The House at the End of the Street

Chapter Five: Return

As life progressed, the demons kept declaring Salvullaz as untrustworthy, unjolly, and with negative connotations. Most demons aren't bad, Salvullaz was the first bad demon. He had never cared for anyone else. He was the definition of 'antichrist'.
As every bad soul went to hell, Salvullaz gained an army and stormed the world, taking the breath from people as they fought him. Salvullaz was a ruthless killer, not afraid to kill anyone. Salvullaz became a leader and wanted control of the world.
With that, Salvullaz attacked multiple human civilizations, one of which was the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, ultimately leading to the deaths of 16,000 people. This was only one of Salvullaz's attacks. He did much, much more than just this.
The demons had enough of it and set out to catch and destroy Salvullaz. Within ten years, there was a civil war between the demons. Salvullaz and the other demons fought for millennia, but they finally captured Salvullaz and executed him by death. He died on December 15, 1789 AD. What the demons didn't intend was to give him more power. Salvullaz had survived and was now stronger than ever.
After many fights with Salvullaz, the demons finally gave up, and said he was 'unstoppable'. Salvullaz had won the civil war and ended any kind of harsh treatment by the demons. This is where things got bad...

It had been two weeks without any type of occurrence. It was December 15, nine days until Christmas and everyone was about to celebrate Christmas, but not me. I decided to ask my foster parents for $1,000 that I could spend on my presents.
They agreed, but it wouldn't matter, since they were always gone. Most of the time, they didn't even come home. It was lonely, being the only one home all the time, but I got used to it. I didn't get adopted until I was 10, so being home alone 99% of the time was scary.
It was cold, snowy almost. It rarely snowed in Ocean Springs, but there was one year that it snowed for two hours straight. I walked out my door and decided to walk to anywhere with the good stuff. I walked by Jhett's house and looked inside.
Jhett was with his parents, and any family he had, opening presents. He opened one and there was a shiny, silver French Horn. Horns cost at least $10,000, so it was crazy he got one. I kept walking and found an antique store, an old one. It was probably 100 years old. Nothing.
I decided to invite my friends back over. Jack, Seth, Tristan, Madison, and Philip were still taking notes. Kaycie and Mae joined them after Kaycie was treated. Mae had been in many life-threatening situations. She's saved more lives than anyone.
"Zack!" Someone yelled. It was Jack. He had found something important.
"What'd you find?!" I yelled back. When Jack got close to me, he told me what he found.
"Salvullaz is a killer demon. He hunts people for sport. He even caused the eruption in Pompeii! This dude is unstoppable!" Jack said.
"We can stop him," I reassured him.
"No, Zack. He is UNKILLABLE!"
I shook my head, thinking about all the possible ways to kill it. There was no way it was unkillable.
"Zack!" Jhett said, riding her bike up to my house.
"Hey!" I replied.
"So, what's up?" Jhett asked.
"We are going to fight the demon again. I figured out where he's going to be next. He's going to be at the school," I replied.
"Wait, what? How do you know this? Also, why do you know this?" Gracie asked.
Dade and Mae came up to us, both riding their bikes. They both jumped off their bikes and walked up on my lawn.
"Hey, guys. What's up?" Dade asked.
"When everyone gets here, I'll explain to everyone," I replied.
I sat down with Gracie, Jack, Mae, and Dade, waiting for the rest of the kids to get here.
"So, how do you plan to kill it if we come in contact with it?" Gracie asked, laying back onto the porch steps.
"I was thinking of fireworks. It'd be a show and we'd kill an immortal being," I replied.
"Zack, all we have to do is close the entrance and all the hell demons will die, killing Salvullaz. Well, there are multiple entrances, but all you need to do is close the main one," Jack said.
"How do we close an entrance to hell?" Dade asked.
"All we have to do is destroy it via explosion, or something. We need to destroy the entrance for it to work," Jack replied.
"So, an explosion? Like... bombs?" Mae asked.
"I guess, yeah," Jack said.
All the others came riding down and hopped on their bikes.
"Ok, so if you look at this map," I pulled out a small rolled up piece of paper from my pocket, "It shows every place where the demon has attacked, The House, the school, behind the school, the library, the highway, etc. If you line up the points, it makes a perfect octagon. Meaning, if the demon attacked the house last, it should attack the school next. Well, if it follows the same pattern. And according to Jack, we need to destroy the main entrance to kill Salvullaz. So the main entrance would be... the house at the end of the street," I finished.
"Makes sense. On a side note, the school is closed for Christmas break. How are we going to get inside?" Seth asked.
"We're gonna play a little game called break-in," I replied, tossing weapons to the rest of the group.
"Wait, so if we need to destroy the entrance, why are we going to the school to kick its ass? That wouldn't do anything to stop it," Conner asked.
"We need to weaken it, so it'll be easier to close the entrance," I replied, handing out weapons for everyone.
I gave Jhett a sharpened broom handle, Dade some fireworks, Jack a slingshot, Conner and Gracie a bow and about15 arrows each, Kaycie and Mae makeshift swords, Philip, Seth, Tristan, and Madison slingshots with tiny rocks. With that, we were off to the school to kill the demon, hopefully once and for all, but it was just the beginning. We rode up to the school, with no police officers in sight. We hid in the treeline next to the school.
"Follow my lead," I said, crouching down on the grass.
"Last time you said that we almost died," Jack complained.
"Shut up, Jack. There's an officer," Mae said.
All of a sudden, a small baby pig ran in front of the officer.
"What the hell?" He said, crouching down and petting the pig.
"I used to have a pig. Ran away a few years back," Mae whispered.
"What's its name?" Dade asked.
"Napoleon. I was born in France, got a pig as a pet, and moved to the US. Then, he ran away about two months ago," Mae replied.
"You know it's illegal to name a pig Napoleon in France, right?" Dade said, looking confused.
"Duck!" I whispered.
The officer turned his head at us, but looked away, not seeing us. I stuck my head back up and pointed towards the back of the school.
"Go back there," I whispered.
There was the back entrance to the school that had been opened by an officer. The officer kept looking up like he was watching for someone specific. As the pig distracted the officer, the group and I ran across the cement and hid behind a wall.
"We're good," Gracie said.
"For now," Kaycie replied.
I walked towards the door slowly and peered my head inside it. Nobody was there.
"Coast Is Clear," I said, walking in the door.
"Some people need to keep guard," Jack suggested
"I will," Mae said, walking back out the door.
"Kaycie, Seth, Tristan, and Madison, join Mae outside. Just act normal if anything happens," I said, turning away to walk down the hall.
"Don't die, guys," Tristan said.
"No promises," Conner replied.
We walked down the hall, hoping not to see anyone. I peered into the hallway with my homeroom class was in. There was nobody there.
"Guys?" Gracie said, pointing to the glass between the cafeteria and us.
Conner and I walked over to the glass. BOOM! The glass exploded, sending shards of glass into my arm and face.
"Damn it!" Conner yelled, pulling a large shard of glass from her arm.
I kneeled and started to help pull it out of the glass. I had a shard penetrating my face.
"This is going to hurt like hell. So, hold your breath," I said, pulling the shard out from her arm.
"Ow! That stung!" Conner said, standing up and wiping some glass off her shirt. My face was bleeding, not bad, but it was stinging.
"You alright, Zack?" Dade asked, checking up on me.
"I'm good," I replied.
"Duck!" Dade screamed, grabbing a shard of glass off the ground and thrust it into the demon's eye.
Salvullaz had appeared behind me and Dade protected me. Conner and Gracie grabbed an arrow and readied their bows. Dade shoved me on the ground and pushed me against the wall.
I grabbed my machete and stood up. Jhett grabbed a huge rock and threw it at Salvullaz, hitting him in the face.
"You stupid idiots. You underestimate my power," Salvullaz said, increasing in size.
"Here comes the thunder!" Dade yelled, lighting five fireworks and launching them at Salvullaz.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Each firework hit a different part of Salvullaz's body.
Gracie and Conner both shot at Salvullaz, hitting him in the face. Jack grabbed his axe and smashed Salvullaz's face. We were beating the crap out of Salvullaz. All five of us stood in a parallel line facing Salvullaz. Salvullaz let out a blood-curdling roar.
"Charge!" I screamed.
Jhett, Conner, Gracie, Jack, Dade, and I all sprinted full speed at Salvullaz. Jhett got the first hit with a giant rock thrown at Salvullaz's face. It hit him in the face so hard, it knocked Salvullaz over. He stood up again, but I uppercut Salvullaz with the butt of my weapon.
Salvullaz grabbed Conner by the neck and threw her across the room.
"Hey, fatass! Yeah, I'm talking to you!" I screamed at Salvullaz.
He ran towards me, but I was able to slide under him and stab him right in the back. I pulled the machete out, backflipped in front of Salvullaz, and thrust my machete in his chest.
"Eat iron, fatass!" I yelled, pulling my machete out of his chest and kicking him down.
Salvullaz crawled back towards the wall and stood up.
"You don't understand what you've just caused," Salvullaz cried, sinking below the ground.
All five of us looked at each other but sprinted out the back door.
"Who's in there?" The officer asked, but we had already escaped through the door.
"Go! To the other tree line! Quickly!" I whispered.
The rest of the group ran with us towards the tree line behind the school. We had done it. We ran back to the house about half a mile away from the school.
"You think we'll close it?" Gracie asked me.
"Let's find out," I replied, turning into the neighborhood where the house was located.
We got to the house and Jhett, Conner, Gracie, Dade, and I went inside. The others stayed outside.
"Fireworks?" I asked, Dade handed me about twenty fireworks.
"How's this going to close the entrance?" Jhett asked.
"The explosion will destroy the entrance and the house will fall. If we destroy the entrance, it will stop the demon from being able to enter, resulting in a victory for us. If I could just get this damn thing to light," I replied.
I was trying to light it, but the matches Dade had given me weren't working. I kept trying to light them, but all they did was the spark.
"Zack?" Gracie said, but I ignored her.
"Zack!" Conner yelled.
"What?" I said, agitated.
"Salvullaz!" Dade screamed.
I looked up to see Salvullaz's face right in front of mine.
"Damn it,"
I was able to light the match, but I dropped it when Salvullaz used his hand to smack me across the room. Conner ran outside to tell the others to get away before the house fell. Conner ran back inside and saw Salvullaz trying to get out of the hole.
"Zack!" Dade yelled, grabbing the same lead pipe from which he hit Rylan and smashed Salvullaz's head with it.
Salvullaz grabbed Gracie and threw her at a window, not breaking it. Jack went over to help her, but Salvullaz grabbed Jack and tossed him at Conner, knocking him into her.
I sat up and started looking for the matches. It was across the room from where I was. Jhett moved next to me and threw a five-pound rock at Salvullaz. Gracie and Conner moved forwards into the room, shooting Salvullaz with countless arrows.
"Grab the match!" Conner yelled to Dade.
Dade was shoved onto his butt but grabbed the matches. None of them would light.
"Damn it. Stupid off-brand matches!" Dade said, Salvullaz grabbed his leg and started pulling him towards the entrance.
Conner ran over to help Gracie as Jhett and Dade tried to distract Salvullaz.
"Hey, fat-ass!" Jhett said, stealing my joke.
"C'mon, Jhett. Why do you have to steal my joke?" I asked, standing up.
Conner and Gracie got next to the front door and both pulled out their bows. Conner and Gracie both shot at Salvullaz's face, both hitting him in the face. Salvullaz dropped Dade and he crawled across the ground.
I jumped onto Jhett's back and jumped at Salvullaz, driving my machete into its shoulder. Salvullaz tried to shake me off, but I held on, my machete driving deeper and deeper the more he shook. Then, Salvullaz grabbed me and threw me at Dade, hitting him.
"Light the damn match!" I screamed, Jack sliding across the room to the box of matches and tossing them to Dade.
"Hey, fatass!" Jhett screamed again.
Salvullaz was angry. He was halfway out of the hole and tried to grab me. I was just out of reach for him to grab me. I grabbed my machete and drove it into Salvullaz's arm.
"Eat this!" I said, hacking away at Salvullaz's arm.
I jumped out of the way before Salvullaz could grab me.
"Guys! Get out of here!" Dade screamed.
Gracie, Jhett, Conner, and Jack all ran out the door while Dade and I stayed back.
"Zack! Where are the fireworks?" Dade asked, looking around.
"Oh no. They fell out when I jumped onto Salvullaz," I replied.
"I'm going to run and grab the fireworks next to Salvullaz. Once I toss them to you, you have to light them all. Zack, It has to happen. If I don't do it, then we'll all die," Dade said, giving me the matches.
"You're not dying here!" I screamed.
"Someone has to," Dade finished.
He gave me a pat on the back and started running to grab the fireworks. I ran to help him but realized that I needed to stay back. Dade threw the fireworks, but Salvullaz smacked them away from my reach. Dade grabbed a stick and stabbed Salvullaz through the bottom of his mouth.
"Damn it!" I yelled, running to try and catch them.
I hit the wall and the fireworks landed in front of me. I picked them, realizing that I needed a lighter or match for the fireworks to go off.
"Matches!" Dade yelled, tossing the matches to me.
This would be Dade's worst mistake. Salvullaz grabbed Dade's leg and started pulling him towards the entrance. I grabbed his hand and was being pulled in too. Then, Jhett grabbed my legs and started pulling me back out.
"Thank god!" I yelled, trying to reach the matches Dade had thrown.
If Jhett were to let go, I would fall in with Dade, so I was the only one who would be able to grab them. Then, the realization of something hit me. I had to let Dade's hand go to light it. I could feel my heart drop.
"Dade... you can't die. I'm not going to let you die!" I said, grasping his wrist harder.
"Light the damn firework. You'll be alright. Russians never die," Dade said, patting my back in approval.
I remembered all the good times, when we first met, when he smashed Rylan's head to protect me, protecting me from bullies. Dade was my best friend. When Dade got bullied himself for bringing two lunch boxes to school, one for me and one for him. Dade was a hero, even though he didn't have any hero qualities.
The demon pulled Dade so hard that my hand slipped. Life went into slow-motion as my hand slipped from his grip.
"NOOOOOO!!" I screamed, grabbing a match and lighting a firework. KABOOM! It exploded but didn't cause any damage.
"Dade!' I screamed, trying to jump onto Salvullaz as I had earlier, but it was too late.
Salvullaz smacked me away with his hand and shoved a giant hook through Dade's torso. Fortunately, Dade had taken some fireworks for himself and he was able to say one last thing.
"You messed with the wrong Russian!" Dade screamed, lighting a match, and lit several fireworks.
BOOM! All the fireworks exploded and Salvullaz dropped Dade. The house started shaking. I ran over to Dade.
"C'mon, Dade. Fight through it," I said, tearfully.
"Go. It's been fun," Dade said.
I tried to pick Dade up, but he struggled and hit me in the face, making me drop him. I was about to try and grab him again, but Salvullaz grabbed him first and pulled him into hell.
"No!!!" I screamed.
Gracie and Jhett physically drug me out of the house just in time to see it fall and be no more. Salvullaz, Dade, and the house were no more.
"Where's Dade, Zack?" Mae asked.
"Dead," That is all I could say before I started breaking down in tears.
Jack was the first to comfort me before everyone else got into a group hug. I could feel a cold spot where Dade stood that last time we had a group hug.

Dade was dead and was never to be seen again. I separated myself from the rest of the group to walk home. Dade was my best friend. He stood up to bullies for me, he hit Rylan with a lead pipe, he bought me lunch when I didn't have enough money to buy some for myself. I had never felt worse than then, even when my parents died, this was worse. I was done with the crap I had been through.