncle Pete’s hand over to Lisa, who was holding a hand over her eye. Mac tried to put the pieces together. He was weak and fatigued, but his mind attempted to fight its way through the fog as he struggled to figure out why Lisa was trying to shoot him.
“What did Manson do to you?” he asked and then realized that the demon must have poisoned her or did some mind trick on her to do this.
Lisa took her hand away from her face and gave Mac a puzzled look.
“Did Manson make you do this?” Mac asked and pointed to the gun in Uncle Pete’s hand.
She shook her head and that cold, unpleasant look that Mac had noticed before returned again.
“You really are an idiot, aren’t you? The demons were right all along.”
“Demons? What? You know about them?”
Lisa laughed. “I’ve known about them for a long time.”
Mac was flabbergasted. What was she saying? Lisa saw the perplexed look on his face and laughed again. “You really don’t have a clue, do you?” She paused to see if Mac would figure this out, but when she saw that he wasn’t going to be able to do so, she continued. “The demons asked me to get close to you and find out what was going on with you. They had their suspicions about you after the incident with the Olson’s at the gas station and the way that you acted around them.”
“But, why? You’re not that-”
“What? That type of person? You think that I want to work in some shitty bar in this dead end town for the rest of my life? I want more than that. I want money and power. I want what the demons have to offer.”
Mac was hearing what Lisa was saying, but it wasn’t making sense. Manson was responsible for this. He had done something to her. “Lisa, we can help you. Manson’s performed some kind of deception on you.”
“Manson’s got nothing to do with this!” she snapped. “This is my choice. I made my decision long before he entered the picture.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Let me spell it out for you, Sherlock. I was making shit for wages as a waitress at Quincy’s when the demons presented me with a lucrative money making offer.” She paused to let Mac fill in the blank, but got tired of waiting. “Drugs.”
“I thought Kyle was the one-”
“You think that dumb asshole has any business sense or is smart enough to not get caught? I’ve got the smarts and the know-how. Quincy’s was the perfect place to get my start. I knew everyone in there and what they wanted. Kyle was just a front man, a decoy. Of course, you had to come along and stick your nose into places it didn’t belong. That’s why the demons asked me to keep tabs on you.”
She read the hurt look on Mac’s face and smiled. “You really thought we had something going on, didn’t you? Aww, sorry Mac. It was all part of the game. I was supposed to find out what you knew and after you were deemed to be too much of a risk, it was me who set up the alleged kidnapping and had you go after the Olsons. I’m still curious to know what you did to them and where they are.”
Lisa waited for him to respond, but he was done talking. “Anyhow,” she continued, “after that, the demons were a little spooked by you, but then Manson showed up and we thought why not try it again? You fell for one kidnapping, why not another? I was promised ascension up the ranks if I could lure you out here and let Manson kill you.”
Mac replayed the conversations that he had with Lisa and the kidnapping attempts and how she had set him up. She had played him all along and he had been too blind to see it. Luckily, he had unexpected back up or the demons’ plans for tonight would have worked.
“Well, sorry about the part where Manson was supposed to kill me. I guess that part of your little plan didn’t quite work out.”
Lisa smiled. “Oh, I wouldn’t say the evening’s a total loss, yet.”
Mac couldn’t believe that this was the same woman that he had cared for and wanted so badly. She seemed like a totally different person...cold and ruthless. Why had he not seen this before? Why did he risk his life for her not once, but twice? She was right. He had been an idiot. What did she mean, though about the evening not being a total loss yet? He followed her gaze and saw that she was watching Uncle Pete, who didn’t look so good.
“Uncle, are you all right?” Even in the fading light Mac could see how pale and shaky he now appeared. Uncle Pete had that look that he had earlier...kind of like he was in another time zone again. Mac put his hand on his uncle’s shoulder and immediately felt something damp. He pulled his hand back and held it up in front of his face. Blood. Lots of it. “Oh shit, Uncle Pete! You’ve been shot!”
Uncle Pete turned toward him and looked at Mac with a blank stare. His body started to waver slightly and he reached out to grab onto Mac’s arm, but missed and started to go down before Mac caught him. Still physically drained and fatigued, Mac tried to hold up his uncle, but reluctantly had to ease him to the ground.
“Uncle Pete!” Tears started to form in Mac’s eyes as he watched his uncle struggle to speak, unable to make the words come to him. He raised one hand up and Mac took it in his own hand and tried to comfort his uncle. There was nothing that he could do for him, but Paul...Paul could help.
“Such a pity, really.” The voice came from behind Mac and he turned to see Jonathon Neale standing less than twenty feet away from him. “This could have been prevented, Pete if you just hadn’t gone and betrayed us.”
Mac hadn’t heard the demon come up behind him and wondered why nobody in his group had said anything to him. To his horror, he discovered why when he looked around. All eight of the demons from Paradise Flats were present and holding Mikey, Milo, Paul and Waffles captive. The four were surrounded and held in place by the demons combined powers. His friends and the angel were forced to their knees and the big cat was pinned down on his side.
“What, you chicken shits let Manson do your dirty work for you?” Mac spit out. “Too afraid to face us on your own?”
Jonathon Neale smiled. “Manson was part of the equation, but he was too reckless. That’s why he’s dead and we’re still alive. Why get your hands dirty when some fool is perfectly willing to do it for you?”
“You’re still gutless cowards.”
“Call us what you will. We’ll still be here when you’re dead and gone along with your uncle.”
Mac was trying to buy himself some time to think of a way out of this, but his options were few and far between. Uncle Pete needed immediate medical attention, Mikey and Milo were no match for the demons and Paul and Waffles were so weak from their previous battles that they were surprised and overwhelmed by the demons without any struggle. There was only one thing that he could think of considering how weak and outgunned he was.
“Take me and release the others.” he said as he let go of Uncle Pete’s hand and stood up to face the demons. “I’m the one you want. Let everyone else go and let them take my uncle to the hospital. Do what you want with me.”
Jonathon Neale shook his head. “As noble as that sounds, it’s not going to happen. Your uncle doesn’t have long for this world from the looks of things. The rogue and your pet will surely come after us again if we let them live and your friends have proven that they will provide suitable hosts for more of our brethren.” The demon paused and gauged Mac’s reaction to what he had just said. There was a multitude of emotions building up in Mac with everything that had happened, but he wasn’t going to give anyone the pleasure of seeing him crack. Jonathon shrugged. “You, of course have to die. As appealing a thought as it would be to harness your gifts for our own use, I am afraid that you would reject our brethren if we attempted a possession with you. For that reason, it just makes sense to eliminate you now and rid ourselves of a problem down the road.”
“There will be others, you know.” Mac tried to stall some more. He was running out of time and he knew it. “You realize that if Paul goes missing, that other angels will come looking for him, don’t you?”
The demon shrugged again. “They might, but I doubt it. The rogues seem to be a dying breed, no pun intended. If I were to wager a bet, I would say that they are on the verge of extinction. However, if they do show up, we’ll be ready for them. We have shown tonight that we are more than formidable adversaries.”
Mac scanned their surroundings looking for some kind of miracle, but none was forthcoming. Uncle Pete lay motionless, his breathing faint and shallow. The demons still had the rest of his comrades immobilized and it didn’t look like any of them had any tricks up their sleeves. He read the looks in each of their eyes and there was nothing there to suggest that they had a solution for the predicament they were in. If Mac was going to make one last stand, the time was now. He barely had the strength to stay upright, but he would not go down without a fight.
“Okay, this is your last chance.” Mac declared boldly. “Walk away now and I’ll let you live...for a little while longer. If you choose to stay and fight, I will kill you all.”
There was no reaction from any of the other demons, but Jonathon Neale grinned and shook his head. “You are a cheeky little bastard, I’ll give you that. However, the time for small talk has passed.” He looked over each shoulder at his brethren and nodded as Mac braced himself for the worst.
From above and behind him came the sound of metal bending. Faint at first, but growing increasingly louder. Mac turned around and watched in shock as metal support braces snapped away from the railway trestle. Fifty foot support braces creaked and groaned as they were busted free of the structure.
“Oh shit.” Mac swore as he realized that the old metal braces were about to come crashing down upon him and Uncle Pete. He counted at least five of them as they were pulled away from the trestle, but there may have been more. Barely surviving Manson’s axe attack by using his powers as a shield had been bad enough. Having several tons of metal dropped on him was going to be more than he could handle, Mac was sure of it. He was weak and almost powerless, but he had to focus on protecting Uncle Pete and himself for now and then help those that had been dragged into all of this.
As the metal braces were pulled away from the trestle and tumbled downward, Mac was reminded of a dandelion in the wind as the seeds were scattered to and fro. Watching as the metal supports plummeted toward him, Mac realized that there were more than he originally counted and his heart sank. ‘Are they going to bring the whole thing down on me?’ he thought to himself.
Lisa ran to join the safety provided by the demons leaving Mac and Uncle Pete at the base of the trestle by themselves. Wishing that he had more time to get his uncle to safety, Mac knew that wasn’t an option, so he stood beside him and prepared to shield him as best as he could.
Mac was barely able to deflect the first brace when it fell down upon him. There was too much weight moving way too fast for him to have any chance of deflecting them all. Two more came crashing down and Mac’s body screamed in agony as he tried to slow them down and then knock them away. He managed to survive the initial onslaught when three more of the braces came hurtling at him. For a moment Mac was able to hold them in place before everything collapsed on top of him. He and Uncle Pete disappeared under a pile of metal before more of the braces crashed onto the top of it in a thunderous collision.
Large pieces of the damaged trestle braces busted and scattered among the debris as they rolled off of the metal pile. The force of the impact was deafening and shook the ground, creating a huge cloud of dust. When the dust had settled and the last of the metal fragments came to a halt, Jonathon Neale stepped forward to examine the huge pile of twisted metal. It measured at least twelve feet in height and was scattered over three times that number across the base of the trestle. Satisfied that there was no movement beneath the debris, Jonathon smiled and looked upward at the damaged trestle.
“We had better alert the authorities to close the trestle for repairs. We wouldn’t want anyone getting killed out here.”
He turned and walked back to the rest of the demons and their captives. Holding his hand out, he beckoned Lisa to join him as he stood in front of them all.
“You have done well, young lady. All of this was possible because of you. You will be handsomely rewarded for your efforts.”
Lisa smiled like she had just been declared the homecoming queen.
“I hope you’re happy, you fucking murdering bitch!” Milo snapped.
Lisa walked over to him and knelt down in front of him. “Awww, did your little friend go and die?”
“Go to hell!” Milo spit at her.
Lisa winked at him. “I’m going to enjoy watching the fear in your eyes as a new demon takes over your body, Miles. I want to witness the moment when you realize that all hope is gone and that everything that you fought so hard for is lost.”
“In good time, Lisa...all in good time.” Jonathon Neale casually sauntered up beside her. “The two mortals can wait. There are more pressing matters at the moment.” he said pointing at Paul and Waffles.
“What do you want us to do with them?” Sid Williams asked.
Jonathon looked around and spotted one of Manson’s axe’s lying on the ground. He walked over to it and picked it up off of the ground and then handed it over to Sid Williams.
“Off with their heads, I say. I can use some more trophies to hang above my fireplace.” Jonathon laughed and moved in front of Paul. “It was all for naught, rogue. You have lost and will soon be nothing more than a distant memory.”
“Then you had better do it quickly, while you still can.” Paul stared straight ahead out into the river valley. “I believe that you may be just scratching the surface of your full potential.”
“Do you have an ace up your sleeve, rogue? Is the cavalry on its way to save the day?” The demon turned his head and listened to the sounds of the evening around them. “If they’re out there, they’re very quiet.” Jonathon nodded to Sid who then raised Manson’s battle axe to Paul’s throat.
“Any last words, rogue?” he asked the angel.
“Yes.” Paul answered. “Run while you still can.”
Sid and Jonathon both looked to each other with an amused looks on their faces. Jonathon turned and started to walk away. “Make it quick...well, not too quick. Let the rogue suffer a little.”
Buried deep beneath the pile of metal debris, Mac was still somehow alive. At least he thought that he was. He couldn’t see anything in the blackness that surrounded him, but he was still aware of the predicament that he and Uncle Pete were in with the tons of metal that had been dropped on them. If he was dead, he wouldn’t be aware of anything, would he?
Something didn’t seem right, however. Even though he could tell that he was still holding his arms above his head in an effort to shield himself and his uncle, the pain and fatigue that he had been experiencing was gone. Now, where there had been darkness mere seconds earlier, Mac could see everything around him clearly. Uncle Pete lay motionless at his feet, but he was still alive. Of that, Mac was certain even though he couldn’t see his chest rising and falling. All around Mac in the metal cocoon that they were trapped in everything appeared to be in suspended animation as if they were frozen in time.
There was an eerie silence and Mac began to question whether he was still alive, after all. It was like he was there, but he wasn’t really there at all. It was when he began to exit his body that Mac was sure that he hadn’t survived. He turned to see himself crouched over Uncle Pete as the wreckage from the trestle hung precariously over top of them, but they were safe. How, Mac didn’t know. This wasn’t his doing and he didn’t understand why he was having the out of body experience if he wasn’t dead.
Mac’s thoughts turned to the rest of his group. Were they still alive? Did they somehow survive the metal avalanche? In the next instant Mac found himself transported outside of the metal debris that he was trapped in mere seconds ago. Before him the demons were gathered around Mikey, Milo, Paul and Waffles. As before, Mac was there, but he wasn’t at the same time. No one could see him there, but he couldn’t do anything to help his fallen comrades either. He could only watch helplessly as Lisa and the demons gloated over their victory.
In vain he tried to wrestle the axe out of Sid’s hand, but came away with nothing but empty air. Mac then tried to mentally send the demon tumbling away from Paul, but nothing happened. As a last resort, Mac screamed at the demon hoping to distract him and turn his attention away from the angel. Again nothing. All that he could do was listen as the demons planned to have Mikey and Milo subverted to the demon’s side after Paul and Waffles had been dispatched. Why was he here if he couldn’t help them?
Mac was about to lose everyone that had given so much for him and there was nothing that he could do to stop it. Mikey and Milo had been there every step of the way since this whole demon nonsense started. They always had his back and had come to his aid several times. Uncle Pete was about to draw his last breath after sacrificing himself to save Mac. He had done everything that he could to protect his nephew even though Mac thought that he had betrayed him. Waffles, the long lost pet turned guardian had saved Mac on more than one occasion and now he was about to lose him again. Finally, there was the rogue angel, Paul. He was the one who had dragged Mac into this whole mess to begin with. He felt no anger towards the angel, only disbelief and regret instead. Despite all that Mac had been through and all of the horrors that he had witnessed, he always believed that Paul was omnipotent and would save them all. Apparently not. Even angels had their limits it seemed.
